If you are not currently exercising, age is no longer an excuse. D.C. offers opportunities throughout the city for seniors to begin a program, enhance or refine a workout.
Inspiration can come from your neighbors, teachers and ordinary people defying the myths associated with aging. For example, one of my clients started working out twice a week for the first time when she was 92. She has regained mobility of her shoulder, improved her balance and increased her strength in her upper body. Another began working out in her 60s. She never thought she could move the way she does now. Her posture has improved and her back is more flexible. A friend in her early 60s credits her ability to lug heavy bags of dirt and move and plant trees and bushes while gardening to regular strength training sessions with her personal trainer and her regular workouts on her stationary bike.
Examples of men and women physically fit and mentally alert at every age abounds. Just last month I took a yoga class with an 86-year-old yoga instructor in New York who was told by her physician that she would never sit in lotus position again after receiving a hip replacement and a pin in the other hip. She told us this story as she sat in lotus! This past winter she won first place in a ballroom dance competition. Her partner was 28 years old. One of my students recently returned from Florida where she attended a low impact aerobics class with her mother. Her instructor was 85 years old.
Statistics – The Good News
Many common complaints associated with the aging process--joint stiffness, weight gain, fatigue, loss of bone mass--can be prevented or reversed by exercising. Exercise can help older people combat common maladies such as hypertension, insulin sensitivity, loss of balance and osteoporosis. With a regular strength training program, the average 60-year-old can increase his or her strength level 200 percent or more. People at any age can benefit from exercise. In fact, physically fit individuals measure 10 to 20 years younger biologically than their chronological age.
Doing aerobic exercise five times a week decreases risk of Type II Diabetes by 42 percent. Exercising two to four times a week reduces risk by 38 percent: once a week by 23 percent.
Older women who exercise improve their balance as well as their physical and mental condition. A group of women age 62-75 started walking three times a week for 20 minutes and doing leg strengthening and posture exercises. The women’s balance increased by 17 percent after 16 months.
It’s never too late to begin to move your body. After all, that’s what it was meant to do. We have become sedentary in our lifestyle. We drive to work, ride the escalator, sit at a desk, and then we are too tired to do much of anything when we come home at night. By the time we retire, our bodies have stiffened, and we don’t feel like getting up to move.
Programs Available
I received an email from a senior reader who said that although he bike rides when the weather is nice, he was could not find a place to start a strength training program in the area. The gyms he visited were cost prohibitive for a man on a fixed income and community centers didn’t offer the kind of program he wanted.
When I talked to Darlene Nowlin from the D.C. Office of Aging I was surprised to learn that the District is home to the nation’s first senior wellness center. “We’ve been known for setting the bar,” said Darlene. Established in the 80s, The Washington Senior Wellness Center in Anacostia provides health, wellness and fitness services at no cost to District seniors. The Center has personal trainers on site, free weights and strength machines, aerobic classes, nutrition programs, a walking group, line dancing and peer counseling.
“Health education is the centerpiece of our center,” said Vanessa Williams, fitness instructor and program coordinator at the Anacostia center (202-581-9355) for six years. She said many of her members have never worked out and are looking to improve their quality of life and reduce stress. Others have been coming for 15 or 20 years. “Some are taking care of grandkids and find coming to the center an outlet,” she said. “When you start exercising you begin to feel younger. Many see their lives as beginning not ending. They never thought they could do it.”
Darlene also told me that two other senior centers exist in Congress Heights (202-563-7225) and Northeast
(202-541-3522). “We are planning to build a center in each ward,” she said. “The sites are chosen in Ward 6 at 5th and K Streets, NE and in Ward 4 at the old Kennedy Theater between 3rd and 4th Streets, NW.”
DC’s Body Wise program, based at the University of the District of Columbia, offers seniors a walking, exercise and pool program (202-274-6697).
The National Capitol YMCA on 17th and M Streets NW (202-862-9622) offers community memberships as a way people can access the facility at a lower cost. Its programs include senior classes, aquatics, yoga Pilates and yoga. City Fitness on Connecticut Ave., NW (202-537-0539) has a “55 & Feeling Alive” two-week starter program for $10 which includes guided cardiovascular, weight training and flexibility exercises, beginner low impact aerobics, step and body sculpting classes offered mid-morning.
Special Events
D.C. is holding its annual fitness challenge on May 6 in RFK Stadium parking lot. Included in events are a 5k run, a walk, a bike ride and entertainment with a special emphasis on kids and seniors of all ages and abilities. To register online go to: www.fitnesschallengeinfo.com or www.fitness.gov.
The D.C. Office of Aging presents its 42nd Annual Senior Citizens’ Day “Choices for Independence” on May 18 at the D.C. Amory. The event will include information on Senior services, health screenings, health and wellness demonstrations, walking trail, entertainment, a free lunch, dancing, give-aways and exhibits. For more information, call 202-724-5626.
If you have a more competitive spirit, the Golden Olympics will be held this month. Requirement for participation is 55 years or older. For more information, contact the DC Dept. of Recreation, 202-673-7647.
No lack of availability or opportunity exists in the District. Now it’s up to you to take the first step and get up and move.
Pattie Cinelli is a personal fitness trainer, writer and lecturer who has been writing her health and fitness column for more than six years. If you have a topic you would like to see in this column or have fitness questions, please contact her at www.pattiecinelli.com.