 |
||||
Sweating With the Oldies Health centers geared toward older adults offer both friendship and age-appropriate fitness 
When 59-year-old Cindy Barthelme was looking for a place to get back into shape, the typical gym filled with thumping rock music, spandex-clad 20-somethings and unspoken machine-to-machine rivalries just wasn't going to cut it. Instead Barthelme joined Nifty After Fifty, a chain of California fitness centers geared for adults who are 50 and older. "I didn't have to deal with the young people and I like that," says the retired resident of Garden Grove, Calif. "I love having a mature group of people to be around." Started in 2006 by Sheldon Zinberg, M.D., Nifty After Fifty now has six locations in California, plans for 11 more openings and franchises in negotiations in Arizona, Texas and Florida. Zinberg, who is 75, says the centers aren't just geared toward physical fitness. "I try to identify most of the issues that confront the older adult," he says. "Clearly the largest challenge to their future independence is the progressive loss of mental and physical fitness. We have a decrease in functionality and we lose our friends and our social circle decreases." To combat these challenges, centers offer special low-impact, customized fitness equipment, balance, mobility and yoga classes, mat Pilates, a brain gym, lectures, movie matinees, line dancing and even dating and acquaintance services. "Lots of folks as they get older lose their buddies, and putting people together with like interests can reintroduce them to an active social environment," Zinberg says. According to Zinberg, the franchise even offers cane aerobics, the upper levels of which progress into cane self defense, or "cane fu." Roger Miller, a 65 year-old resident of Long Beach, Calif., participated in Nifty After Fifty's driving simulator, which aims to improve driving skills by providing a safe environment for practice. "It was completely different from driving a real car," he says. "It was more sensitive and makes your mind work a little bit harder." Miller, who has type-2 diabetes, has been a member of Nifty After Fifty for close to three years. He and his girlfriend, also a member, have seen noticeable changes in their health. "Every time I come in, my blood sugar is way down where it should be," he says. "I look forward to coming every Tuesday and Thursday, and my lady does too." New members are given a fitness evaluation by kinesiology and physical therapists. A customized workout plan is developed for each individual and trainers walk through the first three workout sessions with clients to make sure they are using machines safely and properly. Additional trainers walk the floor throughout the day to assist members when necessary. "They are very good about watching and making sure you do things correctly," Barthelme says. Marlee Calder, a 66 year-old retired kindergarten teacher from Los Alamitos, Calif., loves that Nifty After Fifty plays music from the sixties, and says her only complaint is that the center isn't closer to home. "I don't have to use prescription medication anymore, and I feel good," says Calder, who has suffered from osteoarthritis and shoulder injuries in the past. "My job used to lead the way, now my priority is my health. This place is a godsend." Since she began the yoga classes 18 months ago, Barthelme says she has gained more than eight inches of flexibility. "They spoil us and take good care of us. I've become stronger, more flexible and I feel better about myself. I've tightened up." According to Zinberg, Nifty After Fifty has more than 5,000 members using the facilities, some of who are new to the fitness club scene entirely. "That's the whole point," he says. "It's never too late. The next best time is right now. We have people in their 90s and we have rather elite 50 year-old athletes working out." Colin Milner, founder of the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA), Vancouver, says centers like Nifty After Fifty have seen major growth in popularity and expansion in the last ten years. "It's all being driven by the desire of older adults actually to work out in an environment that is appealing to them," he says. "The message we have used in general has really fallen flat. A gym ad on the side of a bus features a buff young body, and that's not really it. They've [Nifty After Fifty] blended therapy into fitness, and providing a non-threatening environment where people can do that." He says the only potential drawback he can find in the centers is their exclusivity for only older adults, but then again, that is also their greatest appeal. "There are a lot of women that go to Curves and that's because they feel comfortable there," he says. "If opening up these centers is going to encourage older adults to become more active, my comment is simple: Right on." |
||||
|
||||
