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Embarking on a Healthy Lifestyle for Seniors of All Ages
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By Keith Zheng
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- Active AgeingLifestyle
Mr Liak Teng Lit, Health Advocate & Environmentalist celebrates his 68th birthday in June 2021 with a charity challenge to fundraise for Autism. Funds raised will go towards supporting programmes and services that Autism Resource Centre offers to empower persons on the autism spectrum to lead meaningful and independent lives. Watch him “live” as he starts Day 1 of 21 days challenge of 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups and 100 squats! In addition, he will cycle 20 km on alternate days too. He has raised over S$22,000 to-date.
To support Mr Liak in his social cause, you can donate via the link here
Even though I do a certain set of exercises, there are many exercises out there, for example yoga, pilates, cross-fit and so on. They all work equally well. The key of staying healthy, is quite similar and is all incorporated into a few guiding principles.
Mr Liak Teng Lit, 68, Health Advocate & Environmentalist, Singapore
In this interview, Mr Liak shares with us how he has kept fit and active even till his late 60s. Mr Liak is in the pink of health and in fact, in his 40 years of work, he has never had a day of sick leave.
To Mr Liak, there are three phases to growing old – the good, the bad and the ugly phase. As we grow older, we will eventually reach the ugly phase, and the important part is how can we stay well and for as long as we can. To achieve this, Mr Liak believes that there are 5 important pillars, mainly – Eat Wisely, Exercise Regularly, Be Happy, Stop Smoking & Practise Personal Hygiene.
Eat Wisely
One of Mr Liak’s favourite authors is Michael Pollan. To quote Michael, “Eat Real Food, Not too much, mostly plants”. To eat wisely is to control how much and what is being ingested.
Exercise Regularly
Cardiovascular exercises are important and effective in preventing dementia. What is neglected is often flexibility and strength training. When we reach our 30s, our body naturally weaken by about 1% every year. In order to stay at the same level of fitness and strength, we have to do all 3 types of exercises. A simple flexibility training, strength training, and some cardio workout will vastly improve one’s health.
Be Happy
It is not just about others making you happy, but how you manage your own happiness. Social connection will determine how well you age and how well you die. To build social connections, it is about contributing to the society and to give.
Stop Smoking
Besides smoking, there are people who are addicted to alcohol and legal drugs. To age well and healthy is to limit your alcohol intake, quit smoking and seek help when addicted to drugs.
Practise Personal Hygiene
COVID-19 is a good reminder in practising personal hygiene. To practise personal hygiene is to maintain discipline and to change yourself. Mr Liak recommends the book – The Power of Change – for anyone looking to learn how to change oneself.
Now, Mr Liak does his morning routine to maintain his physical health and fitness – through a combination of daily stretching and Ba Duan Jin. He used to run regularly, now he has switched to cycling regularly.
If you would like to view the interview session, you can watch the recording below:
Mr Liak Thank you so much for kindly sharing your philosophy and ideas on our webinar with the Real Estate Housing Developers Association Malaysia (REHDA) today. Your insights are most thought provoking for our private sectors and policy makers to imagine and craft suitable homes and communities for our ageing Malaysians. On the personal side, thank you for inspiring all our seniors to stay fit healthy and happy always. Thank you again!