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Ask the Experts: Marilyn Moffat and Carole Lewis The physical therapist co-authors of “Age-Defying Fitness” explain how to stay fit for life, starting now 
When Marilyn Moffat and Carole Lewis volunteered to work on a committee for the American Physical Therapy Association’s Section on Geriatrics, they were no strangers to the fitness challenges facing the 50-plus set. Both are at the top of the physical therapy field. Lewis wrote the first textbook on geriatric rehabilitation, and Moffat has published books and articles on body maintenance, arthritis and osteoporosis. Both therapists express concern about the quality and reliability of most fitness books. “None of the fitness books were written by therapists but [instead] by nutritionists, personal trainers and movie stars,” Lewis says. Seeing a need for a fitness manual rooted in science and research, the women got to work. The result is “Age-Defying Fitness: Making the Most of Your Body for the Rest of Your Life” (Peachtree, 2006), a step-by-step guide to developing and maintaining a sustainable, healthy, fitness-based lifestyle at any age. Although there is no fountain of youth, the therapists explain why exercise is certainly the next best thing. What makes a lifestyle “age-defying”? Carole Lewis: There are five necessary components: posture, strength, balance, flexibility and endurance. Marilyn Moffat: Each one of these is necessary for a healthy, fit lifestyle. In its own way, each is a motor skill. You need to train them all. Is posture really that important? Carole: Posture seems so innocuous, but it’s been implicated in many problems in aging baby boomers. It’s a causal factor in all sorts of problems and injuries, ranging from falls to shoulder pain. Luckily, posture is easy to fix if the person is given correct coaching and works at it, but it can get much worse if they don’t work to correct it or use bad form or the wrong practices. Marilyn: Our book provides tests to assess your body’s performance. So you can not only assess your posture, but also learn to improve it with the right kind of postural exercises and small tips to do throughout your daily routine. Is a healthy diet enough? Carole: Unfortunately, no. Exercise is the other ingredient crucial to health; diet alone will not do it. Marilyn: But a healthy diet is essential to a healthy lifestyle. The obesity epidemic, not only in this country but also around the world, provides solid evidence of why diet and exercise must both be a part of our lifestyle behaviors. After age 50, what’s the biggest health concern? Marilyn: There really isn’t a No. 1 issue as we age. Unfortunately, most people do not realize that strength, flexibility, balance, endurance and posture all start changing in our 30s, and these are not positive changes. Muscle mass, bone mineral density and heart and lung functioning, to cite a few, will all decline with age. With each decade, and especially after the age of 50, strength decreases by about 10 percent, unless you’re diligent about keeping your body fit. So everybody feels weaker with age? Carole: Strength deficits are a major concern for many people over 50. Without actually testing it, someone might think their strength is fine and therefore not pursue a strengthening program. But most people have subtle weaknesses and imbalances that, if left untreated, can cause problems ranging from osteoarthritis to impingement syndrome to hip fractures. Do you recommend taking any vitamins or supplements? Carole: We’re very careful not to talk about diet, since we’re physical therapists, not nutritionists. But new research shows how important Vitamin D is for calcium metabolism, which protects bones and fights osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a major concern for aging women. Should men be concerned, too? Marilyn: Men can get osteoporosis but generally they develop it later in life than women. Exercise programs like ours, and especially specific exercises that load the bones and strengthen the muscles around the bones, can help. Carole: We provide exercises for the whole body. The posture section will help put men and women in better alignment. The strengthening section will work every muscle group and provide needed weight resistive exercises. Finally, the balance section will help them avoid falls and subsequent fractures associated with osteoporosis. How much success have your clients experienced? Marilyn: We have patients and clients well into their 90s and 100s who are still living independently and exercising every day! Carole: We have seen people dramatically improve in all areas. We had one lady whose head was positioned so far forward, it was almost resting on her chest. Afterward, she gained so much improvement that she almost looked like a model. |
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