Fitness for Seniors

We in the United States have a major conflict between loving exercise and hating it, especially when combining it with weight loss programs. On the one hand, we buy billions of dollars worth of home exercise gyms, treadmills, stair climbers, Nordic track and abdominal machines--from retailers and infomercials alike. We INTEND to use them, but mostly they get used for a few months then collect dust in our closets or under the bed the rest of the year. We mean well and make those New Year's resolutions every year to exercise more.

One the other hand, we simply don't exercise enough to burn off all those super-sized fast food meals. Most of us are busy people, what with work and family responsibilities, and can't find the time to fit exercise into our daily lives, or eat healthy diets. Or, we're exercise fanatics, marathon runners and such. there doesn't seem to be a middle ground.

Most women detest having to incorporate regular exercise into their lives, or being told they have to exercise, in order to lose or maintain their weight. If they could take a magic pill that speeds up their metabolism, burns fat, or suppresses their appetite, without exercising, they'll swallow it in a minute. That's why Americans continually purchase those "newly discovered", "secret" diet pills with "ingredients used in Indonesia for thousands of years but available for the first time in the United States". If those substances really did exist, don't you think U.S. drug companies, who have billions to invest in research, would have found them already, instead of some dubious mail order company you never heard of?

It always comes back to the same equation--eat less calories and burn up more (via exercise), to maintain or lose weight. The government health agencies and our physicians have been telling us that for decades, but we still don't get it. We want the easy way out.

That's human nature, or at least American human nature. That's also why January is the biggest sign-up month for health club chains and weight loss programs.

How Do We Exercise - What Sports Do We Participate In?

The options available for us to exercise are plentiful...

* Create your own exercise program. Many consumers and dieters do this--either jogging, playing various sports, walking or working out at home with exercise videotapes and CDs, etc. Hundreds of millions of dollars each year is spent on exercise tapes and audiocassettes, by Denise Austin, Richard Simmons and other health and fitness gurus.

* Join a health club (Curves for Women, the YMCA, Bally Total Fitness, 24 Hour Fitness, Gold's Gym, other national and local chains). We have more than 18,000 of them in the U.S.

* Hire a personal trainer. This is the very customized and motivational method, but can get expensive--usually $50 per session. Hollywood actors and actresses are fond of this method, but most of us don't have Oprah Winfrey's budget.

* Use diet websites to obtain exercise tips. Sites such as eDiets.com have very sophisticated interactive tools, articles, and even simulated video of how specific exercises should be performed. These websites have gotten much better in recent years.

* Go to a luxury weight loss spa for a week, where the emphasis is heavy on exercise and eating a healthy diet. There are plenty of these weight loss spas. However, they are very pricey.

The 1970s was clearly the decade that distance running was in vogue (remember James Fix?). In the 1980s, Jane Fonda spearheaded the aerobics movement, as classes sprouted up all across America. In the 1990s, we took our exercise home with us by buying lots of treadmills, stationary bikes, abdominal machines (ab-flex, ab-roller, etc.), and Suzanne Somers’ thigh master.

Now into the 21^st century, more Americans are going back to health clubs and gyms like Ballys and Curves for Women for different types of “group training.” These exercises range from high intensity classes like Tae-Bo and Spinning, to lower impact, stress management activities such as Yoga, Pilates and Tai-chi.

Differences In How Women & Men Exercise

Most Popular Women’s’ Sports – 2003

(participated more than once a year, millions)

 Source: National Sporting Goods Association, Mt. Prospect Illinois

According to Club Industry and data by American Sports Data, the average home-gym user exercises 70 days during the year.  Men stick to their home exercise regimen a little better than women.  The average male exercised 79 days during the year, while the average female exercised 60 days.  Adults aged 18-34 had the highest home exercise participation rate of any age group.

A survey, conducted by American Sports Data and sponsored by the Fitness Products Council, found that while men and women generally agree on the main reasons why they work out, their number one reasons varied by gender.  Specifically, men head to the gym in search of muscle tone.  Women do it for weight control

Here were ACE’s top 10 fitness trend predictions for 2004:

1. Workouts and exercise programs will respond to the critical need for busy Americans to get an efficient workout in a very short period of time (hence the rapid growth of health club chains such as Curves for Women, that offer a 30-min. routine).

2. Mind/body programs will be blended into traditional workout sessions. Clubs and personal trainers will integrate elements of Pilates and yoga into exercise programs to offer a holistic approach to physical fitness and wellness.

3. Functional fitness will become more important. Rather than working on muscle groups in isolation, functional fitness will focus on exercising and strengthening several muscles and joints together.

4. Lifestyle and performance coaching will become more popular as the Internet makes these services more affordable.

5. Healthcare providers and companies will provide and partially subsidize preventive lifestyle programs, such as providing web sites for wellness information, risk assessment, fitness calculators, how to contact a fitness professional, and other services.

6. Fitness equipment will get smarter. Manufacturers will offer machines that provide feedback on everything from lactic acid production to preparing for a marathon.

7. More fitness clubs will offer pay-as-you-go pricing rather than long-term contracts. (This is long overdue.)

8. Weight loss and nutrition will get back to basics. Americans will turn to regular exercise and sensible eating.

9. Exercise will become a larger part of preventive care for older adults to help fight osteoporosis, reduce the risk of  injury, and maintain independence.

10. Simple programs to get sedentary people moving will become more important (walking programs).