I am standing in my bathroom brushing my teeth, one foot hovering at around knee level for a minute, before lifting the other one for the second minute. I then crouch into a squat, trying to allow my body to descend deeply enough to feel the burn. This isn’t part of some newfangled bathroom exercise routine, but rather an attempt at figuring out how likely I am to reach old age in good health. According to experts, the ability to successfully execute exercises as basic as balancing and crouching regularly doesn’t just equal muscle tone and improved flexibility, but also offers an insight into how long you’re likely to enjoy good health for.
Further than this, these simple measures programme the brain to fortify itself against the inevitable wobbles, frailty and infirmity that can come with old age — and the earlier you start doing them, the better. Lotti Sorrell, movement coach and longevity expert, explains: “You need to train those neural pathways by making longevity-enhancing exercises part of your daily life. If you don’t, your brain prunes them off — the principle we use in brain health is that you use it or lose it.”
