Saturday, January 14, 2017

A Simple Life Expectancy Test - Our Life in Costa Rica

Today's post might seem a little off topic, but not really. If you are going to be around long enough to retire (and beyond) you have to take care of yourself and make sure that you do everything you can to stay in shape, which in turn will help you live longer and be stronger.

Living in Costa Rica is different from living in the US in a lot of ways.

If you live here, especially in some of the mountainous areas (where a lot of expats live) you are going to encounter hills, uneven grade, unexpected dips and lots of potholes. On the hills and the slopes you will see many locals walking and riding their bikes. They take these hills like they are nothing (of course they are used to them) but, if your body is not up to par you aren't going to be able to deal with it and might find yourself scurrying back to the U.S.

There are many ways to stay in shape, yoga is just one of them.

Kim & Mayela on our last incline (there are 2)

Friday was the 1st day we walked the 2nd leg of our journey to the community center (Mayela drove her car on Mon & Wed). Since I have to walk up a steep hill just to get to Mayela's, I get a double work out.

After class some of the the gals stay to do a little cool down and some push ups

There is some controversy about the balance test below but I think we can all agree that musculoskeletal fitness is important. Everything we do relies heavily on our ability to balance. As we age, we gradually start to lose our muscle strength, vision and sensory perception – all things that contribute to our ability to balance. As a result, our mobility can be compromised and lack of mobility can lead to falling, which can lead to a whole new set of health issues.

I would not encourage anyone with bad knees or back issues (or if you are too frail) to try the test below. The rest of you - give it a try! Young & old alike.
The good news is that physical balance is a learned skill that can be maintained and improved by practice. 
What is your balance like?


Here's me

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