They’re not slowing down. They’re living life to the fullest.
At 80, Smyrna resident Kay Braswell is still lacing up her hiking boots and setting out on adventures around the world. Across town in Buckhead, 70-year-old Scott Toberman spends five days a week chasing pickleballs across the court, often competing against opponents decades younger.
Neither claims to have discovered the fountain of youth. They’ve simply found what keeps them moving — staying active, curious and engaged.
Doctors say Braswell and Toberman share a trait common among older adults who remain healthy and independent well into their later years.
“It’s usually some type of lifetime dedication to staying active,” said Connor O’Sullivan, a sports medicine physician at Wellstar Orthopedics & Sports Medicine in Marietta and one of Toberman’s doctors.
O’Sullivan frequently reminds his patients to remember two popular mantras: “Sitting is the new smoking” and “Motion is the lotion.” His goal isn’t to turn everyone into a competitive pickleball player or mountain climber as they age. It’s simply to keep people moving.
Many older adults are staying active through walking, jogging or taking yoga and exercise classes. But researchers say too many are still falling short. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that fewer than 15% of older Americans are getting the recommended amount of both aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercise needed to support health and independence.
For Braswell, the winning combination has always been travel and the outdoors, two of her greatest joys.
The retired Cobb County teacher, who later served as director of dual enrollment at Chattahoochee Technical College, celebrated her 70th birthday by hiking Peru’s famed Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. This year, she celebrated turning 80 with a trip to Italy, where she climbed the Leaning Tower of Pisa and hiked four of the five Cinque Terre trails. Her next adventure is already planned: a hiking trip to Spain later this year with her great-niece.
“I like to be outdoors, and I like being active,” Braswell said. “I think that’s what has kept me healthy over the years.”
And staying active isn’t complicated. It’s about moving, getting outside and enjoying life.
“As long as you are outside working in the garden or walking, I think that’s your medicine to life.”
Toberman, a former real estate developer in the United States and France, stays fit by playing pickleball nearly every day, usually for two hours at a time, along with water and snow skiing.
An athlete throughout his life, Toberman earned a tennis scholarship to college and spent years playing competitive squash. Two years ago, his son introduced him to pickleball, a sport that has surged in popularity among older adults because it combines social connection with a relatively low-impact workout that can help improve balance, coordination and cardiovascular fitness.
“I got instantaneously hooked,” he said.
For Toberman, pickleball is about more than staying fit. It’s a mix of cardio, friendly competition and a chance to spend time with people from every imaginable profession and age group.
One misconception bothers him: the idea that aging and slowing down go hand in hand.
“It’s not ability; it’s a choice,” he said.
O’Sullivan cautions that genetics always play a role in how people age, but lifestyle matters, too.
“It’s a balance,” he said. “It’s environment versus your genetics.”
Among his active older patients, he typically sees fewer chronic medical conditions, healthier weights, less heart disease and greater independence.
He also points to another benefit: the friendships that come with staying active. Games such as pickleball and activities like walking groups get people out of the house, combat isolation and keep both the body and mind engaged, O’Sullivan explained.
Braswell knows there may come a day when she can’t be as active as she’d like. In July, she ran the Peachtree Road Race for the last time.
“My mind says, yes, do the Peachtree,” she said. “But Lord, this year it took me almost two hours. That was my swan song.”
Still, she isn’t done exploring.
“I still enjoy it,” she said. “It will be a sad day when I can’t travel. But for now, I’m living the life.”