Article about Cathe and "Boomeritis"

FitBoop · 10-03-09, 11:10 AM

Cathe's blog had a link to an article about exercising and baby boomers, and it mentions Cathe and has a photo of her. I thought it would tell more about her, like how she's in better shape than 99.9% of baby boomers or non-baby boomers. It appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, and when I saw that mentioned on the blog, I thought it was going to be written by that same anti-exercise video chauvinist, Art Carey. I wonder what kind of shape HE's in now!

(For those who don't know, a number of years ago, Art Carey, who is a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote a column that put a negative spin on using exercise videos. Lots of people from VF wrote to him, and it ended up with Art taking a private session with Cathe which nearly killed him. After that, he wrote another column which had him basically eating crow.)

CarlaShanti · 10-03-09, 11:18 AM

Good article! I'm 2 years out from being a Baby Boomer, apparently. I'm Generation X. What are they call us in ten years? Generation Excess? Ooh, I better copyright that like DiNubile in the article! (Which strikes me as a good name for a stripper).

Gale K. · 10-03-09, 11:46 AM

I'm smack in the middle of the boomer group (50) and have suffered from boomeritis (a bad neck, touchy shoulder and brewing knee/hip issues). I've recently declared myself more or less "done" with Cathe and other high intensity workouts, and moving toward gentler workouts. More and more I'm feeling like I can get everything I need from yoga (and other bodyweight/isometric based workouts), the elliptical and walking. Since adopting this approach, I haven't had a flareup of neck/arm pain in 9 months (knocking on wood here). Previously I was pretty much consistently in pain. I do think we need to adjust our activity as we age.

Pat58 · 10-03-09, 12:03 PM

Boomeritis ROTF - yeah it boomed me good!

Helen S · 10-03-09, 12:17 PM

Thanks for the link Abbe. I enjoyed reading the article. I'm a Boomer and I definitely agree with Cathe when she mentioned taking extra precautions. When I was on the track team in high school, I remember hating warm-ups. I just wanted to start running right away. Now, I need them and it takes me longer to warm-up. I walk for about 5 minutes and then jog for 15 minutes before I do any kind of intervals. I also need to cool-down and stretch afterwards.

I don't like doing high intensity step anymore. It just seems that the pounding wasn't worth it. I still do high impact on the floor but that's because I can adjust the moves to either low/moderate impact or do high impact moves on my rebounder.

SharonNYC · 10-03-09, 12:30 PM

I'm a year over the boom (64) and agree it's wise to modify certain activities to save stress on aging joints. But really, it may be true that this generation takes exercise injuries to the doc these days, but in my mother's generation people accepted lessening of mobility as inevitable and often didn't take their aching/stiff knees or creaky/painful backs to the doctor -- oh, I remember the complaints about lumbago, rheumatism and on and on and on. It was assumed that getting up from a chair would become effortful in your 60s. I remember hearing "I don't have arthritis" with a "yet". People were considered "too old to do..." at about 50.

RedPanda · 10-03-09, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SharonNYC

I'm a year over the boom (64) and agree it's wise to modify certain activities to save stress on aging joints. But really, it may be true that this generation takes exercise injuries to the doc these days, but in my mother's generation people accepted lessening of mobility as inevitable and often didn't take their aching/stiff knees or creaky/painful backs to the doctor -- oh, I remember the complaints about lumbago, rheumatism and on and on and on. It was assumed that getting up from a chair would become effortful in your 60s. I remember hearing "I don't have arthritis" with a "yet". People were considered "too old to do..." at about 50.

Great post Sharon!

Your comments about your mother's generation remind me of my own parents, now both in their 80s. They are both plagued with lifestyle-related health problems and think formal exercise is ridiculous. Before he retired at 60 was father was builder, and that kept him in fairly good shape. But he stopped getting any exercise the day he retired and now has to walk with the aid of a walker. I can't help thinking how much better off they would both be if they had been working out consistently.

Mr RedPanda will be 68 in a few weeks and he could kick the butt of many guys half his age.

I pulled a back muscle in boxing class a few weeks ago and my back and shoulder have been slightly sore ever since. So yesterday I had a remedial massage (in line with what you were saying about older people today being more proactive in seeking treatment). I was chatting to the massage therapist (guy in his 20s) about boxing and he asked if I was doing it to get fit - or did I want to get into amateur boxing!

I took the fact that he even asked as a compliment.

RedPanda · 10-03-09, 02:28 PM

Just adding that one of the fittest people I know is the president of the local rock-climbing association. He's about 75, has lost all his fingers down to the first joint due to frostbite and leads annual expeditions up the Himalayas.

susan p · 10-03-09, 02:43 PM

My question is, what's the alternative? If we all sit in our recliners and gain weight, is that not itself going to lead to another set of injuries and illnesses?

Face it, bodies do age as they get older. That is going to happen whether you work out or not. Seems pretty self-evident, yes? So you can keep working out but work out SMART (longer warm-ups, longer cool-downs, more stretching, less impact, regular rest days), or you can throw up your hands and quit.

I'd rather be my (active) 46 years old than my mom's inactive 46 years old. I think if you compared my aches and pains to her you would find that mine are less.

Interesting that Cathe had knee surgery in 2006. I had no idea.

lfcjasp · 10-03-09, 02:56 PM

Yeah, sigh, "that's who we are". We really honestly think we're special, the old rules our parents and grandparents lived by don't apply to us...Some of us are learning otherwise, the hard way.

