The superfit sixties

A new, hard-bodied fitness tribe is in the gym every day and not just doing yoga.

Sexagenarians are finding its never too late to get fit.

A decade ago you might have thought about hanging up your trainers in your 50s, never mind your 60s. But in 2019 it’s a very different story. Today’s 60-somethings know that age is no deterrent to even the most challenging athletic goals. A new tribe of hard-bodied sexagenarians is emerging.

Superfit 60-plus members put in longer hours at their gyms than any other age group, averaging eight visits a month, according to the British healthcare charity Nuffield Health. More than one in 10 members of David Lloyd gyms are 60-plus. And it’s not the more gentle classes on the timetable that are drawing them in but high-intensity workouts and tough training regimens.

Sport England says the biggest rise in sports participation in recent years has been among older age groups, with running and cycling experiencing massive growth.

England Athletics has recorded a 12 per cent increase in those aged 60-plus joining running clubs over the past 12 months, while British Cycling says 74 per cent of those over 60 say they cycle not just to enjoy the scenery but to seriously improve their fitness.

Trainer Matt Roberts says his older clients expect as much from their bodies as the 30 or 40-year-olds. Previous concerns about high-impact exercise being unhealthy for ageing joints have been challenged, with some scientists arguing that exercise may even be protective.

In 2017, a study from Brigham Young University found that running — long considered harmful to the knees — can protect the joints and keep them working smoothly.

“What matters as you get older is that you exercise intelligently,” says John Brewer, a professor of applied sport science at St Mary’s University, London.

“Research has shown running won’t hurt your knees if you build up and are consistent with it — you shouldn’t just dive straight into running long distances.”

There is certainly no shortage of role models who are inspiring the growing army of age-defying exercisers. And they are not all honed A-listers such as Madonna, Kevin Bacon and Michelle Pfeiffer (all 60). Take Chris Zaremba, a 62-year-old trainer and fitness model from west London, who was told by his doctor that he was “dangerously obese” at 50, but who turned his life (and biceps) around with hardcore gym sessions.

“I have so many clients who come to me at 60 and say they are planning their first triathlon or that they want to get seriously in shape,” Zaremba says.

Fashion fitness brands are signing up the superfit 60s as ambassadors. Yazemeenah Rossi is a 63-year-old grandmother with 218,000 Instagram followers who fronts a campaign for the fitness brand Sweaty Betty. Rossi credits her commitment to exercise for giving her the body of someone a third her age. “I’ve practised yoga for more than 30 years,” Rossi says. “And I’ll spend between 30 minutes and an hour doing it each day.”

Yazemeenah Rossi, 63, credits her commitment to exercise for giving her the body of someone a third her age. Picture: Instagram

Tamara Hill-Norton, the founder of Sweaty Betty, says Rossi reflects the changing face of the brand’s customer base.

“Gone are the days when it was just women in their 30s buying fitness clothes,” she says. “We quite often get grandmothers, mothers and daughters shopping together.”

It was her own mother, says Hill-Norton, who inspired her to hire aspirational models such as Rossi to endorse Sweaty Betty.

“About a year ago my mum said to me that she felt she needed to speak up for 60 and 70-year-olds, to be reassured they were not to be embarrassed about shopping in our stores,” Hill-Norton says.

“These women absolutely don’t think they are past it — I know many who say: ‘Right, at 60 I am going to do an Ironman triathlon’ — and they have this very empowered mindset.”

Lynne Robinson, 64, described as “the high priestess of Pilates” by Sophie Dahl, says hers is the first generation to have graduated from an adulthood exposed to a rising fitness industry.

They were in their 30s when gyms began expanding.

“Without doubt, my generation is much better informed about health and fitness,” Robinson says.

“I can’t even begin to imagine my parents belonging to a gym or going to a class. But we are still here, fitting in sessions, sometimes — as in my case — around looking after grandchildren. I intend to be doing Pilates when I’m 90.”

