Success Story

Building muscle, reduce fat with strength training basics

Seniors view strength training as an activity for the young while women give it the red light for fear of becoming a Hercules look-alike. Yet, the benefits of weight training outweigh the preconceived notions.

According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), strength training allows the body to burn more fat, increase metabolism, build muscular and skeletal strength, and provide the flexibility needed for normal daily living.

Not limited to the young

For older adults, exercise usually requires slower movements and must be done

in moderation. But that doesn't mean it can't be done.John Oakes, 75, just months ago got around the house on his hands and knees. After several failed attempts from physicians to tame a damaged nerve in his lower back, he tried exercising and strength training, and it worked.

"When I came in here, I was using a walking stick three or four months ago. Now, with the help of the good Lord and exercise, I'm doing great," he says. "I'm not 100 percent, but I'm doing a lot better."

Oakes is a 25-year member of the French Riviera Spa and prefers to use weight machines rather than free weights to avoid strain on his lower back. He rides an exercise bike, and works the muscles in his upper and lower back, abdomen, legs and arms.

"I had not done any exercise for a while because of my sickness. Now I'm working on these machines, and I'm getting my muscles back in my arms," he says.

Building muscular strength also gives the body the balance it needs to prevent fractures and falls, the two leading injuries among seniors.

"For older adults, hip fractures lead to significant changes in function. Studies have demonstrated that if older adults break a hip, there's a significant risk of mortality within a year (of the injury)," says Dr. Robert Burns, geriatrician, pointing out that fractures and falls decrease the chances of independent living, which could lead to other health problems.

By Joyce M. Webb

June 12, 2003

Copyright, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN. Used with permission.

(http://www.commercialappeal.com)

 

 

Mother started exercise program so she could gain weight, muscle

When Callie Porter decided to start an exercise program, her goal was different than most: to gain weight.

The 5-foot-5 mother of three, who has worked for the Postal Service for 25 years, wanted to add muscle mass to her 101-pound frame. A co-worker and friend suggested Porter try working out with him at the gym.

Porter started training with Larry Coffee in August 1996. Today, Porter weighs 119-120 pounds and has gone from a size 3 to a size 7.

Working out was a personal decision for Porter, who started at the gym the same month her youngest child left for college.

Before, time was spent taking care of her family. Now, Porter spends Monday and Thursday mornings at Davis YMCA on Elvis Presley Boulevard before working an eight- to 10-hour shift. At the gym, she uses the Stairmaster to warm up followed by free weights, bench press, squats and crunches. After the workout, Porter and Coffee head to the track to walk and jog.

Porter has received compliments about her new looks, including from her husband, who calls her "sexy." She said her body is definitely more toned.

"I'm filled out in spots that maybe weren't filled out before," she said.

Porter's exercise program to gain weight has frustrated some friends.

But Coffee's encouragement keeps her going.

Porter's workouts have also helped with another of her hobbies. Because she's more muscular, her bowling scores have improved. She plays in a league made up mostly of postal employees.

She now has more power to compete. This year, her team placed second in their league.

Porter credits Coffee for her success in the gym and for helping her finally do something for herself.

"My most rewarding feeling is that I'm better fit than I've ever been," she said.


By Katie Shaw
July 7, 2003

Copyright, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN. Used with permission.
(http://www.commercialappeal.com)

Trainer helps seniors reach their potential

When Dr. Rae Ragland, now 72, started working out at a local gym after injuring her shoulder, she noticed how the older folks seemed to be intimidated by the younger personal trainers.

As a clinical psychologist with a background in biochemistry and nutrition, Ragland thought she could help.

So she volunteered at the gym as a trainer, and was eventually hired at Trezevant Manor Retirement Community, where she teaches today.

The classes, in which the average age of students is 84, offer a full-body workout and a motivational style.

"People say, 'I can't,' and you probably can," Ragland said. "It's amazing what we can do. You shouldn't give up."

Ragland's classes focus on working out the whole body, instead of just the major muscle groups.

Monday classes concentrate on flexibility, with students working on mats.

Tuesday and Thursday classes include circuit training, with students working the upper and lower body while seated in chairs and using arm weights and stretch bands.

Wednesday classes cover weight and balance, with students using arm weights and broomsticks.

