When Dean Smith’s knees finally announced that they couldn’t take the pounding of competitive running, the Lone Tree resident switched to rowing, both in waterborne sculls and on indoor machines. Since then, the 86-year-old has won scores of medals in national and international rowing contests, and is living proof that fitness and wellness can be cultivated and held, even among folks who have carried bus passes in their wallets for decades.
‘I was never a star athlete until I got into my 40s. I started winning, and that really motivated me to work even harder,’ Smith says. ‘The main thing is, don’t stop. I don’t care how old you get or fragile you become, you have to keep the juices flowing.’ A mixture of aerobic and resistance training can have a monumental impact on your wellbeing, providing cardiovascular benefits, lower blood pressure, improved circulation and increased bone density – which is an especially important issue as you age.
Mary Schiavone, head trainer at the downtown Denver YMCA, explains, ‘Exercise never stops benefiting you. We have seniors here who have lowered their blood pressure and even been able to go off some of their medications because of exercise. It’s something you can do at any age.’ Smith adds ‘As you get older you’re more focused and can work out more efficiently.’ However, the aged athlete recommends, ‘Start out gradually. Don’t try to recoup everything in the first couple of weeks. If you gradually work at it and build on it, your skills will come back.’
Although 60-year-old Denver attorney Cliff Eley is too young to be considered a senior citizen, he’s not too far off and he, too, has seen the benefits of exercising with age. ‘I noted that the older I got, the more I felt the effects of not exercising. Walking down the steps, my ankles and knees hurt. I realized it wouldn’t get any better and that I had to get back into exercising.’ Now, Eley does 30 minutes of cardio work six days a week and lifts weights four times a week. He laughs, ‘When my wife wants me to do a chore in the yard, it’s no longer a problem. I don’t mind weekends like I used to.’
