It's Never Too Late to Start Exercising

He's an 84-year-old diabetic with one lung that doesn't work.

She's his 84-year-old wife, a survivor of a nearly fatal aortic aneurysm.

About a dozen years ago, they stared old age in the face and made a decision. Instead of letting themselves go, they would get themselves going.

So, Stanley and Josephine Ewasiuk of Clearing, Ill., started attending exercise classes and walking in the park across the street from their house. Bit by bit, they got stronger.

Stanley couldn't climb three steps without breathing heavily before he started working out. "Today, I can climb a couple of dozen stairs, no problem," he said.

After the surgery that saved her life, Josephine had to learn how to raise her right arm and maintain a sense of balance. "If you do something every day, it's going to help," she said, referring to her exercises.

Every Friday, they go to yoga; Tuesday and Thursday, they're off to a 45-minute exercise class at the Brookfield YMCA. In between are long walks in Chicago's Hale Park at least twice a week.

"It helps my breathing, it keeps my blood sugar down, and I'm not taking as much medication," said Stanley, whose diabetes has stabilized. "I can still work all day, when I want to. I feel like a kid yet."

What's aided the Ewasiuks can help anyone 65 or older, no matter how frail they may appear to be.

"All of the studies done so far indicate that it's never too late to start exercising, and any amount of exercise is beneficial," said Kelvin Davies, associate dean of the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California.

"We do lose strength and capacity as we age," Davies said. "But by and large, the biggest losses are those that you see from people being inactive."