Bungalow legs.

Saggi, that is quite a contrast between you. My DH has talked about a stair lift, but I have not encouraged the idea for the same reasons as you., though for him it is the “wobbles” on the stairs that led to the idea. He does less and less, and I do think it is a case of use it or lose it. After I have been sitting in my little “ study” upstairs for a while, my knees get very stiff, so I come downstairs one at a time until they unstiffen.

Is it the actual stairs which are important or just getting some exercise?
My NZ DS and DDiL live on one level but on the top of a steep hill. She has painful knees and is only 40 something.
I live on 3 floors but I now have a loo and a hoover on every level so I am not constantly running up or down
Perhaps I should be happy with this as it's saving certain disintegration.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9xsYEzYNrE

This guy is great and there are lots of other helpful videos to improve fitness for seniors. :0)

I now live in an apartment on the second floor.
I lived in a house and fortunately never had a problem with stairs. There’s a lift up to my apartment but I do try and take stairs as much as possible.

My mother lived in a house with steep narrow stairs. She always said if the stairs became too much she'd move her bed downstairs and live on one level as the bathroom was downstairs. After her last admission to hospital, social services wouldn't let her go home unless she agreed to live on the ground floor. When that happened she finally agreed to move into sheltered housing, something we'd been trying to persuade her to do for years.

I'm currently planning to move and my ideal home would be a dormer bungalow. I'd like to have a bedroom on the ground floor but 2 upstairs. They would be used for guests but one would be a craft room so I'd go up there regularly.

I spend a lot of time sitting but try to move frequently and I exercise my legs by opening and closing my manual recliner chair. It takes a bit of force and I can do about 30 repeats before it hurts or I'm out of breath. It is a good way of exercising when it's too hot to go for a walk or in the winter when it's too cold or wet! I'm not sure if it is the same leg muscles I need for stairs but it certainly gets the blood pumping so must be beneficial.

I have to do that. My stairs are very steep so I crawl up and crawl down backwards.

My father lived in a bungalow for many years yet had no trouble in climbing stairs when he visited us in our 3 storey house. He died of cancer aged 93, heart and joints still good.
Friends who've lived in Australia for many years and have a single level property equally have no trouble with the stairs when they visit us.
I on the other hand have osteoarthritis, mainly affecting my hip joints and for many years have needed a wall or preferably a handrail when going up or down stairs even though fit enough to walk some miles.
Now after 1 THR and needing another, I find stairs challenging but can walk up and down using the bannisters for support. I have had handrails fitted to the very steep patio steps so that I can get into and enjoy the garden and again I can get up and down although it is a bit of struggle.
I'd say that if you're lucky enough to not have joint (or other) issues, stairs won't be a problem even if your home is single story. If you have mobility issues, then stairs will be a challenge, even if you have plenty of them to 'practice' on!

How interesting. Never heard of this. All the people I know who sold their houses to buy bungalows did so because they had increasing mobility and knee/hip issues.

Most houses in NZ are bungalows and I'm loosing muscle tone in my thighs really fast. I'm going to have to do something about it as when I stand up from sitting my thighs ache like mad.

My parents too moved to a house when they retired that had the entire living space on the ground floor and a loft that my mother turned into a sewing-room, so she could get away from television! It was too cold to use in the winter, as she was too mean to heat it, so come the first spring, she no longer could readily go up and down stairs.

We in our turn moved to a house with stairs, so we both still manage them, but DH due to poor health spent far too much time during the day sitting on his sofa, and is now working hard to regain, not his ability to manage stairs but to walk 500 yards on the flat.

So yes, bungalow legs is a thing, but having a house with stairs is no guarantee that other forms of motion will remain possible. Even if you have no health problems, it seems to be a case of "use it, or loose it" as we age.

Kircubbin, I hope you can get help with your hip, and please do check with your doctor or a physiotherapist which excercises you can do, and which you should not do.

Grantanow

I think stairs are good exercise and I wouldn't put in a stairlift or lift until I was sure I couldn't manage them. No bungalow for me. I prefer the space of a house.

We moved from a bungalow to a house...we had to give furniture away before the move and more after...not all bungalows are tiny! In fact we have decided to move into a bungalow again on our next move.

We bought our bungalow when we were in our mid 40s mainly because of my breathing problems.
As it has a steep drive and steps up the garden my legs still work. Although I do have a bad hip. I think that bungalow, house or flat if you have a problem with mobility you are going to struggle wherever you live

After a few years in a ground floor flat we moved to a 4 story terraced house. We are a great deal fitter tbh but think it'll not be that long before we move on again, 2-4years and we'll be looking at bungalows I expect. I loved living on one floor, but it can affect your ability to run up and down stairs..