Ragland said her students usually have problems with decreasing strength and flexibility.

Often, many who exercised by walking had neglected working out their upper body."Most people, as they get older, tend to use their walking muscles and not a lot more," she said. "So I use a total-body awareness workout."

Ragland's students attend her classes for a variety of reasons.

Nancy Wakeman, 79, started going four years ago just for the exercise. Then she suffered a heart attack and was told by her doctor to continue taking the class. Now, she has better coordination and balance.

"It's just what I need," Wakeman said. "In class with other people is more fun than doing it at home alone."

Jean Borkert, 78, has been taking the class for three years.

She has arthritis in her back and said the class has helped her be more mobile.

"Gosh, it's wonderful," she said.

"I think she's an excellent teacher and she's very interested in the students doing it correctly."

Ragland also talks to her students about nutrition, eating the right food and taking in enough liquids.

And she stresses the importance of listening to the body, maintaining good posture and paying attention to breathing.

Ragland said her students are sometimes surprised by the benefits of exercise."It's sometimes subtle for a while," she said, "then they discover they can do things they couldn't before."

By Katie Shaw

August 25, 2003

Copyright, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN. Used with permission.
(http://www.commercialappeal.com)

 

Walking group 'one big family'

Walking has become more than just exercise for the group of women who meet almost daily at Hickory Ridge Mall to stroll inside before the stores open.

It quickly turned into a chance for the women to share stories and build new friendships, while improving their health.

The walking group - which includes Ernestine Benton, Marietta Elzenga, Odessa Turnage, Ruthie Montgomery, Langria Tatnall, Joan Beatty and Nancy Dwyer - started several years ago. Sixty-five-year-old Benton, a retired teacher who lives in Germantown, said she and some of the others were walking alone and began waving at each other. Waving turned to talking and soon their group was formed.

The women meet in the mornings and walk around the inside of the mall three times in about 45 minutes. Benton said the inside of the mall measures about 1 mile and is perfect for walkers, since it's cool and a convenient spot to gather.

"It's a meeting place," she said. "We just about know everybody."

Benton, who was diagnosed with diabetes two years ago, has lost 18 pounds. She retired four years ago and enjoys the friendship and health benefits of the daily walks.

"I feel great. It gives me more energy," she said.

The women walkers talk about everyday activities such as children, church and doctor appointments. For birthdays and such special occasions, they go out for breakfast after their walk. Benton was surprised with a baby shower when she announced she would soon be a grandmother.

For some of the women, the daily walks have given them a chance to make new friends.

Elzenga, also of Germantown, started walking in the mall by herself after moving to Memphis from Maryland in 1999. The 64-year-old retired banker met Montgomery, who was also walking by herself, and the two started walking together before meeting up with the others.

"It's been a good way to meet people from different aspects of life," said Elzenga. "At our age, it's hard to meet people anymore if you don't have children around."

Montgomery, a retired supervisor who grew up in Memphis, had moved back to the area from Illinois five years ago. She started walking, met Elzenga the first few days, and now describes their group as "one big family."

"It's been really a blessing for me," she said.

Montgomery, who is 67 and lives in the Fox Meadows area, also most recently got her neighbor Kala Shah to join the group.

Elzenga, who walks to help her osteoporosis and back problems, said she probably would not walk every day without the others for support.

"We've faithfully kept this up," she said. "It's good for our physical health as well as our mental health.

"It's been one of the nicest groups of friends I could ever want to know."



By Katie Shaw
August 18, 2003

Copyright, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN. Used with permission.
(http://www.commercialappeal.com)

Office as good a place as any to follow an exercise routine

Few can match Beall's prowess at climbing flights of stairs

Charles Beall has been faithfully following a regular exercise routine for 39 years.

At 5-9 and 152 pounds, he believes it's a sin to not stay active, especially if you're physically able.

"If someone has good health and they're not injured, it's just really bad not to exercise," he said. "That's what's going to keep the body going."

Beall's been going since high school, where he participated in track and played football. As a college student at Arkansas State University, Beall regularly climbed the stairs in his 10-story dormitory. That stair climbing stuck with him when he started his first job in 1964 as an insurance agent for Liberty Mutual.

