You can still do stairs. The lift is just right there, and your knee’s been a bit funny since winter.
Nobody decides to become less capable. It happens in small trades like that. The heavier shopping bag goes to someone else. Getting down on the floor with the grandkids becomes something you’d rather skip. Each choice makes sense on its own. Add them up over ten years and your world gets smaller.
In January 2026, researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health published a study in BMJ Medicine that followed more than 111,000 nurses and health professionals for over three decades.[1] Every few years, participants reported how they moved: walking, running, cycling, swimming, strength training, yoga, gardening, stair climbing.
More exercise was linked to a longer life. No surprises there. The interesting part was variety. People who did the widest mix of activities had a 19% lower risk of dying during the study than those who did the narrowest mix, and that held even when total exercise time was the same.
A quick reality check. This is an observational study of American health professionals. It shows a strong pattern, not proof that taking up a fourth activity buys you extra years. But the pattern matches what we see in clinic every week.
Each type of movement asks your body for something different. Walking and cycling work your heart and lungs. Strength work holds on to muscle and bone. Balance work trains the quick reactions that catch you when the footpath dips. Mobility keeps you able to look over your shoulder when you reverse out of the driveway.
Do only one and the others quietly fade. We regularly see keen walkers who struggle to get up off the floor, and gym regulars who wobble standing on one leg.
Australia’s guidelines already point this way. Between 55 and 64, they ask for 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate activity a week, plus strength work on at least two days. From 65, they add balance and flexibility and ask for a range of activities.[2] Don’t wait for that birthday. Your late 50s are the best time to build the strength and balance you’ll be leaning on at 75.
Our team run classes with a strength, fitness and balance focus at most of our clinics. This image is from our Caringbah classes.
For most people, that’s balance. It’s also the one that matters most when things go wrong. A Cochrane review of 108 trials found exercise reduced the rate of falls in older people by 23%, with balance and functional exercises doing much of the work.[3] The effect was larger when the program was run by a health professional, usually a physio.[4]
So try this for a week. At the end of each day, count how many different ways you moved. Did you walk? Carry something heavy? Stand on one leg while the kettle boiled? Get down to the floor and back up? Next week, add one more.
If something’s holding you back, like a sore knee, a dodgy ankle, or a fear of falling you haven’t mentioned to anyone, come and see us. We’ll help you build a mix that suits your body, so the stairs stay an option for a long time yet.
