Whenever I interview retirees for the “Road to Retirement” articles I always am told two things: one, “I wish I planned my finances a little bit more” and two, “I wish I started exercising sooner.” Sometimes instead of exercising its just going for walks or reading or well, just about any other form of stimulation. And that makes sense! Once you retire your routines suddenly fall out from under you. Maybe you’re working still, maybe you’re not, but the capacity for what you’re doing changes, establishing a new routine is necessary to make sure you stay sharp while retired.
After these conversations I put together a quick list of things retirees told me they do (or wish they’d do more) to keep active and to stay healthy!
Exercise
When you stop working it’s really easy to stop moving. A lot of people don’t realize how beneficial the walking and standing and moving they had to do when they worked was. When you stop working you suddenly can spend the whole day on the couch without a second thought passing you by.
While it is nice to have a relaxing day every once in a while, sitting too much is a health risk. That might sound crazy, but there are medical studies that link sitting still to high blood pressure, increased cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, and several cardiovascular diseases (Harvard Health).
So, you need to get your body moving, what else is new. There are dozens of local senior exercise programs that you can join, but to me nothing beats a good walk! A lot of local retirees agree, going for regular walks, either by yourself or with a group, is a great way to stay in shape and get some fresh air in too.
You can also join the SDCCE emeritus program! They offer dozens of unique classes designed to for people who are 55+, and the best part is they are all free! They even have online classes, so you can take them from home.
Live Well San Diego also has a series of classes and resources on their website, learn more here.
Experience New Environments
While it is similar to the advice of “take a walk,” the advice to “experience new environments” is a bit different. Again, this is something to help you get off the couch, away from the iPad, and into the outdoors. From beaches, to malls, to Balboa Park, there are a lot of cool things to do and see locally.
One of the biggest recommendations I heard was to get an annual zoo pass. While they’re not cheap, you can get an Annual pass to the San Diego Zoo for $86. This pass lets you visit the zoo on any non-holiday weekday. If you plan to go more, or at least go on the weekend, the next level pass is $116. A lot of retirees use going to the zoo as a great way to get some exercise in and to learn new things!
Plus it’s a great way to sucker the grandkids into visiting.
Volunteering is also a great way to vary up your environment! There are hundreds of volunteer opportunities across SD, we wrote an article about them, you can learn more by clicking here.
Hobbies
Getting a hobby is no easy feat. But retirement is the time you finally make good on all those times you said “I hope to do that one day.” So, whether that’s crochet, pickleball, or travelling, nearly every retiree I’ve spoken to has brought up how important it is to have something to keep your hands or mind busy.
A good way to get into something might be to join a retirement organization, like the REA or the RFPA. These groups have a lot of members and who knows, maybe one of them is the chess guru you’ve been looking for!
Nutrition
Eating better is another one of those goals that everyone means to do, but no one has an easy solution to it. Trying out recipes or just diving into cooking is a great place to start. Regardless of how you go about it, maintaining a healthy diet is key to being healthy as you age.
You can sign up for an account on Best Health for more eating tips!