Boomers Helping Reshape Fitness Industry

By Tim Watt / sunrise Senior Living

Seniors have long known the importance of staying physically fit well into retirement, and while that has not changed, as baby boomers get older they are helping reshape the expectations of senior-specific exercise classes. A growing amount of gyms are offering classes geared specifically toward older adults, and they provide a wide variety of activities that run the gamut from aerobics to martial arts, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The trend certainly makes sense. According to industry insiders, the 55-and-up crowd is signing up for gym memberships faster than all other demographics, and experts anticipate the fitness category will reach $30 billion by 2018 thanks in no small part to the boomer population.  Among the programs targeted toward older adults is Nifty After Fifty, a chain of gyms in California. The gyms were launched by Dr. Sheldon Zinberg, who has seen impressive results.

"Physical activity is the single best medication you can give to the boomer or senior population," he told the newspaper. "If you could bottle all the benefits in a pill, it would be a bestseller by far."

Zinberg's anecdotal evidence is backed up by plenty of research. There are seemingly countless studies touting the mental and physical benefits of making regular exercise a part of senior living. Some of the most recent findings strengthen the link between exercise and a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease. A study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease earlier this summer found that exercising for 150 minutes each week - the recommended amount from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - improved the cognitive function of people with mild cognitive impairment.