Stretching Our Limits
By Ana Figueroa

Why Older adults should exercise

When Virginia Montoya first joined a gym, she worked out on a regular basis. Then she developed arthritis and the workouts stopped. "I was in so much pain. I really didn't think about exercising. I wanted to go home from work and go to bed," Montoya says. Unable to drive because she couldn't operate the stick shift in her car, Montoya assumed she would have to live with the pain for the rest of her life.

That was 30 years ago. Today, Montoya, 75, is again a regular at her local gym. After retiring and deciding she "didn't want to sit around and do nothing," she signed up for a class called Twinges in the Hinges at the Whittier, California, YMCA. The class consists of stretching and resistance exercises performed in a heated swimming pool to improve strength, balance, and flexibility.     

'By the time we are 75, most of us will have less than 50 percent of the strength we had at age 40'

"The class was my lifesaver. Within three weeks, I stopped taking medications. Exercise has improved her energy level and her mental attitude. "It helps your whole life. I'm so flexible now, I feel like I'm 60," she says, laughing. But Montoya becomes serious again. "I would probably be in a wheelchair by now, but I kept moving, moving, moving. No matter what age we are, we've got to keep moving.

Dallas endocrinologist Jaime Davidson wishes all older people had Montoya's enthusiasm. "People think it is normal not to exercise as they get older," he laments.

Davidson is Hispanic and a member of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, an advisory board appointed by President Bush and dedicated to motivating citizens of all ages to become more physically active. The council's publications—some of which will soon be available in Spanish—and its website, offer information specifically tailored to seniors. One of the council's programs, the President's Challenge, helps older adults establish and keep track of daily activity goals designed to keep them moving at least 30 minutes a day, five times a week.

Everyone who enters his office is told they need to exercise, Davidson says. "All of us, even at 60, 70, or 80, can trim fat, lower our blood pressure, lower bad cholesterol levels and improve good cholesterol. There are studies that show that the 65+ population can prevent the onset of diabetes with exercise and healthy eating," he explains.

What does Davidson do to encourage his patients to start exercising?

"First of all, I tell them they have no excuses," he says. If they say they have no access to a gym, he tells them there are gyms everywhere and many offer senior discounts. Sometimes insurance companies will pay for gym memberships for seniors.

If patients can't join a gym, Davidson encourages them to visit the nearest mall and take a walk. "It's indoors, it is free, and all they need is a good pair of walking shoes," he says. "If I could get more of my patients to start with this simple program three or four days per week, I would be so happy. And, we'd have a healthier population."

Like Davidson, Derek Parra serves on the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. The first Mexican American to participate in the Olympic Winter Games, Parra won silver and gold medals in speed skating during the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. These days Parra, based in Orlando, Florida, spends much of his time motivating others to become physically active.

"It doesn't matter that you're not a professional athlete. No one wants their muscles to atrophy. No one wants to see their circulation decreased. Exercise is so important for all of us, especially for the Latino community because we are prone to health problems such as diabetes," Parra says.

"If there is one message that I'd love to get across to seniors, it's that exercise is beneficial to your health and longevity, whatever your age or present fitness level. That old adage, 'It's never too late,' is really true. Anything you do that increases your physical activity is a good thing."

Sheldon S. Zinberg, M.D., is so convinced that exercise can make a difference in seniors' health that he wrote a book, Win In the Second Half: A Guide to Better Aging and Fitness for Men and Women. A founder of two HMOs for seniors, CareMore Medical Group and California Medical Advantage, Zinberg practiced internal medicine and gastroenterology for 35 years. His book is based in large part on the questions his patients asked him about different aspects of aging.

Exercise is the single most important thing seniors can do, he says, adding that proper diet and nutrition count, too. "But if someone is 75 or 80 years old, with lifelong bad dietary habits, changing those habits will not have as quick or dramatic an effect as will exercise." While moderate physical and mental exercise, and minor changes in nutrition can prevent, delay, or even reverse some of the most troublesome aspects of the aging process, exercise still is best, he says.

Not all exercise is created equal. "Strength training is a must," says Zinberg, explaining: "We begin losing our muscle strength and muscle mass between the ages of 35 and 40. By the time we are 75, most of us will have less than 50 percent of the strength we had at age 40." That loss of muscle strength can lead to loss of balance, endurance, and bone density. Balance problems can make seniors prone to falling and result in fractures of the hip, wrist, shoulder, and other bones, he says.

Zinberg recently conducted a pilot study, the Wish For Fitness program, in which a group of extremely frail seniors took part in strength training for eight to 12 weeks. The results were stunning. The participants showed a 100 percent increase in upper- and lower-body strength in as few as six weeks. Besides strengthening muscles, it unlocked the door to better balance and endurance, and had a dramatically positive effect on reducing depression.

For strength training, Zinberg recommends using weight lifting machines or pneumatic resistance machines, along with a limited use of free weights. With free weights, people tend to use momentum to swing, and that is cheating, he says. Machines allow control of the range of motion and the amount of effort. "Range of motion is a problem for the elderly. Many trainers inadvertently increase it too quickly, which can cause an injury. I'd rather they be stronger in a narrower range," he says. "The most important thing is to dispel the myth that seniors can't do it."

Gloria Pérez is dispelling that myth. Now 75, she didn't exercise at all before being diagnosed with diabetes a few years ago. She decided to join the YMCA, after learning that her HMO would cover the membership fee. In the past year, she has lost 30 pounds, her blood sugar has come down, and her entire metabolism has changed.

Pérez describes her three-times-a-week workout program: "I get here at 7:30 in the morning and start on the machines. My warm-up is the treadmill. I do a mile, which takes me 30 minutes. That's kind of slow, but it gets my heart rate going. Then I get on the other machines. I do the arm extensions, rowing, and a couple of [abdominal] machines. When I have time, I do the bike. I rest 15 minutes and start my 45 minutes of aerobics, which are in a class called Silver Sneakers."

Watching Pérez after her Silver Sneakers class, it is hard to believe she is 75. She bounces around with the energy of someone much younger. "When I first started, I was very slow, and I couldn't do a lot of stuff. I couldn't do anything, really," she says. Now, Pérez looks forward to each visit to the gym, not only because she is improving her health, but also because she is visiting with friends.

"We have a lot of good vibes here and everyone is experiencing better health. There were so many ladies in my class who started out hardly able to even walk." She grins. "You should see us now."

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