September is Healthy Aging Month. As soon as you hear “healthy aging” you might envision a commercial with grandparents holding hands walking along a beach with a grandchild happily tagging along. These commercials usually go on promoting medication for any number of conditions or diseases. Then the voiceover person frantically squeezes in the long list of side effects of said medication before the commercial ends. Yes, as we humans age, our bodies have a tougher time healing and functioning as efficiently as they once did. Traditional medicine can benefit us. However, let’s get that vision of healthy aging out of our minds and focus more on what we can do outside of popping a pill for healthy aging. Beyond that, let’s stop using age as a crutch.

First and foremost, keep moving. The recommended amount of activity for adults is 150 minutes of moderate activity a week with 2 days of muscle strengthening activity. The recommended amount of activity for older adults (65+) is 150 minutes of moderate activity a week with 2 days of muscle strengthening activity. You’re not reading a typo. The recommended amount of physical activity doesn’t change just because one is older or “aging”. Reaching a certain birthday doesn’t change the physical activity plan or its benefits. The worst thing for a body is to keep it stagnant, no matter the age.

Intensity of activity is important. Moderate, which is recommended, means different things for different people. A 20 minute stroll through the neighborhood may be moderate to some while it offers little to no benefit to others. When a doctor offers suggestions like walking more at an annual visit, this doesn’t simply mean the act of walking. Walking at a moderate intensity to you, specifically, is the goal. A moderate level also has nothing to do with age. It has everything to do with current fitness level. Using walking as the example, extend the time and/or the speed of the walk to give it purpose.

There are activities that tend to be associated with age. A SilverSneakers blog listed its top 9 exercises and workouts for seniors: swimming, yoga, Pilates, bodyweight training, resistance band workouts, walking, cycling, strength and aerobic classes, and personal training. There is not one activity on the list that applies only to older adults and the “aging”. Being older doesn’t necessarily mean special workouts. Intensity or other minor adjustments might be made, but that is for the individual, not because of age.

How to get started is, many times, a hot topic for older adults. After all, fitness equipment and technology has evolved. Maybe getting started is tough and intimidating for older adults. Maybe all the new ways of exercising are so complicated that an older adult just isn’t able to take that first step. How is this any different from the 30-something individual getting started? Does being over retirement age magically make it a bigger mental hump to overcome? The answers are obvious. For anyone looking to improve health through physical activity, it can be very difficult to get started and, more importantly, maintain the lifestyle. Again, age has nothing to do with it.

When it comes to healthy aging, everyone is in the same boat. Regardless of whether your next birthday brings you to age 95 or 35, you are aging. To age in a healthy manner means being physically active. Being older doesn’t make one special, and it shouldn’t. The activities are the same. The intensity is the same (moderate). The recommended amount of activity is the same. The psychological challenges to start and continue an exercise plan are the same. It’s time to stop labeling healthy aging and using age as yet another excuse to avoid exercise.