Linda Aquino, 80, is a living, breathing example that it pays to stay active even in old age. She never tires of sharing with those who care to listen her four-pronged approach to good health: physical, spiritual, mental and social.

With husband Toto, 85, Linda is a regular in the gym of Palms Country Club in Alabang, where almost everyone calls her “tita.” Without being asked, the octogenarian isn’t shy to point out to friends that she’s being interviewed by Inquirer Lifestyle on her fitness regimen.

“I’m not being proud or anything,” she says, “but all of them are inspired by my dedication. And I never tire of encouraging and giving them advice.”

Linda easily looks a decade younger than her actual age, thanks to her good posture, short, dyed hair and cheery disposition. It’s hard to imagine that in her early 60s, she was diagnosed with mild osteoporosis, which prompted her to go on a high-calcium diet and to include weight training in her fitness regimen.

She and her husband have been going regularly to the gym since they moved eight years ago to the south from their old home in Manila, near St. Scholastica’s College, where she earned a Music degree, major in piano.

“I was influenced by my Dutch son-in-law, who’s a member of Palms,” she says. “My husband used to drive me to the gym before he got hooked himself. Since he’s a diabetic, he also needs to keep fit.”

Clean living

She credits regular weight training and huge servings of “calcium-rich” malunggay for keeping her osteoporosis at bay. Apart from taking simvastatin regularly to “counteract the cheese,” Linda is virtually free from any major age-related ailment, including diabetes, high blood pressure and gout. She attributes this to clean living and an active lifestyle.

She eats or takes everything in moderation, including, surprisingly enough, coffee and a piece of chocolate before she turns in at night. She has a weakness for wine and cheese, the influence perhaps of her half-German mother.

“But I also love native veggies like kangkong, saluyot, alugbate, okra and ampalaya. After all, I’m part Ilocano, too, from my father’s side. I also love fruits except those on the sour side. Although banana isn’t exactly my favorite, I try to force myself to eat it because it’s a rich source of vitamins.”

Moderation

After giving birth to five children (four girls and a boy), all of whom are professionals and married, Linda had to undergo hysterectomy several decades ago. Other than that, she says, she hasn’t had any major health problems.

“I don’t believe in restricting myself when it comes to food,” she says. “There’s really no such thing as bawal as long as you exercise and eat in moderation. I also make it a point to get at least eight hours of sleep. It’s a must.”

Linda and Toto try to go to the gym at least four times a week. She spends at least an hour cross-training, hitting either the treadmill or the elliptical before doing weights.

During this interview, for instance, a perspiring Linda had to dismount the elliptical, which she had been doing for almost 20 minutes or so, to share her thoughts with us.

Apart from dumbbells, her go-to machines for weight training are pull downs, leg presses and, as Linda describes it, “leg kicks.” She does up to 20 repetitions of each machine using various weights.

And no matter how tired or worked up she is, she never forgets to cool down after every session with a series of stretching exercises.

Other commitments

If she could have it her way, she wants to squeeze one more day into her fitness program, but her other commitments to her husband and their friends prevent her.

“I have to accompany my husband to the doctor for regular check-ups,” she explains. “We also look forward to informal dinners and get-togethers with friends, especially those who need company. No matter how old you are, you need to be socially active and aware of what’s happening around you.”

Linda also uses such gatherings to share her experience on health and life in general. She has a friend, she says, who was recently widowed and suffering from bad knees. To keep her from feeling depressed, Linda regularly visits her.

“I go to the extent of picking up friends who don’t have cars so we could all attend parties,” she says. “I always tell them that even if they walk with a cane, they have to keep moving even while at home.”

When it comes to spiritual matters, Linda, a devout Catholic, goes to Mass with husband Toto on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. She keeps mentally alert by watching the news and reading up on current events, including the latest trends in health.

Teaching the piano on occasion and interacting with her students also keep her mentally and socially active, she adds.

Active person

Even before going regularly to the gym, Linda has always considered herself an active person. When she was taking up her master’s degree in music pedagogy at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in the early ’50s, she tried skiing, riding a toboggan and even tandem biking with a cousin.

“I’m not afraid to try anything new,” she says. “When I was a bit younger, I was also poised to take up tennis, but I was advised by my piano teachers not to because it might ruin my hand.”

Before running became a fad, Linda used to walk regularly for at least an hour at the sprawling Ann Arbor campus. It was also there where she met Toto, a civil engineering graduate from the University of the Philippines, who was pursuing master’s degree in wood technology.

Now blessed with nine grandchildren, one of whom recently finished college, they still take long walks. This time, however, they do it either together or individually on the treadmill.