As we watch spellbound by the dazzling choreography of the world’s elite footballers like their prized possessions our own legs are our most valuable asset as we age. Being ambulatory and thus independent is a privilege orthopaedic surgeon’s advise we embrace with the utmost foresight. Their learned counsel is that we engage in a range of pre-emptive leg-strengthening exercises to preserve the muscles that allow these vital resources to engage with maximal functionality.
At home we can do the plank and try holding this posture for as long as possible. We can do a lunge while brushing our teeth. When waiting for the bus squatting with our thighs at 90 degrees to the ground with our backs opposed to a firm surface is another posture we can attempt to maintain till we experience some discomfort. For those who aren’t shy of bemused attention hopping on the spot is another beneficial activity and for the reclusive doing all of these behind closed doors is equally beneficial.
We can tap our toes as fast as we can while we sit at our desks. If the heals of our shoes are eroding we need to replace our footwear. Doing leg strengthening exercises at the gym, for example leg extensions while our feet are curled around a platform attached to the maximal weight that our thighs can endure or extending our legs against a metal plate attached to weight resistance are just some of many leg-preserving activities that we can do along with getting advice from an exercise physiologist about others.
We might not become as fleet-footed as our sporting superstars but there is the possibility that we’ll end up with the leg power to emulate at least some of their moves.