Peter Herbert, director of the Centre for Health and Ageing at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, says his studies have thrown up evidence of a “never-say-die”, gung-ho attitude to working out that is changing the face of fitness as people age.

“It’s infectious,” Herbert says. “At 75, I am almost definitely the oldest person set to compete in an Ironman triathlon in Wales in September and I also compete in velodrome cycling. I am going all out to win a medal at the world Age Group Championships this year.” Zaremba says supreme fitness is offsetting the slide in self-esteem that can occur in the 60s. “I’ve done thousands of workouts in recent years and have never come out not having enjoyed one,” he says.

“We may be 60, but we feel good and we look good. I can’t see myself wanting to give that up.”

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Fighting Frailty

Ageing athletes shouldn’t rule out the occasional triathlon.

RUNNING

How to protect your knees

The fast-twitch fibres in muscles that produce speed deteriorate before the slow-twitch fibres that marathon runners depend on — “or, in other words, your long-distance running performances are not as prone to the effects of ageing, provided you train intelligently,” says John Brewer.

Wendy Smith-Sly, who won silver in the 3000m at the 1984 Olympics, is celebrating her 60th birthday by running the London Marathon with a 60-year-old friend this year. She says factoring in resistance work is essential for older runners. “We lose muscle mass naturally and making time for either a short conditioning workout with body weight exercises or kettlebells two or three times a week is important,” she says. “It helps to offset muscle wastage and maintain good running form and general muscle tone which deter injury.” Recovery is crucial. “I very often take an extra day between harder workouts as I know my legs haven’t recovered,” she says.

CYCLING

Tips for those in lycra

Cycling is one of the sports experiencing a boom in 60-plus participation, partly because it is gentler on the joints than many gym activities and running. It remains male-dominated — although more women in their 60s are taking to two wheels — but a study at the University of East London last year found that older men aren’t cycling “to relive their youth or prove they can still compete against other men”, but out of a desire to be mentally and physically healthy. Peter Herbert, a champion cyclist for his age, says workouts on your bike need to be carefully planned if you want to improve. “Because of the need for more recovery, it means you can fit in fewer training sessions,” he says. “That could mean less progress, so you have to train smart with the best use of available time.”

In one of his studies, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Herbert asked a group of 20 athletes, mostly in their 60s, to cut their regular cycling load from a minimum of three hard weekly sessions to one workout every five days involving 30-second sprints on an indoor bike. In between, their activity was limited to steady cycling for no more than 30 minutes a day. “There were significant increases in the maximal oxygen capacity (or VO2 max) when they reduced their training in this way,” he says. “They reduced body fat and improved muscle strength and had significant increases in leg power.”

WEIGHTS

Why weight training is essential

Weight training has been proved to be the best means of offsetting some of the effects of sarcopenia, the natural loss of muscle that occurs as we age. “In the US there is a massive trend for weight training from 60 onwards and it is beginning take hold here,” says Chris Zaremba. Progression is important — Zaremba says he lifts weights every day, targeting a different set of muscles each time, but that 60-plus beginners should aim for two to three times a week to start. And while we shouldn’t be fearful of lifting heavy weights, people should start at a manageable level. Roberts recommends starting with a weight that allows you to lift up to 12 repetitions — this might be 4kg for women and 6-7kg weights for men — and working up gradually. “There’s no reason your goal shouldn’t be to use weights of 20kg eventually,” he says.

YOGA

Perfect for balance and flexibility

Nahid de Belgeonne, the founder of the Good Vibes yoga studios in London, says the 60-plus tribe — men and women — dominate many of her classes and are as flexible, strong and mobile as those half their age. “Yoga is something that responds to consistency, so whatever your age you can get better at it,” she says. Basic standing poses, such as the tree, the warrior trilogy and the half-moon, promote flexibility, co-ordination, balance and strength.

“I have clients in their 70s in better shape than some in their 20s,” says de Belgeonne. “Age is not a barrier with yoga.”

Hot yoga is an option, but make sure it’s in a class that offers infrared heat, shown to be soothing to tired muscles.

The Times