Age is nothing: Seniors share fitness secrets

MANILA, Philippines — It was a rainy evening at the Philippine Sports Commission oval in Pasig City. 

It was a weeknight, but still, a lot of people from all ages were jogging and running, making lap after lap as heavy rains bombarded the metro.

As 20- and 30-somethings and zoomed around the track kilometer after kilometer, a man slowly but surely jogged. 

The man, 67-year-old Manolet dela Paz, powered through the heavy downpour to finish his twice-a-week five kilometer jog. 

“Well, I've been doing this for so many years na eh. Siguro, ika-fourth year ko na itong tumatakbo. Pero before that, I was biking. So, continuous naman yung exercise ko,” he told Philstar.com in an interview. 

“Ang biking kasi ano eh, you have to prepare for it. You have to spend a lot of time. Kasi you'll go to a place where you can bike. And minimum, two hours yan eh. Eh yung running, I'll just walk from my house. Going here, then 45 minutes to one hour run. Tapos na, mabilis siya,” he added.

He bared that he seldom jogs when it rains. Earlier that night, he stopped when the rain started, and when the downpour ceased, he went back to his grind. 

Unfortunately, it was only a few minutes after when the rain started pouring anew, and he just finished what he started. 

Dela Paz underscored that he “really needs” to exercise on a regular basis, as he emphasized that his body is looking for it whenever he misses his activities. 

He said that it is important for people his age to be a health nut, with the risk of diabetes and other illnesses. Dela Paz said he has hypertension and chronic kidney disease. 

“So I do regular exercise to maintain my health. Not to attain any other goal, but I run 5K every twice a week. That's okay. Minsan nagta-thrice sa week ako. Sa weekend, nagba-bike ako 2 hours. Okay na yan,” he said. 

“Just maintaining it that way. Pero na-notice ko, habang tumatagal, medyo hindi na ako gaanong kalakas. Sa edad siguro.

To maintain that, he said that he focuses on three things — cardio, weightlifting and balance exercises.

“Kasi minsan pag tumatanda ka, off-balance ka na eh. So those three are very important,” he added.

- Living healthy - 

Elsewhere, at a basketball court in Mandaluyong, another man was sprinting up and down the hardcourt. 

Before the basketball sneakers squeak and the nets splash, Topher Bautista of Pasig City was stretching and later running around the court. 

Bautista, a 66-year-old, may be a former head of the chief audit executive of SM Prime and a former member of the academe, but on the court, he is a guard who can shoot from the perimeter and can still run better than players 30 to 40 years younger than him. 

In one of his four basketball games that night, Bautista launched a late 3-pointer to grab the win for his squad — the dark team — over the light team. 

In a separate interview with Philstar.com, Bautista stated he makes it a point to not only keep himself active, but also take care of his body with vitamins. 

He starts his day off with scheduled workouts. At least twice a week, he goes to the gym for light weights, and if not, he does light jogging for 50 minutes. After that, he has full body stretching for 15 to 20 minutes.

Aside from his exercises, he also focuses on the quality of his food. Before his workouts, he drinks a glass of room temperature water, and after, he drinks squeezed lemon on warm water with turmeric.

And apart from a diet heavy on fruits, vegetables and meat, he also has 11 kinds of vitamins serving different purposes.

The executive, who turned 66 in August, stressed the importance of keeping a healthy body despite being in his 60s.

“That's very important because that is one way of keeping yung longevity. Tsaka quality of life,” he said.

“In fact, every year I have the executive check-up sa heart, sa lungs, sa loob, ang body natin.

And every six months, I do the blood test. And God's blessing, wala akong findings. Lahat, cholesterol, sugar, it’s normal,” he added. 

Bautista, who still sits at some board meetings, said he started playing weekly basketball at the Reyes Gym in Mandaluyong back in 1998, when he arrived from Jakarta, where he lived as an “expat.” 

But even back in Indonesia, he was already running and playing basketball to ensure his good health.

“Actually, parang gusto ko lang talaga na yung katawan ko, gumagalaw, noon pa,” he said.

“Meron kasi kami yung tournament doon sa Jakarta. Mga Pilipino. Kailangan, conditioned din yung body mo. Tapos, nakatira ako doon sa high-end condominium. Complete yung facilities namin. Meron kaming tennis court. Meron kami yung mga recreational. So, meron kaming club.

So, I did those sport activities to keep myself active,” he added. 

He also underscored the importance of time management for people very busy with their work.

“Time management. Kasi I make sure na natutulog ako maaga. So I have time to do my routine. Then I go to the office. Hindi naman ako ano sa time. I'll make sure morning meeting ko, 10 a.m. Tapos ang meeting ko sa after lunch, mga 2:30,” he stated.

- Consistency - 

So, what are their pieces of advice to those who want to remain that active even at that age?

Dela Paz said those exercising should “do it slowly.”

“Don't stress yourself so much. Do it slowly. Tapos you do it regularly. And then you'll create that stamina that you need in the long run,” he remarked.

“Talagang tumatagal ka, tumatagal ka. Pero you don't have to force yourself to do it. Baka mamaya naman, magkaroon ka ng complication. Kung may problema sa heart or whatever. So you have to do it slowly, gradually,” he added.

“Tapos mapapansin mo yan, lumalakas ka. Pag lumalakas ka, mas mahaba yung takbo mo. Mas bumibilis yung takbo mo.”

Bautista also highlighted the importance of consistency in exercising. 

“You have at least one hour in the morning to do exercise. Thirty minutes to one hour. Kasi iba kasi, talagang hindi na nila ginagawa eh. Kasi nga, ma-stress sila. Eh, yun na yun ang panlaban ng stress eh, yung exercise,” he said.

“So if you do that, I think you can manage stress. Kasi di ba, pagka-stress ka, ayaw mo... Ayaw mo gumalaw, isip ka nang isip. What you have to do is really to move. Para ma-manage yung stress. Yun yung mga activities na kailangan,” he added.