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Fit Over Fifty
Memo to baby-boomers: Move it or lose it
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Business New Haven
12/10/2001
By: Fiona Phelan
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Whether it's a brisk 15-minute walk before work in the morning and another after dinner, or a full 30-minute workout at the gym, more and more people are finding ways to fit exercise into their daily schedules - especially those over 50.
The benefits of exercise at any age are undeniable. Exercise is good for the heart; it's good for weight control; and it's good for the psyche.
In addition to those benefits, the Fifty Plus Fitness Association says there are five other benefits of exercise: increase in muscle mass and strength; lower blood sugar; lower blood pressure; increase in bone density; and slowing down the aging process.
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), people become less physically active as they get older. Nearly 40 percent of people over age 55 report no leisure-time physical activity, says the AHA. Yet just the opposite should be occurring. As people age they need more physical exercise, not less.
Exercise helps prevent bone loss (preventing the risk of fractures) and reduces the risk of dozens of diseases associated with aging. Exercise also increases muscle strength and may improve balance and coordination. Being physically active is a real key in maintaining quality of life and independence, the AHA notes.
Studies have shown that increased levels of physical activity are associated with a reduced incidence of heart disease, hypertension, non-insulin dependent Type 2 diabetes, colon cancer, depression and anxiety, according to American Heart Association statistics.
Also, active people with high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes or other chronic diseases are less likely to die prematurely that inactive people with these conditions.
Inactive people lose muscle fiber at a rate of three to five percent each decade after age 30. That represents a 30-percent loss of muscle fiber by age 60.
“A decrease in lean muscle leads to a decrease in our metabolism and that's why there's a tendency to gain weight as we get older,” says personal fitness trainer Laura Gideon of Tri-Balance Health in Madison.
“Enhancing our fitness can be an effective strategy for disease prevention and for feeling better,” says Ann Cowlin, a movement specialist with the athletic department at Yale University, author of a soon-to-be-published book on developing fitness programs for women, and consultant to the U.S. Army on pregnancy and fitness.
“It's a good investment for people to be physically active because of the cost of health care today,” she adds.
Okay, you've read the facts but you're still wondering how you're going to squeeze exercise into your daily routine. “There's just no time,” you say. Thankfully there are some simple ways to insure that you fit 30 minutes of exercise into your daily routine.
However, before you begin any type of exercise program consult your primary care physician. Health experts recommend getting a physical examination before you begin any exercise program to avoid injury before you begin.
Before you tie on those new sneakers, take a close look at your daily schedule - you may already be getting quite a bit of exercise without really realizing it. For instance, those loads of laundry you carry up and down the stairs - that's good cardiovascular exercise. Remember to watch your back and don't make the basket too heavy and lift with your knees, not your back.
One of the easiest forms of exercise is walking. Walkers do it alone and in groups. Organized walkers can be found in malls and indoor tracks. Solitary walkers can be found on the back streets of neighborhoods and in the park. The key to walking is to wear proper footwear and walk at a comfortable pace. Start off slow and as you increase your endurance, pick up the pace. You can add hand weights (you can even carry small cans of food for added weight without buying weights) or ankle weights.
The recommended 30 minutes of daily exercise doesn't have to be done all at once, fitness experts say. It's just as effective to have three ten-minute walks as it is to walk once a day for 30 minutes. It's the total time spent on exercise that makes an overall difference in your health.
There are four areas of fitness that are key to staying healthy and independent, say the experts: endurance, strength training, flexibility and balance. Endurance comes from aerobic activity - anything that increases your heart rate and respiration including walking, swimming, dancing, cycling and jogging.
Strength training builds muscles, strengthens bones and helps prevent diseases such as osteoporosis. For older women who are going through menopause, strength training is particularly important, but it doesn't have to mean lifting weights. There are many women-only gyms that promote strength training through resistance equipment. Jumping rope is also an effective means to increase strength, as well as great cardiovascular exercise.
“You don't have to pump iron in a gym to increase your strength,” says trainer Gideon. “You can use stability balls, bands, tubes, free weights.”
Flexibility comes from stretching exercises that help you move more freely. While stretching doesn't burn that many calories, it does prevent injuries and improve posture. Balance can be improved through exercise that also strengthens leg muscles. Yoga is a good exercise format for increasing flexibility and balance.
One of the most important things to remember in any exercise program, says licensed massage therapist Cheryl Henderson, is proper stretching before and after exercising. Stretching muscles before exercising increases blood flow and makes injury far less likely. Stretching following exercise gives muscles a chance to cool down and not cramp.
Office workers who sit at a computer terminal for extended period, or others who are tied to a desk for long intervals should get up and stretch frequently, says Henderson.
“Women have a lot of exercise in their daily life,” says Cowlin. “If they just pick up the pace and put a little more exertion into what they're already doing, they'll see the benefits.”
If you're not satisfied with housework as physical activity, find an exercise program that you enjoy. Three times each week Sylvia Wakefield visits a local church - though not exactly for spiritual reasons. Wakefield, a North Havener and grandmother of five, participates in an hour-long exercise program with a group of friends that includes slow aerobics and stretching.
“I feel better,” says Wakefield. “I don't feel skinny, but I feel firmer. My clothes fit better when I exercise. I know it's the right thing to do.”
Even when Wakefield and her husband travel to Florida for the winter months she maintains her exercise program. In fact, she says, she's apt to increase her exercise program because older people are more interested in exercising with her in Florida than in Connecticut.
“The people down there are very into it. It's very social,” she explains. In Florida, Wakefield follows a routine that includes tai chi almost daily.
“I get a lot of energy from the tai chi,” says Wakefield. While Wakefield is stretching and focusing with tai chi, her husband Bill is out chasing a tennis ball, a sport he's played all his life.
Helping older people stay healthy is the goal of the CareCard program at the Hospital of Saint Raphael in New Haven. CareCard is a free health and wellness membership program for people 55 and older that offers everything from Tai Chi to screenings for blood pressure and cholesterol.
September through May, CareCard members can also take advantage of an indoor walking program at Yale's Coxe Cage on the New Haven/West Haven. Under the guidance of a certified instructor, participants are taken through a warm-up and cool down period, but left to their own pace for walking.
“We have about 100 people enrolled in this program,” says CareCard specialist Angela Serenson. “They are here for the exercise, the social interaction, to make friends
“The goal is to get people moving. When people exercise they feel better, they feel stronger. It's good for the body,” she says. “People at any age should have some sort of physical activity.”
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