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Baby boomers are commonly defined as those born between 1946 and 1964 or those between their early 40's and early 60's in age. Do you belong to a gym? Can you toss a wet towel without hitting a boomer when you are there?
When did the boomer generation become gym rats? What turned us on to working out and lured us into the gym? Was it the Jane Fonda workout? Was it Susan Powter (Who, by the way, is back and is a BlogHer!) stopping the insanity? Was it Suzanne Sommers working the Thighmaster? The invention of flattering workout wear? Perhaps Title IX helped change things for boomers as well as the younger women who followed? Certainly all of these examples and others helped create a recognition that the gym is not just for muscle-bound, body building men.
In addition to examples leading the way I think there are some other key realizations. One is that in many ways we don't want to grow up and act our age. In other words, people of all ages are increasingly liberated from previous expectations of the proper ways to behave at different life stages. Another realization is that we are living longer. The possibility of spending years at the late stages of life feeling poorer than necessary can possibly be reduced by taking care of ourselves now.
I'm sure there are a myriad of reasons why. And, behold, I've joined the club.
When I was younger, I did gymnastics and figure skating and worked out up to two or three hours a day. Now my days are composed of sitting at a computer for about 12 hours every day. When I don't move my body increasingly screams at me - "get off your butt and do something!" Yes, body! And, I have exercised off and on over the past several years (Pilates, Curves) but in the last six months my body has begged me to commit to something challenging on a regular basis. I did some research and found a local gym that is a little bit different (check out those pictures). Working out there is a bit like playing on the playground. We play with balls and jump rope and pretend we're rowing a boat and play on the monkey bars. It is fun and extraordinarily challenging. I usually finish a half-hour session with a trainer feeling like I will burst into tears and puke. And I love it!
Who else is working out?
E.A. Adams is exercising through dancing:
For my own dancing and exercise story (in my younger days - remember I'm a baby boomer), I learned to clog and then taught clogging for a couple of years. ... Anyway, I got hooked on clogging and danced probably for 5 years, losing a good 20 pounds without even thinking about it in the first few months of dancing. AND there were cloggers in our group who were still clogging in their 70's
Ann Fry, the "head boomer" (she was born 1/1/1946) is working out:
Two nights ago, I declared in front of several other people that I would really take charge of my health and fitness. I further reiterated that I meant, I will eat healthier foods AND work out.
Well, yesterday, I worked out, with a friend.
Why are boomers working out? Check out all these benefits for baby boomers (and everyone else, really).
Or as Lina Ko at boomerwatch.ca notes:
Ageing baby boomers are realizing that time is ticking and they can no longer just talk about getting fit and healthy. They have to walk, run, dance, practise yoga or whatever the talk is. According to fitness guru Marjorie O’Connor, boomers are not satisfied with activities that simply make them sweat. They want to have the three Fs - Fun, Functional exercise that allows them to keep on truckin’ and Freedom from the diet cycle.
Once you're motivated take a look at boomer fitness trends like:
1. Out of the Box Workouts -- Gyms are not for all. The popularity of TV shows like, ABC's Dancing with Stars has dance studios popping up all around the country. Hip hop, ballroom, Latin and country line dancing combine high energy