I've been taking my cardio down quite a bit in intensity. Tons of walking versus jumping around for example. I'm learning to accept my daily activities as "exercise" and not have to beat myself when I'm genuinely tired at night. I'm sleeping better now, my appetite is calmer and I'm just less stressed out now.

I may well be around for another 40 years or more, so I have to make sure I can manage things okay that long!!!

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10-03-09, 11:10 AM
FitBoop VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001	Article about Cathe and "Boomeritis" Cathe's blog had a link to an article about exercising and baby boomers, and it mentions Cathe and has a photo of her. I thought it would tell more about her, like how she's in better shape than 99.9% of baby boomers or non-baby boomers. It appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, and when I saw that mentioned on the blog, I thought it was going to be written by that same anti-exercise video chauvinist, Art Carey. I wonder what kind of shape HE's in now! (For those who don't know, a number of years ago, Art Carey, who is a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote a column that put a negative spin on using exercise videos. Lots of people from VF wrote to him, and it ended up with Art taking a private session with Cathe which nearly killed him. After that, he wrote another column which had him basically eating crow.)

10-03-09, 11:18 AM
CarlaShanti Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: United Kingdom	Good article! I'm 2 years out from being a Baby Boomer, apparently. I'm Generation X. What are they call us in ten years? Generation Excess? Ooh, I better copyright that like DiNubile in the article! (Which strikes me as a good name for a stripper).

10-03-09, 11:46 AM
Gale K. VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Desert Southwest	I'm smack in the middle of the boomer group (50) and have suffered from boomeritis (a bad neck, touchy shoulder and brewing knee/hip issues). I've recently declared myself more or less "done" with Cathe and other high intensity workouts, and moving toward gentler workouts. More and more I'm feeling like I can get everything I need from yoga (and other bodyweight/isometric based workouts), the elliptical and walking. Since adopting this approach, I haven't had a flareup of neck/arm pain in 9 months (knocking on wood here). Previously I was pretty much consistently in pain. I do think we need to adjust our activity as we age. __________________ Gale K. The winds of grace are blowing all the time--all we need to do is raise our sails. -Rama Krishna, as quoted by Baron Baptiste

10-03-09, 12:03 PM
Pat58 VF Supporter Join Date: May 2002 Location: Connecticut	Boomeritis ROTF - yeah it boomed me good!

10-03-09, 12:17 PM
Helen S VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Utah	Thanks for the link Abbe. I enjoyed reading the article. I'm a Boomer and I definitely agree with Cathe when she mentioned taking extra precautions. When I was on the track team in high school, I remember hating warm-ups. I just wanted to start running right away. Now, I need them and it takes me longer to warm-up. I walk for about 5 minutes and then jog for 15 minutes before I do any kind of intervals. I also need to cool-down and stretch afterwards. I don't like doing high intensity step anymore. It just seems that the pounding wasn't worth it. I still do high impact on the floor but that's because I can adjust the moves to either low/moderate impact or do high impact moves on my rebounder. __________________ Disclosure: I have appeared as a cast member for several workouts. Please see my profile for details.

10-03-09, 12:30 PM
SharonNYC VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Brooklyn, New York	I'm a year over the boom (64) and agree it's wise to modify certain activities to save stress on aging joints. But really, it may be true that this generation takes exercise injuries to the doc these days, but in my mother's generation people accepted lessening of mobility as inevitable and often didn't take their aching/stiff knees or creaky/painful backs to the doctor -- oh, I remember the complaints about lumbago, rheumatism and on and on and on. It was assumed that getting up from a chair would become effortful in your 60s. I remember hearing "I don't have arthritis" with a "yet". People were considered "too old to do..." at about 50. __________________ Sharon (You can get to my sketchblog through my profile page.) __________________________ I'm what I am, and what I am, Is back on Boogie Street. Leonard Cohen/Sharon Robinson "Boogie Street" 10 New Songs. (I have a professional/personal relationship with an instructor who produces video and book material relevant to this site.)

10-03-09, 02:28 PM
RedPanda Join Date: Feb 2007	Just adding that one of the fittest people I know is the president of the local rock-climbing association. He's about 75, has lost all his fingers down to the first joint due to frostbite and leads annual expeditions up the Himalayas. __________________ Maintaining a 90-pound weight loss since 2003.

10-03-09, 02:43 PM
susan p VF Supporter Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Kansas City	My question is, what's the alternative? If we all sit in our recliners and gain weight, is that not itself going to lead to another set of injuries and illnesses? Face it, bodies do age as they get older. That is going to happen whether you work out or not. Seems pretty self-evident, yes? So you can keep working out but work out SMART (longer warm-ups, longer cool-downs, more stretching, less impact, regular rest days), or you can throw up your hands and quit. I'd rather be my (active) 46 years old than my mom's inactive 46 years old. I think if you compared my aches and pains to her you would find that mine are less. Interesting that Cathe had knee surgery in 2006. I had no idea.

10-03-09, 02:56 PM
lfcjasp Exchange Moderator Join Date: May 2003 Location: Hampton Roads, VA	Yeah, sigh, "that's who we are". We really honestly think we're special, the old rules our parents and grandparents lived by don't apply to us...Some of us are learning otherwise, the hard way. I've been taking my cardio down quite a bit in intensity. Tons of walking versus jumping around for example. I'm learning to accept my daily activities as "exercise" and not have to beat myself when I'm genuinely tired at night. I'm sleeping better now, my appetite is calmer and I'm just less stressed out now. I may well be around for another 40 years or more, so I have to make sure I can manage things okay that long!!! __________________ Lydia