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What's stopping us from exercising in older age?

James Gallagher meets an 80-year-old athlete, tries out an ageing suit and meets a team of sports scientists as he tries to understand what holds us back from exercise as we age.

Exercise in older age is high on the agenda, but the idea that with age comes bags of time and a desire to ‘get out there’ isn’t true for a lot of us. How do you juggle exercise around caring for partners, grandchildren or staying in work? What if you haven’t exercised for years? What can your body take, and how has it changed with age? James Gallagher hears how octogenarian athlete ‘Irongran’ keeps going, he explores the mental and physical barriers that stop us exercising, and he finds out what he might feel like in 40 years as he pulls on an ageing suit.

Presenter: James Gallagher

Guests:
Edwina Brocklesby, athete and founder of SilverFit
Dr Dan Gordon, Associate Professor in Cardiorespiratory Exercise Physiology, Anglia Ruskin University
Dr Katrina McDonald, judo specialist and Senior Lecturer in Sports and Exercise Sciences at Anglia Ruskin University
Dr Josephine Perry, sports psychologist and founder of Performance in Mind
Professor Cassandra Phoenix, Department of Sports and Exercise Sciences at the University of Durham
Dr Dharani Yerrakalva, GP and NIHR Doctoral Fellow at the University of Cambridge

Producer: Tom Bonnett

Available now

28 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Tue 17 Oct 2023 21:00
  • Wed 18 Oct 2023 15:30

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