Biceps and Bingo Wings

Fitness doesn’t always hold back ageing.

Photo by The Cleveland Museum of Art on Unsplash

Just before I go any further — if you don’t know the term Bingo Wings, they are the flaps of loose skin that hang below your arms after a certain age, hence the reference to older women playing bingo. It is an affectionate and humorous term — not an insult.

I am fit for a seventy-year-old. My GP recently told me I have the stats of a thirty-year-old, no cholesterol problem, still low blood pressure, and a weight that is considered very healthy for my height.

For fun:

I take a ballet class every Friday except holidays (excellent for balance and ankle, knee, and leg strength, postponing falling tendencies, improving posture).

I sea-swim as often as I’m able — usually 2–4 times a week, even in winter when it is 6 C, (excellent for pain relief, anti-inflammatory, immune system boosting, and general flexibility and resilience).

My husband and I go for long, hilly, aerobic walks, again when we can, (excellent for leg and core strength and general cardio fitness).

I do all these all year round. I have a physical need to be active all the time or as much of it as my energy can muster — related to my late diagnosis of ADHD.