Watch video Clausing points to tai chi, one of the classes where younger seniors push, stretch and spread the wings of the stork together with older seniors.
“It’s quite a challenge for some people,” says Jim Prior, 70, on a break in a weekday afternoon tai chi class. “As you age, you lose your balance,” a loss the tai chi set can help restore, he says.
Alternative exercises
For boomers who have been avid athletes throughout their lives — the ones who ushered in those first 10Ks, marathons and dutifully worked out with Jane Fonda every morning in the ’80s — keeping fit through the next decades might mean investing more time in alternative exercises.
In 2008, the ACSM sounded a warning that baby boomers may be showing signs of wear and tear on their bodies faster than previous generations, with the hips, knees, feet, ankles and shoulders of aging athletes frequently needing repair.
Dr. Andrea Herzka, an orthopedic sports surgeon at OHSU, says the boomers she sees are “still exercising with the same performance expectations” they had when were younger. They may not have made any changes in their fitness routines since their 30s, Herzka says.
“Previous generations were different. They would just modify their lifestyle and stop doing what hurts them. The baby boomers aren’t so willing to do that. They’re saying, ‘No, I’m not going to stop.’”
But Herzka says sports medicine also recognizes the importance of continuing a favorite, lifelong sport. “We try to keep folks doing what they do. If running is a huge part of your life and you’re at peace when you’re running, it’s very hard to give it up,” she says. “Now, we do surgeries to keep people running. Fifty years ago, people would’ve thought that was crazy.”
The trick is balancing fitness goals with the realities of aging. And it’s important to remember this is a generation made up of individuals, Herzka says. Some boomers were just born engineered to exercise longer, with less upkeep.
Eight months into it, Ashling says she’s never experienced an injury from CrossFit. She credits her trainers and the encouragement of her 6 a.m. group for helping her reach personal bests.
“You know, when I first got here, I couldn’t even do a sit-up,” she says, before heading back outside for a bonus morning sprint.
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