Still Active & Strong @ 88

[Sheree] Okay, so hi there, Glenys. Great that you could join me today for our little chat. Glenys, how old are you?

[Glenys] 88.

[Sheree] Great, you can tell the people out there as well.

[Glenys] I'm 88.

[Sheree] 88's a good age to be.

[Glenys] Well, you'd rather not be 88, but of course you've got no choice. 88's fine.

[Sheree] And I think you're doing well because, Glenys, you still live alone and you drive your car still.

[Glenys] I still drive and I had a driving test the other day and I got through 100%.

[Sheree] That is so good. I know that they're impressed with you and I know that the girl at death said, I want to be just like you when I'm your age. So as much as you don't want to be your age, you are your age.

Can't really turn back the clock, but boy, we can make your 88-year-old the best it can be.

[Glenys] That's right. That's good. I mean, I really would love to be active my whole life.

[Sheree] Yes, and you have been, haven't you?

[Glenys] So far.

[Sheree] Yes, because you were saying yesterday you first started dancing when you were four?

[Glenys] I was four years old.

[Sheree] And you just kept going your whole life?

[Glenys] Whole life I've danced. Done all sorts, square dancing, ballroom dancing, ballet dancing, tap dancing, everything.

[Sheree] That is so good because I think when I met you, you were still leading line dancing. You were still a teacher.

[Glenys] I still do line dancing, but I don't teach anymore. I leave that to someone else.

[Sheree] But up until about seven years ago, you were teaching still.

[Glenys] Up to about three years ago, actually, because my husband got sick and I had to give it up because I had him to attend to. So I gave it up so that I didn't have to worry about, you know, what dance I was going to give him and all that kind of thing. So now I just go and dance.

[Sheree] I think that's great.

[Glenys] Yes.

[Sheree] Now, probably when we get to your age, a lot of us have some issues that we have to continue with and you've had arthritis, which is specifically rheumatoid. Yes. And that affects your fingers.

Does it affect other parts, your toes or anything?

[Glenys] Not really. Although I had a dead bone in my left foot, but I mean, I'm fine. My feet are fine.

I don't get anything, but it's only really my hands.

[Sheree] Yeah. And sometimes what we do with you when we're training, we just alter what you can hold.

[Glenys] That's right.

[Sheree] Because your hands, when we box into the box, Yeah.

[Glenys] Well, I can't get the glove on.

[Sheree] Can't get them in. So that's okay. So what Glennis does, she air boxes instead into a pad.

She'll air box and not actually bang it.

[Glenys] Yeah.

[Sheree] And the other thing is we just have to adapt sometimes when we're holding a big weight and your hands just can't grasp it.

[Glenys] That's right.

[Sheree] We just have to adapt that.

[Glenys] You get so that you cope. I mean, I've coped all the time I've had this. I mean, I was a great sewer.

I used to do a hell of a lot of sewing and knitting. And you just have to get on with it. And you do actually sort of think to yourself, right, I'll try this and try that to see what works.

[Sheree] Yes, absolutely.

[Glenys] Yeah.

[Sheree] That's so good. Just having a think about your past life, you were a bra fitter.

[Glenys] I was a bra, yes.

[Sheree] What do you call that person?

[Glenys] Now you're asking me, 88.

[Sheree] A bra fitter, but she was a bra fitter at Myers?

[Glenys] Myers.

[Sheree] Myers, there you go. What other things did you do?

[Glenys] Well, throughout my life, I was a lab assistant.

[Sheree] Wow.

[Glenys] What else did I do? Oh gosh, yeah, I had four kids. As I say, I loved being in Myers because I like people and I like talking to people.

[Sheree] Yes.

[Glenys] That was my favourite job.

[Sheree] Perfect.

[Glenys] Because you get to meet some lovely people.

[Sheree] You do. You do.

[Glenys] Yeah.

[Sheree] And then trying to have a good look at some nice breasts as well, I'm assuming.

[Glenys] Oh, right.

[Sheree] I don't know.

[Glenys] Well, you get to a stage really where you don't notice it.

[Sheree] Yeah, yeah. You're so used to it, you just... Yes, just fit them and make sure it's good.

[Glenys] Unless, of course, there's something wrong with it. I mean, I remember I had a lady and I think her... I mean, my bra size is C.

[Sheree] Yeah.

[Glenys] Hers was M.

[Sheree] Oh, I didn't know you could go up that high.

[Glenys] Well, you couldn't. I couldn't fit her.

[Sheree] Oh, that's awful. So what did you do?

[Glenys] I just said to her, look, I can't get you a bra. I couldn't even order one.

[Sheree] I honestly didn't know there was an M. I thought you went up to kind of a double F or something or...

[Glenys] Yeah, yeah.

[Sheree] Maybe an A, I don't know. But I'm so small, I'm an A, so it would be easy to fit me. And what brought you to street training?

And it's like, why did you...

[Glenys] I'm that kind of person. I like to keep active and anything new. I mean, I've never done it before and I thought, oh, well, I'll try it and just see how I go.

And at first I wasn't keen, but I thought, no, I'll keep on. You know, I'll persevere and now I love it.

[Sheree] That's so good. Yeah. That's so good.

[Glenys] I mean, I'll miss it if I can't come. And I think, to be honest, it's what's keeping me going.

[Sheree] Oh, I absolutely don't doubt that at all.

