We talk – some might say endlessly – about saving for retirement, the need for income for the latter part of our lives, and so on.

But the book Aging Backwards by Miranda Esmonde-White focuses on the other side of retirement – having a sensible exercise plan that keeps your body from aging prematurely.

Most people, she begins, may see aging “as something they have no control over, just like the passage of time.” However, she says, “you absolutely do have a choice in the age of your bones, your muscles, your internal organs and your skin.” Thirty minutes per day of targeted exercise, she writes, can decide between a “vital, energetic and healthy” life versus “a life of joint and back pain, limited mobility, and a lack of physical strength.”

The exercise program that Esmonde-White prescribes is called the “Essentrics” system, which she writes is “exactly the opposite of the unproductive, dangerous ‘no pain no gain’ philosophy of yore.” She says it is more about “no pain, all pleasure.”

She notes that every minute you exercise lengthens your life by seven minutes… “a guaranteed 1-to-7 return on your investment.”

And for those who argue that genetics controls how you will age, she cites research that shows only 25 per cent of our longevity is determined by our genes – the rest is “due to lifestyle and environmental factors.”

Another crucial stat she cites is that those with a “somewhat sedentary, somewhat active” lifestyle lose seven to eight per cent of their body’s cells each decade. Those who exercise “using the entirety of their musculature lose an average of only two to three per cent of… cells each decade.”

The second half of the book gets into the Essentrics program, which has elements of isotonic, concentric and eccentric exercise. She notes that the movements in the program mimic some of the activities that were common for everyone in the past – such as cleaning the windows, mopping the floors, and moving furniture.

“The unfortunate truth is that many of us rarely do these chores anymore, and if we do them at all we don’t do them long enough to derive any real benefit from them,” Esmonde-White explains.

The last part of the book shows all the workouts, with photos. There are exercises like ceiling reaches and the “open chest swan sequence” to improve your posture. The weight loss exercises include a “pulling weeds sequence” and some plie-type dance movements. There’s a “washing tables” movement, as well as a “washing windows” exercise in the section on exercise to soothe your joints. Calf stretches and “barre footwork” with a simple chair are found in the “increase your energy section.” There are many more exercises and many more sections in this informative how-to book.

She concludes by writing that if you decide against regular, targeted exercise, “all you are `putting off’ is your chance of having a vital, exciting, energized time well into your twilight years.”

There is a contagious enthusiasm in this well-written book that coaxes you out of the easy chair and into more exercise. It’s definitely a book worth adding to your personal fitness library.

If, as we have read, the payoff from targeted exercise is longevity, one must invariably think about addressing the cost of that extra time on earth. You’ll still need food, shelter and some sort of fuel in the future, and all of these things will cost money. If you’ve got a retirement program at work, you are ahead of the game – be sure to join it.

But if not, you’ll need to carry the retirement savings load on your own shoulders. And if you put that off, you’ll run out of time to catch up later. A handy solution to the problem is the Saskatchewan Pension Plan, a one-stop shop for setting up your very own personal pension.

Be sure to check out SPP – celebrating its 35^th year of operations – today!

Join the Wealthcare Revolution – follow SPP on Facebook!