Interesting point! We’re thinking about moving when DH retires, and I’ve been wondering about a bungalow. I can pull myself up the stairs by using the banister, but the problem I have is going up and down the stairs when I am carrying things. I’d rather struggle with the stairs than lose mobility!

I haven't lived in a house with stairs since 2003, I can manage some stairs in some places with ease but really steep shallow stairs are tricky. I prefer single storey living less walking about and no need for two vacuum cleaners.

I have bungalow legs/knees although we don't live in a bungalow. With arthritis in both knees and being very overweight I climb stairs with discomfort but it has to be done! Actually, coming down the stairs with dodgy knees is worse than going up. However, because I go to yoga class I can still get myself up from the floor without needing to hold on to anything. At nearly 76 I suppose this is a positive!

My husband wanted to have a stairlift installed 15 years ago ( we’ve now had two) …against my wishes as I thought this pampering himself was bad for him . I’ve never once used it …. Nor will I ….even though I’ve had two strokes. I can still go upstairs at 72 …two at a time , and run up them….his fitness has gone from bad to worse, and now he’s heading for full time care. He’s pampered himself into being immobile . So be it… now he is! Stay as mobile and fit as long as you can…. and before anyone says anything… I’ve had two strokes…… I have four prolapsed discs in lower spine…. arthritis in left hip/knee/and hand! I refuse to give up my independence to it all!

We also moved to a bungalow nearly 6 years ago , our previous house was a townhouse with 37 stairs, the bathroom was on the second floor and the bedroom on the top floor. After we moved we really missed having stairs to start with and l do really believe they keep you fitter but like most of you we just seek out steps/stairs and climb up them. So far so good!

When 62 years old looking for a new area to move to found myself looking at bungalows. Only one didn't give me the feeling I had aged 20 years overnight. I think that was because the property was very big and situated at the top of a hill. Bought a house with an upstairs.

I can manage my own stairs as it has good banisters and a decent tread but I find it very difficult in some friends' homes - so very steep and little to hold on to. For me going up isn't too bad - just slow, it's the coming down that's the scary bit. Downstairs loos are so very welcoming!!!!

My parents moved to a bungalow in their 60s and by the time they were in their early 80s had great difficulty managing any sort of stairs. Dad doesn’t stay at my house because I have a three story Victorian terrace with many stairs and a loo on the first floor. Also have an outside loo in the washroom but he doesn’t like that either.

Different opinions here.... My GP mentioned 'bungalow legs' when I mused about the possibility of moving into a flat (have decided to stay put in a two-floored house) and said that many older people do lose their fitness in a flat or bungalow.

Anecdotal, I know but I have a 92-year old cousin who swears that his longevity is due to the fact that his only loo is on the first floor and he therefore has to negotiate his stairs several times a day (I would be up and down all day long!).

It does stand to reason that if one's quadriceps are not used, they will atrophy as time passes.

If one-floor living is necessary, it's necessary but otherwise, keep those quads moving!

I’m 64 and live in a 3 storey house (no choice, social housing) and my living room is on the first floor with my bedroom on the 2nd, so I am up and down stairs all the time. I do have arthritis, back problems and a replacement knee but I make myself do stairs to keep my mobility even though it hurts a lot sometimes. I work from home quite a bit and sit in my ground floor kitchen and I have kept the printer on the 1st floor to make me move. I do worry about declining mobility so try and keep going - I’m a great believer in ‘use it or lose it’.

We moved to a bungalow 2 years ago, not necessarily by choice, but the area and price suited us. Have to say I still miss going 'upstairs' to bed, but of course there are many pluses...cleaning stairs was always a nightmare and it is altogether easier to manage a bungalow (window cleaning etc.). When visiting family or friends (who all have houses) I have no problem with stairs though....and try to keep fit by walking etc and taking stairs whenever possible. :-)

I'm in a bungalow and I did find it strange at first not having stairs to climb, but I'm still active with my dog walking, etc so maybe that helps. I think as I get older I'll be glad of everything being on the same level. I'm actually the youngest in our road at present, all you see is mobility scooters flying up and down it.
My mum had 2 knee replacements and it was awful watching her climb stairs at times, but she wouldn't move from her house. The summer was great when she went to stay at her caravan and she had everything on the one level then.