[Glenys] I mean, you know, because you've got to keep active. You can't sit in the chair all the time.

[Sheree] You so do. I remember, and you first heard about street training when I came to speak to your group.

[Glenys] In Probus, yes.

[Sheree] Yeah, in your Probus group. And I think I must have started with about 40 people from the Probus group. And people fall off pretty quickly, like you say.

A lot of older people don't want to be doing a little bit of work to maintain their bodies. And I think it was, they prefer to just walk or do something fun. But it does take a little bit of work, but not too much.

We have so much fun, don't we?

[Glenys] Oh, yes. And now we've got that lovely music.

[Sheree] Yeah, we're hearing all that. Give me that rock and roll music in your way. I don't know the song.

I don't know the words. But anyway, all those songs. And you guys are jiving away.

[Glenys] Oh, yes.

[Sheree] While we're doing our street training.

[Glenys] And being a dancer.

[Sheree] Yeah, being a dancer. You love it. I have to be too careful.

Have to be careful with a Glennis here. She doesn't over dance, because then she can forget what I'm supposed to do. And you've also had two knee replacements as well.

[Glenys] Two knee replacements. Which you got over really well. Well, I was back line dancing the three weeks after I had it.

No, it didn't affect me. I don't know why. Because I mean, I've known people that have taken six months.

And after six months, they're still not really good. And I've got a friend who can't come up the stairs one at a time. Well, left, right, left, right.

She has to come up right, close, right, close. And she's a lot younger than me.

[Sheree] Yeah, interesting, isn't it? Yeah, very.

[Glenys] But you've got to make sure that as soon as you've had it done, you start the exercises and keep going.

[Sheree] I think that's so good. And do you think that strength training for you, being at home alone, does it provide some safety and security that if you fell, you would hopefully be able to move yourself off that floor?

[Glenys] Yes, well, what I do every morning, I get down on the floor and get back up.

[Sheree] That's so good.

[Glenys] Because I mean, I think that's one of the hardest things that you do as you get older.

[Sheree] Yes.

[Glenys] Yeah, it's easy to get on the floor. But to get up isn't easy. And I know a lot of people can't get up unless they're hanging on to something.

That's what you have to do. You have to be able to get up without holding onto anything.

[Sheree] You're right. That is so good. And that's what I say to you ladies all the time, that please, your daily stuff should be at least getting down the floor and up.

Because whatever you find hard to do is what you should be doing.

[Glenys] And then it's no longer hard.

[Sheree] And it's no longer hard. It gets easier and easier. Even though it's not easy like you were when you're really young.

[Glenys] Oh gosh, yeah.

[Sheree] It's still hard, but at least you can do it.

[Glenys] I can do it. And you've got to be able to do it. Because if you fall over and there's nobody there.

[Sheree] That's right. You could be lying there for days.

[Glenys] That's terrible.

[Sheree] Yes, and we see that all the time at where I work as a nurse at the hospital. We see people with two and three day long lies because they can't move. They've gone down and they have no idea how to get up.

So the fact that you make yourself do that every day must empower you. Because you know you can do it. And if you keep doing it, you'll keep being able to do it.

[Glenys] I'll keep being able to do it. And also try and walk as much as I can. I must admit, I can't go up hills so much now without stopping.

That's all right. Whereas before. You still do it.

Yeah, I still do it. But I find it's a lot harder. But I still do it because I think I need to.

I'm all right on the flat.

[Sheree] Yep.

[Glenys] But on hills, yeah.

[Sheree] But the thing is so good. And you know, the fact is for life for many of us, even young people like me. That we still have a struggle with hills.

So hills will always be a thing for most people.

[Glenys] But I mean, yeah, but I think, you know, use it or lose it.

[Sheree] I agree. That's a good one. Use it or lose it.

What would you say to somebody out there right now? That's your age. That goes, I could never do strength training.

I'm 88 too. And I've never started. Do you think I could possibly start?

What would you say to them? Look at them right out there now. Glennis, what would you say?

[Glenys] Definitely yes. Definitely you could. Admittedly, it'd be hard to start with.

You might find it very difficult. But Cherie's very patient. I am.

And she helps you. And as you get on, so you get better and better and better. And you should really, really try and do it because it might save your life.

[Sheree] It could well save a life, couldn't it?

[Glenys] Yeah.

[Sheree] Great advice.

[Glenys] For sure.

[Sheree] Yeah. So if you're older and you think I've passed it now.

[Glenys] You never passed it. You never passed it. Never, ever passed it.

[Sheree] I agree. You never passed it, are you?

[Glenys] No.

[Sheree] Start today and make gains that could stop you from having a shortened lifespan.

[Glenys] Yeah, that's right.

[Sheree] And I think the other thing that we didn't mention, but it takes away aches and pains as well. So you had a shoulder and you needed to rehab your shoulder. And I know your other shoulder's gone now.

But when you started to rehab your shoulder with specific things, it actually has helped.

[Glenys] Yeah, yeah. It actually does. Oh, definitely.

I mean, you've got to, yeah, you definitely have got to move it. Use it or lose it.

[Sheree] That's my policy. I think that's so good. So thank you for joining me today.

[Glenys] You're most welcome.

[Sheree] I'm sure you've inspired someone out there today.

[Glenys] I hope I have. Believe me. Thank you.

Try.

[Sheree] See you later.

[Glenys] Bye.

[Sheree] Thanks for that.