Active and fit in your 40's and 50's? ...Beware of
boomeritis
by Diane Fields
Babyboomers, the legendary generation that challenged
our view of youth in the 1960's are at it again. Born between 1946
and 1964 the oldest boomers are rapidly approaching the age of sixty.
And it is clear they intend to pass this milestone on their own terms
with regard to health and fitness. When it comes to sports, these
boomers are pushing as hard as they did in their twenties. Unfortunately,
as they try desperately to hold on to their youth, many are landing
themselves in hospital emergency rooms with boomeritis.
Boomeritis, as defined by the American Academy of Orthopedic surgeons,
refers to sports related injuries suffered by babyboomers. These injuries
included bursitis, tendinitis, arthritis, sprains, strains and stress
fractures.
Every generation has its share of sports related injuries, but the
boomers are legendary in their unwillingness to accept injury related
downtime. You know the mantra, no pain, no gain, right? As a result
of this mentality, weak links such as old injuries, age related structural
changes and genetic predisposition can easily lead to chronic problems.
Worse still, mixed messages and conflicting information compound
the problem. Exercise and weightlifting are viewed as keys to maintaining
a youthful appearance. The Woodstock generation understands that weightlifting
increases muscle size and view this as an important weapon in the
battle against natural muscle loss due to aging. However, engaging
in fitness activities actually brings on age related changes in joints
and tendons.
Babyboomers need to keep these biological changes in mind when designing
workout programs. Understanding that with age comes a loss of flexibility
and lengthened reaction and recovery times. Joints have less lubrication
and the elasticity of muscles, tendons and ligaments diminishes with
time and needs to be taken into account in the planning stages of
nutritional, supplement, cardiovascular and training programs.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission stated that the number of
trips to the emergency room for sports related injuries to boomers
increased 33% between 1991 and 1998. With some modifications to their
exercise programs babyboomers can avoid these overuse injuries and
change the way society looks at participating in fitness related activities
as they grow older.
© 2002 Diane Fields, Used with permission
Diane Fields, MBA,
ISSA Certified Fitness Trainer, Specialist in Performance Nutrition,
is a member of Legendary Fitness, LLC, a company designed to meet
the special exercise and nutritional requirements of the babyboomer
population. Diane teams up with Richard Baldwin, Mr. America, Mr.
USA, 1st runner-up Mr. Universe on Bodybuilding.com with a weekly
column geared towards bodybuilders and weightlifters over the age
of 40. Additional online articles by Ms. Fields may be viewed at www.dolfzine.com
www.atimeforfitness.com, www.getbig.com, www.protraineronline.com
and www.atozfitness.com. Her article, "Practical Considerations
for Training Overweight Clients," is featured in the November
issue of 2002 issue of the Personal Fitness Professional magazine.
|
