This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Peng Lin Hua, an 86-year-old retiree in Singapore. It has been translated from Mandarin and edited for length and clarity.
Before I retired, I taught physics at a secondary school in China. While working as a teacher, I met my wife at an event. She was a chemistry teacher, and we hit it off right away.
We were as active as the students we taught, spending our free time playing badminton, basketball, volleyball, and table tennis.
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In my 50s, I began practicing headstands after learning about the exercise from a Taiwanese health guru. I was already fit, but I was looking for a way to build strength and stave off aging-related illnesses.
Retirement didn’t slow us down. My wife and I kept playing sports, and I continued long-distance running.
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Most days, I wake up at 5:30 a.m., blend fresh apples into a puree, and have it before heading downstairs with my wife to exercise. We begin with a walk and gradually pick up the pace, incorporating light exercises like stretching along the way.
In the afternoons, at home, I like to sing with my wife. She plays the violin and the erhu, a traditional Chinese two-stringed bowed instrument.
Before I turned 65, I went running every morning. After that, my heart could no longer handle the strain, so I stopped and switched to brisk walking instead.
After that, I focus on building my core and upper-body strength with a series of exercises on the horizontal and parallel bars. I finish off my routine by doing headstands with my wife.
About 20 years ago, my wife and I began traveling regularly to Singapore to visit our daughter, who lives here with her family, and to spend time with our grandchild.
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Our granddaughter has since graduated from university and no longer needs looking after, which means we are free to head out for walks and explore on our own.
About 10 years ago, I was exercising at a fitness corner, doing pull-ups and dips on the bars, when a man approached me and struck up a conversation. He joined me for my workout, and we got to know each other.
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He told me he was part of a fitness group for older adults and encouraged me to join. That was how I became a member of Team Strong Silvers. We are a group of older adults committed to keeping our bodies strong as we age.
A lot of people don’t expect us to move the way we do, so we’re sometimes invited to healthy-aging workshops and exercise sessions to demonstrate our workouts and inspire fellow seniors to keep moving.
Now, my wife and I split our time between the two countries, typically spending half the year in Singapore during China’s colder autumn and winter months, and returning to China in the spring and summer.
Staying active has spared me many of the aches and fatigue that often trouble older travelers. I rarely feel stiff on long flights or worn out after a full day of walking, and I credit years of regular exercise for that resilience.
