The Septuagenarian Shuffle

A meaning of shuffle as a verb is to walk by dragging one's feet along or without lifting them fully from the ground. That's kind of what I've been lately as a form of exercise and, given that I'm almost 73 years of age, the term septuagenarian shuffle seems appropriate.

Why am I doing this? Well, sometimes the weather outside is too hot or it's raining and even if I do go for a walk, the environment through which I'm walking is none too salubrious. My alternative solution has been to put on my wireless earbuds and listen to music while shuffling about inside the house. The first tried it for 30 minutes and this morning I managed 45 minutes. 

Of course there's plenty of shuffle music out there that one can shuffle to but it's a little too energetic for someone of my age. I just listen to one of YouTube Music playlists and today I was listening to a playlist that I'd compiled in July of 2019, consisting mainly of fairly sedate songs.

It's not that I couldn't work my up to incorporating some shuffle moves, there are plenty of tutorials on how to master the moves. The following video tutorial has attracted over 16 million views since it was first put up in January of 2017.

The key point is that exercise needs to be simple and executable at any time or place. It shouldn't require specialised equipment. The shuffle is ideal in this regard. It's better when done to music but that's not absolutely necessary. Although I've started out with a slow shuffle of 30 to 45 minutes, there's no reason not to try faster movements that are the length of just a single song like the a-ha video above.

Here is a video of a 70 year old dancing with his granddaughter.

The story accompanying the video is as follows:

Shuffle dancing is becoming a very popular trend across China. The dance originally started in Australia back in the 1980s. Named “The Melbourne Shuffle”, the dance is becoming a modern type of square dance and is turning out to be a popular exercise/weight loss routine for many elderly and middle-age people in China.

Not only is this dance a brilliant form of exercise, but it’s also bringing people of different generations together. Videos have been popping up on social media platforms including TikTok (mainly a younger user base) sharing videos of themselves shuffle dancing with their parents and even grandparents – many of which have gone viral.

The story continues here.