“Staying Fit through Sports—at Any Age,” Liahona, Aug. 2024, United States and Canada Section.
Aging Faithfully
Staying Fit through Sports—at Any Age
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle increases our ability to serve, experience personal growth, and foster social connections.
While living in Salt Lake City, on assignment from the Church, Kay and Terence M. Vinson (now an emeritus General Authority Seventy) learned to play pickleball with neighbors and friends. They enjoyed the fellowship with others and the neighborliness that pickleball offered. So when their assignment ended and Elder Vinson was released, they took their interest, pickleball paddles, and wiffle balls back home to Australia.
“It’s such a healthy and engaging social and physical activity,” Sister Vinson says. “But we don’t have many pickleball courts in Sydney, so we’ve adapted the rules and equipment to fit what’s available.”
Many factors influence our vitality as we age: genetics, nutrition, exercise, chronic illness, living conditions, and more. Some factors are within our control, while others are not. Doing what we can to maintain a healthy lifestyle increases our ability to serve, experience personal growth, and foster social connections.
Our Bodies as a Temple
President Russell M. Nelson has taught: “Each time you look in the mirror, see your body as your temple. That truth—refreshed gratefully each day—can positively influence your decisions about how you will care for your body and how you will use it.”
Opposition can take many different shapes for older Church members: physical decline, loneliness, uncertainty, even anxiety or depression. Sports and exercise have been shown to mitigate such feelings. Physical activity releases endorphins and serotonin, which helps regulate moods and channel energy productively. In addition, strenuous physical activities enhance sleep, which can be especially important for older people.
Exercise—or just plain movement, including aerobic and muscular activities—is a key component of taking care of our bodies as we age. Despite cancer treatments and other disabilities, my 95-year-old neighbor used a walker most days to get out in his neighborhood. “I liked getting outside and walking. I didn’t go very fast or very far, but it helped me spiritually and mentally as well as physically to walk in my neighborhood.” He adds with a laugh, “Most cars slow down when they see me. I don’t think they want me to hit them.”
In addressing ways we can both do better and be better, President Nelson highlighted taking care of our bodies:
“I stand in awe of the miracle of the human body. It is a magnificent creation, essential to our gradual ascent toward our ultimate divine potential. …
“Your body is your personal temple, created to house your eternal spirit. Your care of that temple is important. … In this reverence for our bodies … I think we can do better and be better.”
Benefits of Exercise
Walking, cycling, golfing, or participating in any other sport can provide social, emotional, and physical benefits for older adults, especially if done as a group. Increasingly, seniors are finding that pickleball in particular does all of this—and is just plain fun. Simply ask Ana Lapulou Kofutu’a Kaufusi, president of the Salt Lake Polynesian Senior Pickleball Club.
“After my husband died, I was invited by my stake president to play pickleball with his family one evening. We had fun. I kept playing and inviting others to play as well. We have singles, widows, couples, and members of other faiths who play, eat, and encourage each other when we get together.”
According to the Church’s General Handbook: “Church sports activities provide opportunities for physical activity and fellowship. They emphasize participation, sportsmanship, and skill development.”
“Too many people think of sports as something only kids do,” says my neighbor Marleen Chappell, who enjoys golfing and pickleball. “Ask any grandparent about the value of sports for their kids, and they will have a long list of benefits. Ask about their own reasons for not playing sports? They will have a long list of excuses.”
Staying healthy can be a challenge at any age. Eating well, sleeping well, moving, and socializing are all part of what it takes not only to live well but also to enjoy life to the fullest. As we do, we will find ourselves better able to serve the Lord and serve others as He needs us.
The author lives in Utah.