Exercise to Excellence
Aging gracefully - are you?
By “J. T.” John Toves

I have to admit, being in my early 40s, I get a thrill whenever I’m carded when purchasing a bottle of wine. After my chuckle, the clerks usually respond with an “oh” and “we’re required to check anyone who looks thirty or younger.” I’ll still take the compliment; I attribute my youthful look to exercising all my life for personal enjoyment and my livelihood. So, I am a firm believer of how improving your health and fitness through exercise can keep you looking and feeling younger.

Judith Guthrie wrote a fantastic article for The San Francisco Chronicle that ran on Aug. 22, 2008 entitled, “Older, tougher, smarter: Aging athletes pick regimens that can make them younger.” I strongly encourage you to read it! Here are a few quotes from her eye-opening article:

Guthrie begins with: “This year’s Olympians are significantly older than they were a generation ago, competing at the highest levels thanks to dramatic changes in the way they train, recover and think about their sport. They also are benefiting from the simple fact that they are continuing to push themselves.”

She quotes Karen Francis, a behavioral neuroscientist at the University of San Francisco: “Our knowledge regarding what happens to the body with age is really changing,” Francis said. “It used to be that the gold standard for physical performance was 20. But now you have people who are continuing to train and are pushing the age curve up.”

Guthrie also quotes Simon Melov who directs genomics at the Buck Institute for Age Research. “We are learning that exercise actually reverses some basic aspects of aging at the molecular level. Exercise doesn’t just make muscles stronger, it makes muscles younger.” One of Milov’s studies concluded that after six months of resistance training muscles were younger, “adding to the person’s fitness and agility.”

In my personal training practice that has spanned about 20 years, I have trained almost every age group from my youngest client, who at 12 wanted to be better prepared for school sports, to my oldest (and one of my favorites) who is 87 and wants to keep himself out of a wheelchair. Sidney Kevich had been an exceptional athlete in his day and now realizes that had he begun exercising even just 10 years ago, he would not have to play as much catch up now. But even still, his champion spirit is bringing out quite the trooper in him as he works to improve his strength and stability.

The group that always surprises me is the 20-something males who have entered the professional arena, gained 10-plus pounds, and now lament a litany of their ailments while longing for their lost collegiate power, skill, stamina, and physique. It’s amazing what technology and the times have done to our health and fitness. For all groups, and this is not a miraculous discovery, exercise and proper nutrition are the keys to everyone’s salvation! We need both to keep us feeling healthy, fit, and young.

A study published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in September focused on elastic bands versus weight machines for sedentary middle-aged women, and highlighted a serious public health problem affecting them (and men as well, but they were not the subjects). The study addressed sarcopenia, a reduction of fat-free mass, and a visible loss of musculoskeletal mass, strength, and integrity. This study found that fat-free mass decreases by approximately 50 percent from 20 to 90 years of age; at age 30 and over, the decline becomes apparent with it increasing considerably after age 50.

Sarcopenia is associated with senescence, the biological processes of a
living organism approaching an advanced age. Muscle mass and strength decline as exercise and activity levels decline, which ultimately affects functional capacity and quality of life.

I thoroughly enjoy my younger clients as they can do “somersaults,” but I do feel greatly affirmed with the progress of my older clients because their improvements are more visibly demonstrated. Another star pupil of mine is Michael Souter who celebrated his 65th birthday this year shining with excellent health. Michael had a good list of physical issues when he first came to me three years ago, but since working to improve his health through diet and exercise, his foot, knee, and back problems have all subsided. Not only is he more flexible with much better balance (you should see him on a stability ball!), but with his increased strength, he is now able to walk and carry his golf bag for 18 holes up and down the hills of the Presidio Golf Course – without a cart! His 15-pound weight loss has contributed to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Most encouraging, his low-grade lymphoma has stabilized, and his doctor is amazed that his white blood cell count is not increasing. Michael gets compliments that he looks better now than ten years ago and he definitely feels better, which has improved his confidence and self-esteem.

So, just in case you’ve missed the “take-home point”: You can improve the quality of your life at any stage of the game!

To your health,
J. T.

Note: My client, the food critic is back. She’s really back! Sadly she experienced a personal family loss while struggling though a series of business turmoils, but we’re ready to rock, so stay tuned as we gear up for her November launch. It’s never too late to start or to start over again!

John Toves, also known by his clients and friends as “J. T.,” is a certified trainer at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, and at the new Action Fitness in the Marina. He tailors programs for strength and power development, functional training and weight loss. He can be reached at 415-812-9065 or jt@northsidesf.com.