Brad Geffen left the business world at age 40,
trading wealth to work for mature health.
can't do," he says. "Your range
of motion is greater."
Geffen enjoys working with
the 60-Plus group's men and
women.
"It started because I had a
very, very close relationship
with my grandfather, Dan
Zalesin, when he was alive,"
Geffen explains. "I associated
with some of his friends, too.
And I just feel a certain sense
of camaraderie with these peo-
ple."
Geffen started an exercise
regimen at OU's Lepley
Sports Center for the young
Their spirit reminds
Geffen of his
grandfather.
college students, then
modified it slightly to meet re-
quirements for the more
mature group.
"Within a period of a
month, I was so overloaded
that I had to expand the time
element" to include periods of
aerobic activity and stret-
ching. "The benefits that we
got have just been incredible."
Geffen says the "mature"
group at the Tnstitute can per-
form weight and exercise
routines that typical
Americans half their age can-
not do. Also, he grins, they
sound like high school kids in
a locker room.
"Aside from some incredible
strength and endurance in-
creases!' Geffen notes, "I
think the most important
benefit is the sense of self-
esteem and camaraderie that
they've developed among
for
and
themselves
themselves.
"I had one woman come up
to me almost in tears, saying
how thankful she was because
her husband had become very
withdrawn in the old pro-
gram; he wouldn't talk to peo-
ple; he'd stay in the house. He
figured his life was over. He
was just basically sitting
around getting ready to die.
"And now he's gregarious.
He can't wait to get there to
work out in the morning. He's
got a group of friends. There's
a certain amount of kibbitzing
that goes on back and forth
between them. It's really a
pleasure to watch!"
Geffen says older group
members ask him for exercise
routines they can do while
vacationing. "They said, 'This
feels so good, I don't want to
stop this kind of feeling and I
don't want to lose out. I don't
want to come back and have
my buddies stronger than I
am!
Their spirit reminds Geffen
of his grandfather, who at age
75 worked eight-hour days in
Geffen's business. "I'm seeing
the same kinds of things in
these people!' he says, "it's
just that it had to be brought
out. They weren't aware that
they could do the kinds of
things that they're doing."
Everyone gets a taste of Gef-
fen's unique motivational
style, a combination of en-
couragement and strict in-
struction. For example, he will
dissuade an exerciser from the
common mistake of lifting his
abdomen while doing sit-ups
by slapping the exerciser on
the stomach whenever that oc-
"I was not a happy person," Geffen recalls.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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