At the time, the company was in a building downtown. Beall started climbing the stairs there for exercise and kept with it when the offices moved to the White Station Tower in East Memphis in 1966. For the next 20 years, Beall climbed 40 flights of stairs every workday. He allotted 20 minutes each day to make the climb and said he could go from the basement to the 23rd floor in six to seven minutes.

At home, Beall worked on strength training three times a week with weights, pushups, chinups and knee bends.

In 1986, his office moved to the Forum Building. For five years, Beall continued to climb, taking time every afternoon to climb 40 flights.

"Occasionally, someone would get enthused and walk with me, but they'd only last three to four days and give up," he said.

He also walked the stairs when his company moved to the Crye-Leike Building for another five years.

When Liberty Mutual moved to the Normandie Place shopping center in Bartlett in 1996, Beall had to get creative. There was only one flight of stairs and he was afraid his afternoon exercise routine would disturb the upstairs tenants. So Beall turned to his jump rope and started jumping for 20 minutes after work. When his co-workers were gone, he also walked and jogged around their workstations and climbed that one flight of stairs for 20 minutes.

Beall retired in December 2002, but has yet to slow down. He joined the East Memphis YMCA where he walks on the treadmill two days a week. He also plays pick leball, which he said is like "miniature tennis," three days a week with about 15 others at Germantown United Methodist Church.

Beall said his dedication to exercise started early.

"Since I always ran track and played football in high school, I got used to an exercise routine," he said. ". . . I got in such a routine that I feel guilty if I don't exercise."


By Katie Shaw
August 4, 2003

Copyright, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN. Used with permission.
(http://www.commercialappeal.com)

An old bike and a commitment keep former pilot going strong

Gordon Hall says he's obsessed with riding his bike.

It's an obsession that started in 1977 when he bought his single-speed (Free Spirit) bicycle from Sears - the same bike he rides today.

And though it's been through several new tires, Hall's old Free Spirit is holding up fine, just like the man who rides it.

Hall rides three times a week at Shelby Farms, completing a 12-mile route each time. Pedestrians might have seen Hall or at least heard the bike bell he rings to alert those walking by.

"It's just because I love to ride a bike," he said.

Hall's biking days actually started as a child when his father bought him his first bike at age 12. He rode back and forth to school and built up muscles from riding.

When he entered the military, people noticed his fit frame.

"The first thing people would say was, 'Look at the size of your legs and calves,' " he remembered.

Hall started riding again when he bought his Free Spirit. He said he knew that his age would make him more susceptible to weight gain in "all the wrong places."

"I thought the most logical means of exercising was to pursue the one I favored most, and that was to resume bike riding," he said.

Hall rode the city streets before dawn. When traffic picked up - and at the suggestion of his daughter - Hall started riding at Shelby Farms. He said he's a "totally serious bike rider" who coasts only down the steep hills and rides vigorously back up.

Staying active has always been a part of Hall's busy life. He retired from the military in 1966 after 21 years of service. He worked in general aviation until 1996 as a professional charter pilot and taught flight lessons.

Hall slowed down briefly in November 1996 when he had triple bypass surgery. But 18 days after surgery, he was back on his bike. Doctors told him his exercise routine probably saved his life.

Hall then worked in a "labor-intensive" job in the hub at FedEx until finally retiring in February 2002.

Today, Hall rides his bike three days a week, year-round. He also joined ATC Fitness in Bartlett where he works out three days a week when not on his bike.

"I'm busy physically six days a week," he said.

Hall said he rides and works out to watch his weight. But steering clear of junk food has never really been a problem. He doesn't like the stuff. He said he hasn't had a french fry in seven years, and not more than 10 slices of pizza in his lifetime. He does splurge occasionally on a hot fudge sundae.

He also smoked cigarettes and cigars for 25 years until he quit "cold turkey" on a Sunday afternoon in 1968.

Hall stays active because he said he feels young. Ten years ago, he expected to be slowing down in his 70s. Now, he's not sure when the time will come to take it easy.

"I feel like I haven't reached old age yet," he said. "I tell people, 'I'm 74 going on 27.' I just don't know when I'm going to get old."

By Katie Shaw
July 14, 2003

Copyright, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN. Used with permission.
(http://www.commercialappeal.com)