\u2018I am instead going to prepare for the future with relish.\u2019<\/p>\n
‘Old people should be encouraged to jump about as much as possible’<\/p>\n
While Sheila has faced several health battles, including cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, she\u2019s previously shared that she has always tried to maintain her fitness \u2013 even when she hasn\u2019t felt her best.<\/p>\n
\u2018I am fit, but I work at it. It doesn\u2019t come easily. It\u2019s not natural,\u2019 she told<\/a> The Guardian a few years ago, adding that physiotherapy and weight training<\/a> had been helping her recover from several injuries.<\/p>\n Sheila didn\u2019t start lifting weights until she was in her 80s, previously telling<\/a> Good Housekeeping that she\u2019d become \u2018addicted\u2019 to this type of training after it helped her reverse muscle decline.<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019ve been weight lifting. I love it. I\u2019ve never done weights before. I always go to the gym but I usually do cardio<\/a>,\u2019 she shared. \u2018I started going to the gym to get fit for a movie about climbing a mountain, which we filmed for two months solid, and now I\u2019m addicted to it. This year I got a personal trainer and he got me into lifting weights.\u2019<\/p>\n Speaking on Katherine Ryan\u2019s What\u2019s My Age Again? podcast last year, Sheila \u2013 whose biological age was a reported 20 years younger than her actual age of 93 \u2013 shared an insight into the exercise routine that\u2019s helping her continue to move well. She revealed that she had recently returned to the gym after some time away.<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019m starting at the gym again. I’ve not been going to the gym and my legs are getting a bit feeble so I need to do some of those pushy exercises.\u2019<\/p>\n Why lower-body strength matters as you age<\/p>\n Interestingly, while lower-body strength helps keep us independent by reducing fall risk and allowing us to move freely, a growing body of research has also found associations between leg strength and cognitive health.<\/p>\n One study<\/a> found that older adults with greater leg strength had 34% lower odds of low cognitive function than those with weaker legs.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a 10-year study<\/a> of more than 300 twin sisters reported \u2018a striking protective relationship\u2019 between leg power and cognition. The sister with greater leg power at the start of the study maintained her cognitive function more effectively and showed fewer age-related brain changes over the following decade.<\/p>\n While the exact mechanisms behind this association remain unclear, scientists have suggested that stronger muscles may improve blood flow to the brain, resistance training may influence nervous system function, and lower-body strength can help preserve walking speed and mobility \u2013 both of which have been associated with a lower risk of dementia<\/a>.<\/p>\n 3 simple lower-body exercises you can do at home<\/p>\n By \u2018pushy exercises\u2019, we assume Sheila is referring to the leg press machine<\/a>, which is a great option. But you don\u2019t need a gym to work on your lower-body strength.<\/p>\n Want to train like Liz Earle<\/a>?![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/1793925132_712_poster.jpg\")
Stand with your feet about hip-width apart. Toes can point slightly out if that feels natural.With your ribcage stacked over your pelvis, send your hips back and bend your knees \u2013 as if sitting onto a chair behind you.Keep your chest relaxed and upright as you lower to a comfortable, pain-free depth.Push the floor away through your whole foot to return to standing.![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/1793925133_466_poster.jpg\")
Lean against a stable wall or flat surface, then engage your core as you slide down into a squat position, keeping your back firmly against the wall and ensuring your spine makes contact from the bottom of your neck all the way down to your pelvis.Walk your feet out until you achieve a 90-degree angle in your knees and hold. Your arms can be out to the side, left to rest on your thighs or, for more of a challenge, extended out at chest height.![\"Image](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/1793925134_846_poster.jpg\")
Start standing with your feet about hip-width apart and your hands by your sides.Take a big step forwards with your right foot and bend at the knee until both knees form 90-degree angles.Press down into your right heel to push back to the starting position.![\"liz](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/d7e26241-8af9-4db4-8625-d17583ad1633.jpg\" "\\"liz")
<\/a><\/p>\n
Her PT, Michael Garry<\/a> has created a 4-week training plan exclusively for members of the WH COLLECTIVE. It’s designed to remove one of the biggest barriers to fitness: time. You’ll train for just 35 minutes three times a week \u2013 Liz’s exact strategy to build muscle, boost metabolism and support long-term health. Tap the link below to unlock 14 free days of training and start Liz’s plan today.<\/p>\n
![\"Headshot](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/1793925136_345_fa516e85-7a01-4f77-ab15-ee65499e8023_1741102454.file.png\" "\\"Headshot")
<\/p>\n