Get Off Your Rocker
By Ann Baldelli (The New London Day, June 23, 2003)

When Jeanne Hausman began falling down around her home, she knew she had to do something quick before she broke a bone or suffered serious injury.

She was 81 at the time, and after nearly 20 years of retirement, Hausman says she was just plain lazy.

"I was so stiff from doing nothing. I was sitting around all the time. I was sedentary", says the onetime head of the consumer affairs department at Chemical Bank in New York City, who settled in Noank after retiring at the age of 62.

Hausman went to see her doctor, who recommended she begin a regular exercise program.

'I told my doctor, I'm an old lady, I don't know if I can do those things", says Hausman, who celebrated her 83rd birthday on June 19th and can now leg press 115 pounds.

She works out at Advantage Personal Training in Old Mystic three days a week, an hour each time, incorporating cardiovascular exercise and resistance training into her regime.

Hausman says she feels terrific and attributes it to increased energy and improved balance and flexibility.

"I can tie my shoes now, and I can lean down better and I feel better, and I've heard people tell me, I look years younger", says Hausman, who told her trainer that she feels 45.

"The big thing was I was falling down a lot, and I'd heard or read that older people have trouble with balance, so I knew I had to do something, so I did."

Hausman says she's pleased with her accomplishments, and recommends other senior citizens get out of their rockers or easy chairs and find a gym, or some other exercise program.

"Sometimes older people fight changes, I know I sure did", she says. "But when you get out and get moving, things get better".

Frail health often associated with aging is in large part due to physical activity, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human services.

The good news is, it's never too late to start moving.

A federal report last year stated that increased activity by senior citizens - even chores like raking leaves or washing the car - could produce substantial benefits for older citizens.

Greg Drab is owner of Advantage Personal Training in Mystic and Niantic and a licensed personal trainer with a masters degree in exercise science. Drab says research has shown that in just eight weeks men and women aged 61 to 80 who exercised regularly lost 4.1 pounds of fat added 2.4 pounds of muscle. Muscle helps to propel the body.

"A majority of older Americans can't even lift 10 pounds", says Drab. That means they'll have trouble carrying groceries or opening windows, even climbing stairs.

While he was doing an internship at a mainstream gym while in school, Drab wondered where the older clients were.

"Everyone was 35 or younger," he says, adding that exercise and resistance training is for everyone, not a select few.

At Advantage Personal Training in Mystic, there are no memberships, only one-on-one sessions with personal trainers who teach clients to use exercise machines and free weights, and help them establish workout programs.

"People can use us for guidance. We will design a program", he says.

That's exactly what Carleton and Phyllis Eichelberg do. The Uncasville couple , married 52 years, comes once a week to work with trainer Sheila Avery, then takes the lesson home and duplicates it there.

"The last thing I want to do is go home and sit in front of a TV set and wait to die", says Carleton, who is retired from Waterford Water Pollution Control Authority. "A lot of our friends take a nap in the middle of the afternoon because they don't have the energy to get through the day, but not us, we get up and we keep going all day long."

The Eichelbergs created a mini-gym at home, with a treadmill, stationary bike, stepper, and free weights and balance balls. They also tend to a massive garden in spring, summer, and fall, and try to swim regularly in their backyard pool.

"Absolutely we're stronger and we have a lot more energy", Eichelberg says. "The one-on-one here is what appealed to me".

Anyone starting a new exercise program needs to be assessed, says Drab, but with older citizens, it requires more precautions.

The elderly likely have more pre-existing medical conditions are often undernourished. It is also likely to take them more time to recover after exercising, even after only moderate or limited activity.

But the benefits can be huge. Aches and pains often disappear, metabolism speeds up, and bone density and muscle mass increase. Seniors who exercise regularly walk better, feel better, sleep better, and eat better. They are also happier.

Exercise also helps combat many diseases that affect the elderly: heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, colon cancer, arthritis, osteoporosis, and depression.

The federal report last year found that fewer older Americans achieve the minimum recommended 30 or more days a week. More than 35 percent of Americans aged 75 or more reported no moderate leisure time activity at all.

"Exercise improves the health of people of all ages", says Drab. "But older people, it really helps them."

Jeanne Hausman is on the treadmill, dressed in navy wind pants, a white T-shirt and sneakers.

Samantha Storey, her personal trainer, reminds her to pick up her feet and keep her shoulders back. She's walking at a pace of about 2.1mph.

"Being sedentary was very easy to fall into", says Hausman. "But this is much more fun".

Seniors, she says, need to get moving.

"I like the one-on-one, but someone else might enjoy a group class. The important thing is to get up and get going."