Whether it’s a brisk walk, pool aerobics or an hour of yoga, physical activity is good for your brain.
New groundbreaking research shows that any form of exercise can significantly boost brain function and memory across all ages, and that’s great news for older adults who often worry about cognitive decline and losing their mental edge.
If you want to keep sharp, keep moving.
Margie Goldsmith can attest to that! The amazing 81-year-old globetrotter credits her longevity and mental sharpness to exercising and experiential adventuring – she is regularly on the move as a fulltime travel writer and fitness enthusiast.
“Working out has saved my life – it’s kept aging at bay and keeps me young and able to work which I love,” says Margie, who survived cancer three times she is sure because she’s active. The badass senior cycles, boxes, lifts weights, walks and she’ll be back to hiking as soon as her knee replacement heals.
Amazing adventurer Margie Goldsmith rides a camel in Oman, a country bordering the Arabian Sea.
“Exercise keeps me uplifted whether at home or on the road. When I travel, I always look for activities to do such as kayaking or walking or biking,” says Margie, who just returned to her NYC apartment from a travel assignment to an out-of-this-world posh castle in Ireland, complete with outrageous spa treatments and a seaweed bath.
Margie’s thrilling adventures have taken her to 150 countries on seven continents. She has hiked, biked, paddled, climbed, run marathons, done triathlons, scuba dived, ziplined, upside-down rappelled (deepelled), and test-driven million dollar supercars. She participated in an Olympic-distance triathlon in Cuba, climbed to Advanced Base Camp on Mt Everest, and taught blues harmonica to Pygmies in Uganda and tribesmen of Papua New Guinea.
“I love every place I go, they are like my children, though I am partial to Southeast Asia because the cultures there are so unique,” says Margie, who has no plans to retire.
The award-winning travel writer – 101 awards and counting – has penned more than 1,000 articles, appearing in the likes of Travel + Leisure, Business Jet Traveler, National Geographic Traveler, Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and The Globe and Mail. She has also profiled celebrities including Francis Ford Coppola, Sean Penn, Harry Connick Jr., Sir Richard Branson, and David Copperfield.
Fitness and traveling help keep senior Margie Goldsmith agile, healthy and sharp. Here she sits in front of an iceberg in Greenland.
All truly magical! Next on the lifelong learner’s to-see list – a cruise to see the fjords of Norway, along with “upping her game” as she puts it. Margie is working on being a better blues harmonica player and publishing her memoir, Becoming a Badass: From Fearful to Fierce, this fall. The singer/songwriter released Margie Goldsmith & Friends, Part 1 and Part 2, available on Spotify and Apple Music. She jams in New York City blues clubs every week.
Research shows that Margie’s healthy practices – being active, learning new things, appreciating nature, and socializing – are powerful tools for slowing down the aging process, and it’s no surprise that further research reports that travel positively impacts health and wellbeing.
“Travel gives you a more active life, an interesting life. Being active, meeting people and exotic places and exciting experiences feed my soul,” says Margie. “Without all the travel, I would be a much less knowledgeable person about the world, and I would have much less joy. My stories wouldn’t be as rich and meaningful.”
Being active and curious has equipped her with the strength, resilience and resolve to face major health setbacks. Incredibly, Margie has cheated death three times, including pancreatic cancer twice and lung cancer too. Her pancreas, spleen, gall bladder and part of her lung have been removed.
“In 2014, I had a Whipple, a very dangerous procedure to remove a small cancer cell in the head of the pancreas, an operation from which many die. This was followed by chemotherapy.
“Two years later, another cancer cell appeared in my pancreas so they did a pancreatectomy and splenectomy in which they removed my entire pancreas and spleen. It turned me into a type 1 diabetic. A year later, they found a small cancer cell in my lung and as it was an impossible place to cut into, they removed most of the lower right lobe of my lung.”
That’s not all. Since then she had two ulcer bleeds, a laminectomy, a total knee replacement in January 2024, and endless trips to the ER. “I have been in the hospital 18 times and have had countless ambulance rides since 2014,” Margie says.
Her suitcases are packed and she’s also hell-bent on hiking again. Knee replacement be damned. No time for a pity party, or to succumb to old-people stereotypes! “You’re never too old for life-changing experiences and to feel alive.” Don’t wait for someone to travel with, or you’ll be left waiting a lifetime and have gone nowhere.
At 81 years old, Margie Goldsmith works full-time as a travel writer – her adventures include glacier hiking in Antarctica.
“If you’re scared to travel, as I was at first, just take a deep breath and go anyway. Go everywhere. Go where you don’t speak the language, where you’re out of your comfort zone.”
Goldsmith has places to go, new experiences to write about, and lots more learning and living to do. “There is nothing which enriches a life like travel, and I plan to continue to explore new places until I die.” She recently returned from Sicily where took on Mt. Etna by bike and hike, and visited a centuries-old Roman amphitheater where gladiators once fought.
Also in the works is a trip to a Caribbean island called St. Eustatius. “I will climb the volcano called The Quill down into the crater. Inside the crater is a dark forest filled with orchids and other tropical vegetation. I will also snorkel and ponder the history of St. Eustatius which, from the first European settlement in the 17th century until the early 19th century, changed hands 21 times between the Netherlands, Britain, and France.”
The world truly is her oyster, and she is grateful for the learning and life it’s provided. “It has made me a more compassionate, happier person. We might not all speak the same language and have the same culture, but we are basically all the same with the same needs and desires.”
Our way isn’t the only way, she says. Take it away, Margie. Happy travels!
