New York Post
· collected 2026-10-05 · by Dr. Mason Pimsler
You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone — and when it comes to aging, that old saying can hit hard enough to break a hip.
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saying → know → hip
As an internist with a geriatrics focus at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, I see it firsthand.
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I → see → it
My older patients often arrive dealing with debilitating conditions and diseases that might have been prevented, delayed or better managed with the right habits earlier in life.
uncertain
that → arrive → life
No single superfood, exercise or supplement that can guarantee a long, healthy life.
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that → guarantee → life
But some habits can stack the odds in your favor, while others can leave you paying the price later.
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others → stack → price
These are four common mistakes I see all the time that can sabotage your chances at healthy aging.
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that → see → aging
1. Making Pilates the main event
Sorry Pilates princes and princesses: The reformer can’t do it all.
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reformer → make → it
Muscle is one of the body’s most valuable currencies as we age.
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we → age → currencies
We naturally lose muscle over time, and that decline can chip away at strength, mobility and independence.
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decline → lose → strength
The best way to fight back is progressive resistance training, the process of repeatedly challenging muscles with enough weight or resistance to force them to adapt and get stronger.
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way → fight → them
And yes, that means actually picking up some weights.
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that → mean → weights
Pilates certainly has plenty going for it.
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Pilates → have → it
It can build core and stabilizer strength, improve posture and mobility, and help people move more efficiently.
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people → build → posture
But if preserving muscle and bone density is the goal, traditional resistance training should be the primary part of your routine.
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training → preserve → routine
Progressive overload — gradually increasing the resistance overtime — provides the mechanical stimulus needed to build muscle.
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overload → increase → muscle
Weight bearing resistance exercise also puts stress on bones, signaling the body to maintain bone tissue.
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exercise → put → tissue
The goal isn’t to pick a side, but rather make sure strength training actually gets a seat at the head of the table.
2.
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training → pick → table
Thinking a protein shake counts as dinner
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Thinking → think → dinner
The body uses protein to build and repair muscle, bone and other tissues.
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body → use → muscle
It also plays roles in immune function and a host of other processes.
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It → play → processes
But not all protein comes in the same nutritional package.
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protein → come → package
Whole foods such as eggs, fish, poultry, dairy, beans and lentils bring protein along with vitamins, minerals, healthy fats and fiber.
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foods → bring → vitamins
Protein powders and shakes can provide protein, but they generally don’t offer that same elite nutritional entourage.
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they → provide → entourage
That doesn’t make protein powder the villain, though.
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powder → make → ?
For people struggling to eat enough of it through food alone, a shake can be a practical way to fill the gaps — after a workout, stirred into Greek yogurt or blended into a smoothie, for example.
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shake → struggle → example
The mistake is treating the supplement like a substitute for actual meals.
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mistake → treat → meals
It can help hit the right notes, but it shouldn’t be carrying the whole performance.
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it → help → performance
3. Letting the social life flatline
Longevity isn’t just about what happens inside the body.
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what → let → body
If you want to age really well, you’ll get by with a little help from your friends.
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you → want → friends
Loneliness, social isolation and poor-quality relationships have been linked with a range of health problems, including depression, anxiety and chronic disease.
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Loneliness → link → depression
Strong social connections, meanwhile, have been associated with healthier aging and a lower risk of premature death.
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connections → associate → death
Socializing also makes the brain work, as conversations require people to listen, remember, interpret, respond and adapt, offering a whole lot more cognitive heavy lifting than staring at the same crossword clue for 20 minutes.
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conversations → make → minutes
That means maintaining old relationships and making new ones should be considered part of an aging-well strategy.
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maintaining → mean → strategy
4. Dismissing Tai Chi as an elderly exercise
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Dismissing → dismiss → exercise
Tai Chi deserves a spot on in our fitness routine long before retirement.
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Chi → deserve → retirement
The ancient Chinese mind-body practice is sometimes dismissed as something people do in a park while wearing orthopedic sneakers, but its slow, controlled movements can deliver some serious benefits, particularly for balance, mobility and fall prevention.
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movements → dismiss → balance
Tai Chi challenges proprioception — the body’s ability to know where it is in space — by repeatedly shifting weight, controlling movement and maintaining balance.
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it → challenge → balance
That can help build stability, coordination and lower-body strength, all of which become increasingly important with age.
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all → help → age
And unlike some workouts that leave people gasping for air, Tai Chi pairs movement with breathing and concentration, giving the brain something to chew on, too.
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Chi → leave → something
It shouldn’t replace cardiovascular or resistance training, but rather add another tool to your exercise tool box.
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It → replace → box
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
