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Friday July 19, 2002

Leave work but not the workout, says octogenarian M.D.

JACK WILLIAMS
Copley News Service

Mention the "R" word to Dr. Harold Elrick, and he'll want to check your pulse. He'll look into your eyes, inspect your nose and fill your ears with some of his anti-atrophy ethic.

Elrick, you see, is suspicious of anyone who views retirement as a life of leisure.

"I don't believe in it," he tells you. "It's preparation for death."

At 83, he still practices his own version of preventive medicine, the kind that he believes protects you from degenerative disease; the kind he feels no one -- retired or otherwise -- should be without.

The message: If you retire the body and mind, your future is as fragile as an Enron 401(k).

Given the appropriate attention to health maintenance, on the other hand, you may extend the quality of your life well past the century mark.

"If you don't live until at least 90 or 100, you've been abusing your body," said Elrick, a Chula Vista, physician who has written eight books and more than 120 articles on achieving optimal health and preventing disease.

"The body is made to last at least 100 years, then you'll die in your sleep."

In taking responsibility for your own health, though, you can't defy aging so much as accommodate it. You needn't give up high-impact activities, necessarily, but you'll have to give your body longer to recover to prevent chronic injury.

Without recovery -- especially from aerobic and strength-training regimens that temporarily break down muscle tissue -- progress suffers and injury risk soars.

Elrick, who ran marathons until he was 74, is an exception to the rule. He still runs up to three hours on Sundays. But he won't run at all if his body tells him not to.

"If I'm tired, I stop and walk," he said. "I listen to my body. If what you're doing causes pain, that's the body's message to stop."

The increasing popularity of low-impact, joint-friendly activities is a reflection of an aging population and a viable option for the injury-prone. Today, yoga is as mainstream as step aerobics. Pilates and tai chi, equally valued for their ability to promote flexibility, balance and inner strength, are accessible to all ages.

The National Institute of Aging advises engaging in at least 30 minutes of activity a day that makes you breathe harder. It can come in 10-minute intervals or continuously. On a bike, in a pool or on foot.

If we don't do something to stimulate our muscles, we'll lose up to a pound of muscle tissue each year beginning between ages 26 and 30. And no matter how strong your heart and lungs are, losing muscle tissue will force them to work much harder when performing the same task. Bone density will suffer, too.

Wonder why your metabolism is slowing to a snail's pace and you can't keep the extra weight off? It's because you're losing muscle tissue, which fuels the body's furnace. Preservation, or enhancement, of muscle tissue needs to be at the forefront of any anti-atrophy regimen.

"You don't need to lift weights; weights can be dangerous," said Elrick, who gets his strength training through push-ups, chin-ups and isometric exercises (in which force is applied to a resistant object).

Still, isometrics are generally considered to be less effective than exercises that move muscles through the full range of motion.

Elrick, who coaches people in developing lifetime exercise and eating plans, insists there's no one-size-fits-all strategy, and recommends working with a coach.

That way, "you'll not only be exercising correctly but doing something that you enjoy and can continue the rest of your life," he said.

"It'll have to be something that doesn't cause injury and isn't expensive."

Otherwise, retirement may be as unkind as a tyrannical boss.

As Elrick puts it: "Without health, everything is worthless."

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