Seniors embracing fitness classes created just for them
Nick Zayatz considers himself blessed with good health. But the 67-year-old retired Passaic fire chief works for that. He and his wife, Kathy, are regular participants in the New Vitality intermediate T’ai Chi Chih class at Chilton Medical Center on Thursdays.
T’ai Chi Chih is a series of 20 simple, gentle movements which emphasize self-awareness and energy flow. The class is part of Atlantic Health’s New Vitality exercise, education and outreach program for older adults. Launched in May 2001 at Chilton, the program now offers 20 exercise classes weekly on site and in the wider community, and a growing assortment at other Atlantic Health sites.
Margaret O’Connor, a senior citizen herself, teaches three consecutive T’ai Chi Chih sessions every Thursday, rarely even sitting down in between.
“You cannot sit around like a couch potato,” said Zayatz, 67, a Vernon resident who has attended the classes for about five years. “I don’t know if it adds (to my fitness), but I’m positive it maintains. I see people who don’t do anything, and they seem to be older than I am.”
Americans aged 55 to 64 spent only five percent of their leisure time on sports, exercise and recreation, according to a 2010 survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That declines to four percent for those aged 65 to 74, and only three percent in those 75 and over. Walking and gardening are the most popular physical activities in adults over 65, according to a U.S. Surgeon General’s report. However, by age 75, about one in three men and half of women engage in no physical activity at all.
The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per week for older adults, in distributed intervals of at least 10 minutes. Older adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities at least twice a week. Balance exercises, like the weight shifting in T’ai Chi Chih, are also important to help prevent falls.
“You don’t know how long you have, so I’d better take care of myself,” said New Vitality participant Martha Bisaccio, 76, of Wanaque. “(T’ai Chi Chih) is not about exertion. It’s very smooth and soothing. It looks like you’re doing nothing, but you’re getting a lot of energy into your body.”
Only 23 percent of New Jersey adults of all ages met both the 150-minute standard and muscle-strengthening guidelines. More than 26 percent reported no leisure-time physical activity to a 2014 Centers for Disease Control study.
“I think about my parents’ generation, and they were old at 60,” Zayatz said. “We’ve pushed that back to the 70s. It’s a different lifestyle, a different mental attitude. In my mind, I’m still 20.”
Founded in 1992, Silver Sneakers was the first national fitness program specifically for older adults. It has evolved to include higher-intensity classes for baby boomers. More than 13 million people are eligible for Silver Sneakers or competitor Silver&Fit through Medicare and other health-insurance programs. Both are offered in more than 12,000 health clubs across the United States, many in the same facility. Silver&Fit is in 45 northern New Jersey clubs, with about 500 members.
North Jersey Health & Fitness, in the Ledgewood section of Roxbury Township, offers two Silver&Fit classes each week, averaging between 12 and 15 participants – as well as a YogaFit class. Attendees are mostly between 50 and 81, but sometimes newcomers to the gym also use the classes as a way to become more acclimated to working out.
Like New Vitality, instructors are specifically trained to deal with an older population. Exercises can be modified, and some participants choose to work out while seated.
“Having these classes designed specifically for them, it takes the fear of the unknown out of coming into a club,” manager Tammy Meade said. “Once they see results, their fitness level increasing, the mental aspect takes over as well. When they first came into the club, they’d come in kind of quiet, head down, head right to the classroom. Now they’re all feeling fit, so they sit at the juice bar and chat, or they jump on a treadmill or a recumbent bike. They hang out a little bit more. … It’s not about fitness. It’s also a little bit social. They feel like they’re in there together. They’re more of a club that meets twice a week for class.”
New Vitality has a similar feel, with regular attendees becoming like family. Almost 900 new members joined in 2015, about two thirds from Chilton and Morristown combined.
“We don’t even call it fitness,” said O’Connor, a member of the Sisters of Charity of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
“I go to their sickness. I go when people die. You want to be close to them. I consider it such a privilege.”
Staff Writer Jane Havsy: 973-428-6682; jhavsy@gannettnj.com; www.dailyrecord.com/writerjane/
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Consult a physician before beginning or intensifying any exercise regimen.
Morris County Division on Aging, Disabilities and Community Programming
http://morriscountynj.gov/hs/adv/
New Vitality
Silver Sneakers
https://www.silversneakers.com/
Silver&Fit