A fitness routine can sometimes be just that – routine. But studies show trying new activities, especially later in life, can boost overall health and wellbeing.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota member Martha Stewart-Arradondo credits staying active through adulthood with her strong physical and mental health. Growing up during a time when sports were not offered to women, she found many activities to fuel her competitive spirit as an adult. From softball and racquetball to golf, swimming and pickleball she is open to trying new activities to keep her body in motion.

Stewart-Arradondo has two torn meniscuses, but she doesn’t let those injuries slow her physical activity down, “After a certain age they won’t do surgery. Swimming and the occasional cortisone shot take care of my knee pain when it flares up.”

Having a full social calendar, even if the events don’t involve physical activity, can have major mental health benefits. A healthy social circle tends to make people happier and can increase longevity according to Mental Health America. On the flipside, a 2020 study from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine showed older adults who report feeling lonely have an increased risk of heart disease and stroke, in addition to mental and cognitive health issues like depression and dementia.

Stewart-Arradondo makes social activity a priority too. “I won’t ski,” she says, “but I’ll do anything else. If a friend calls me up and invites me somewhere, I always say ‘yes.’”

Paving the way for others

Stewart-Arradondo not only prioritizes her own physical activity, but she is also creating spaces for other people of color to participate and compete in sports. Historically, African Americans were denied access to swimming pools and golf courses across the country and those denials have resulted in underrepresentation in those spaces that still exist today.

Stewart-Arradondo set out to change that by creating the Stewart-Arradondo Planning Group and co-founding Black Women on Course (BWOC), an organization that creates a safe space for Black women to learn and practice golf – a sport that has both physical and social benefits.

“We all know that business deals happen on the golf course,” she says. “Many of the women in BWOC are professionals who want to be able to use golf as a way to network.”

For Stewart-Arradondo, spending time in the pool is just as important as spending time on the links. She joined Minnesota Masters Swimming and started competing, while also becoming a swim instructor to help others learn.

“Everyone over 30 who doesn’t swim has their own story,” she says. “Whether they almost drowned once or were thrown into the water. I am excited to get Ebony Mermaids started because I know there is a need for this kind of group.” The swim club is still in the planning stages, but Stewart-Arradondo is partnering with V3 Sports to build a program.

To learn more about Stewart-Arradondo’s inspiring lifestyle, check out the latest issue of thrive. magazine.