When my grandmother, Ethel, turned 90, some of my relatives suggested that the little birthday party I was organising for her should be held in the afternoon. After all, at 90, surely an evening celebration would be too much for her?
Er, no! 
After the conservative family members had vanished for bed, I took Ethel nightclubbing.
She danced all night and the hard part wasn’t keeping her awake – it was persuading her to leave the club.
That, to me, is longevity.
I’m not particularly interested in living to 100 simply for the bragging rights. I want to live well for as long as possible. I want to travel, carry my own suitcase, walk for miles, dance when I feel like it and get myself up from the floor without requiring assistance – or strategically positioned furniture.
Interestingly, some surprisingly simple physical abilities may give us clues about how well we’re ageing.

Have a go…
Sit on a chair and stand up without using your hands. Easy? Now try doing it several times.
Next, stand on one leg. Position yourself near something you can grab hold of – I don’t want to be responsible for anyone ending up in A&E!

What about your grip? Can you open a stubborn jar, carry heavy shopping bags or confidently pick up something weighty?
And how quickly do you walk? Not when you’re window-shopping, but when you’ve actually got somewhere to be.
Research has linked abilities such as grip strength, balance, walking speed, and getting up from a chair to health and longevity.
And here’s the encouraging bit: we can work on all of them.

Muscle really matters
We naturally lose muscle mass as we age, but that doesn’t mean we should wave goodbye to it.
Strength helps us do all those wonderfully ordinary things we barely think about – climbing stairs, carrying shopping, getting out of the bath, lifting a suitcase and, as Ethel demonstrated rather spectacularly, dancing until closing time.
And before you start imagining enormous dumbbells and bodybuilders grunting in a gym, strength training can be incredibly simple: squats, getting up and down from a chair, wall press-ups, resistance bands, gardening and carrying shopping all count.

Practise your balance while brushing your teeth or waiting for the kettle to boil. Walk whenever you can. Take the stairs. Put some music on and dance around the kitchen. Exercise doesn’t have to happen in a gym to count.

What does the science say?
A large 2026 study involving more than 147,000 adults found that around 90-120 minutes of strength training a week was associated with a 13% lower risk of death from any cause, compared with doing none. Combining strength training with aerobic exercise was associated with even greater benefits.
So perhaps we need to stop thinking about ageing purely in terms of wrinkles, grey hair and whether we still fit into the jeans we wore at 30.
A much better question might be: What do I want my body to still be able to do at 70, 80, or 90? My grandmother Ethel knew the answer.
And if I make it to 90, I don’t just want to be invited to the afternoon party. I want to be the one they can’t get out of the nightclub!

Sarah Maxwell is a multi-award winning Lifestyle Wellbeing and Fitness coach. You can find her at sarahmaxwell.com 
Get in touch via email at sarahmaxwell@mail.com 
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