Fitness focuses on range of motion

Ages & Stages - Health

Posted: Sunday, July 02, 2000

It's a fact of life that many already know.

When you get to be 60, the ol' body just doesn't perform like it used to.

That's why many experts say, once a sexagenarian, you have to put a little more effort into your health to continue feeling your best into the golden years.

Cindy Gibson, fitness director for the Downtown YMCA, works with a number of older clients, and said that fitness goals completely change when people get into their 60s and 70s.

"Usually, you are trying to accomplish a better range of motion, and bone density and strength maintenance," Gibson said. "Some have started to lose some muscle, and it's an issue of actually rebuilding, while others simply want to keep what they have."

Gibson said a number of her clients are referred to her by doctors, who are prescribing light workouts to increase the patients' strength, as well as their flexibility.

"The guidelines are completely different with older people as opposed to younger," Gibson said. "They don't need all that weight. The muscle soreness is not necessary. That's not the way to train an older person."

Because of the relative lightness of the workouts, some think it's too easy, Gibson said, but she does that for a reason.

"You don't want someone to get injured, and some people are not used to moving certain ways, so you have to take it slowly," she said.

Others, however, who have been fairly active for most of their lives, aren't as apt to take things slowly simply because they've aged a few years.

That's certainly the case with Stan Slade, 78, who 20 years ago started a bowling league in Amarillo called the "Never Too Old" league.

Slade and his wife, who he said is 82, continue to be active participants in the league, which meets twice a week at Western Bowl.

"We have about 12 teams that meet on Monday and 20 that meet every Thursday," Slade said. "I've had members tell me that their doctors have told them to 'just keep doing what you're doing, because it's obviously working.'

"The health benefits are great, and that's part of the idea behind the group - to keep active."

Cory Musick, owner of the Body Barn in Amarillo, said a number of his clients also fit into the over-60 crowd.

Many of them come to him because they are concerned that their quality of life will diminish if they don't begin taking better care of themselves, he said.

"At that age, the keys are weight-resistance training and balance development because those are two of the main things people start to lose," Musick said. "It's almost like your life has come full-circle at that point, because many people, during their career years, get very lax about working out. When you get to be 60 and up, you can't just do what you want anymore."

Musick, who works with clients as old as 87, said once you reach retirement age, it's important to maintain the muscle you do have and to try to build a little more. He also echoed Gibson's comments in stressing the importance of maintaining bone density.

"Many studies are now showing that when older people say they fell and broke their hip, they actually broke their hip because their bones were so brittle, and then they fell," Musick said.

He also said those over 60 simply won't be able to enjoy the remainder of their lives if they don't start working at better health. And many of his clients realize that.

"Many people I work with are doing it because they don't want the degradation to a wheelchair and then to a nursing home, if they can help it," Musick said. "People are living longer and actually getting to enjoy their retirements these days, but that's only if they keep working at it."