Client Spotlight; “Confessions of a Sedentary Baby Boomer”

Written by Anthony Garrett

Sometimes I can almost feel my body thanking me for exercising it. For too long, I had neglected my many muscles, bones, tendons, and arteries, all of which are now activated on a regular basis. It was as though I had been sleepwalking and had come out of a deep slumber. 

Eight years ago, my lifelong friend Oran Hesterman explained to me how he felt he needed to be a lot stronger to maintain his high level of productivity as the head of a busy national nonprofit organization.

His emphasis on getting stronger struck a responsive chord with me.  Sure, I took some yoga classes and fast walks with my wife. I was also proud of developing eating habits that most of us would consider the Mediterranean Diet. I boycotted fast food and many processed ingredients that were only good for empty calories.

But I knew it was not enough. I was keenly aware that a sedentary adulthood with too many marathon hours on my smartphone, endless meetings in windowless rooms, long lunches, and late-evening cocktail parties had taken its toll. 

I no longer had the body of my younger self who could do farm work involving picking fruit all day from high trees or hauling heavy bunches of bananas onto flatbed trucks. In fact, too often, I injured myself somewhere from my head to my toes. Although I was strong as a small ox, I still vividly remember straining my back when a banana tree fell on me. At that age, I had enormous strength but little knowledge of what is required for true health of the whole body.

So, when I went to a physical therapist in July of 2016, I was surprised when he told me I was in the wrong office. Although I had my aches and pains and had come off a recent shoulder injury, he said he didn’t want to work with me because I didn’t need his services.

He suggested I go two floors up and talk to a woman who was relatively new to the field as a medical exercise specialist. She was surprisingly young (26 at the time) but highly educated about kinesiology and what the body needed to tune up after being beaten up with old and new injuries.

I had spent my share of time with physical therapists on muscle strains and had come to believe that an episodic visit to a deep-tissue massage therapist was sufficient. In retrospect, I would now call this magical thinking on my part.  

But since I met that medical exercise specialist, Janaye Dzikewich, I’ve gotten a much more practical education about how to take care of my body. Janaye, the founder of F.I.RS.T. Post Rehab in Washington, D.C., told me, “If you’ve never experienced injury, or have completely recovered from an injury, a Certified Personal Trainer is the gold standard to help you reach your fitness goals. However, if you are currently recovering from an injury or are living with a medical condition that leaves you hesitant to exercise, a Certified Medical Exercise Specialist is the gold standard.”

After a disruptive injury, I went to see an orthopedist. He poked around, had me get an x-ray, and gave me a prescription for physical therapy. The physical therapist helped me recover from acute pain and gave me exercises to improve the movements of daily life. 

When I was discharged by the physical therapist, I didn’t exactly realize it, but I was hungry to come up with a post-rehab training program so I wouldn’t end up back in physical therapy should another injury occur.

I was especially pleased to meet Janaye since she had specific expertise as a medical exercise specialist. We were able to focus on my specific weaknesses and strengths and come up with a program that worked for me.

This trajectory (doctor to physical therapist to post-rehab training) is what they call tertiary care––simple as one, two, three.

Janaye taught me that “the one positive aspect of injury is that it teaches us about our body.  Once you have overcome an injury, you must make changes to your movement patterns if you want to prevent future injury. So, post-rehab training is the essential connection between pain and performance.”

While every post-rehab training regimen will vary according to the need, it can include a biomechanics assessment that identifies the areas of weakness lingering from injury; stability and mobility exercises designed to help fix the weakness and eliminate compensations; and strength training exercises to help prevent further injuries and reach fitness goals.

I respect that most people can’t afford one-on-one sessions, especially those seniors who have limited income.  Notably, insurance companies by and large don’t cover post-rehab training.  That’s why it’s really good news there are more group classes at a greatly reduced rate that allow folks to benefit from this pragmatic strategy. Perhaps community centers provide them at no charge. If yours doesn’t, talk to somebody in charge there about no-cost classes.

I can report that I am really enjoying being in my old body. I don’t feel that all the time and not in every way, but it’s enough to move around whether it’s lifting a box, picking up my heavy cats, watering the garden, or taking a long walk in the park. The process feels transformative. A doctor once told me to imagine that my father had given me a car when I was a teenager and told me to take good care of it because it would be the only one I’d ever have. Now put this concept in terms of my body in the same way--one life, one body, one time.

Could it all end tomorrow? Absolutely. Two examples would be slipping off a curb or getting rear-ended by a big rig truck. Perhaps that is one reason there is more discussion these days about “health span” as opposed to “lifespan.”

Meanwhile, I am grateful that a physical therapist turned me down as a patient and sent me in the right direction.  I am not lifting heavy weights or working out on fancy 21st -century machines. I am, however, working with bands, balls, cables, and the weight of my own body.

Could I lose it all in a minute? Yep. I have been taught to “move it or lose it.”  Meanwhile, I am right here, enjoying being “AA&O-- awake, alert, and oriented” (one of my sister’s favorite terms). I am craving my next challenging and always humbling workout sessions. 

I want to emphasize this point about the training being humbling. I don’t consider myself special or a role model. At my age, you can’t do one of these sessions without being humbled and realizing your limitations. 

As a Boomer, I am not naïve about the challenges. Medical experts say that as we get older, our bodies break down more bone tissue than they build. I am also grateful to work with a professional because I have become acutely aware that I frequently am not doing the exercises correctly. I have learned that small and subtle mistakes can have negative consequences.

On a brighter note, I know that my training not only keeps me fit but also consistently lifts my spirits. Similar to the difference between a stagnant pond and a moving river, I consider this training the best possible medicine for me. The psychological benefits have been a wonderful surprise and I never stop loving being in the zone as a result of the workouts.

One word of caution: not all medical exercise specialists are equal, just as all personal trainers are not. Finding someone who puts you in your comfort zone is essential. I lucked out when I stumbled into working with someone so skillful, but I also know it took trust, patience, and determination on my part to stick with it. I know I would not have done it if left to my own devices.

I have a smile on my face just thinking about the gift I gave myself and am grateful to those who helped nurture this passion I have developed late in life.

Nobody and no life events are forcing me to do this on a regular basis. As they say, it’s on me.

Anthony Garrett is a longtime resident of Washington, D.C., and a public affairs and advocacy strategist.