My grandfather lived to 91 and never formally exercised in his life. Never went to a gym, ran a mile, lifted weights, any of that. He also ate a diet heavy in salty, smoked foods and processed meats (he was born in 1905 in Europe, came to the U.S. in around 1920, and continued to eat the Eastern European foods he’d grown up with - I enjoyed many a meal with him).
Genetics may have helped him, and the fact that he was a pharmacist (lots of standing), but I get the feeling it was all the walking he did. The man only owned a car very briefly in the 1950s, and lived in the heart of Manhattan from the 1920s to the 1990s. He walked and took the subway everywhere. Even in his 80s, he’d walk 20 blocks to a museum.
Speaking of which, he always kept his mind engaged, as well. When he earned a master’s in literature from a local university at age 85, he was written up in the newspaper as the oldest person ever to earn a master’s degree from that university.
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