1 SPORTS
McCOY'S
mcic.
0
i :9{-1, k
1
Introducing
Two NEW
Home Fitness
Ideas . . .
,NC
Dyna Pak F-10
Il i ! : * .m.,
--' –
• Patented Track Beanng Carriage
Provides the Smoothest
Lift Motion
• Powerful UnibendTm Frame
• 225 lb. Weight Stack (standard),
265 pounds opt.
• Precision Pulleys
,
,--
111 1
..., •
.t 1,. 1. 111, 1
1
*it !
i
-
_.v.------
Special to The Jewish News
Ns
. r';.-771.
i i..,.......
„
BEN GALLOB
a o•Duni- c ii
114
--
ii II
11 i
Program Launched
To Strengthen Elderly
••
.,•,%
E
4 ' ---
6 - 1
With. VKRNertical Butterfly
•
a °ova _
DYNA-FLEX XP-12
-- -
Push Your Body to the Limit
With the Ultimate Free Weight System
_
7
• Durable Fusion Coat
Finish
• One Step Hinge Lift Mechanism
• Self-aligning Leg
Extension
• Four Sided Welds for
Added Safety
;
j Ow
—
.
Standard Combo Bench
4.=':7
$ 32999 *
OLY. Combo Bench
*Weight set not included.
----e
$99 * •Lat Attachment Not Included.
349
. .. While you're here, check out our large selection of
treadmills. Choose from Trotter, Aerobics, Pacemaster,
Marathon and Battle Creek .. .
SOUTHFIELD
lit
26630 Southfield Rd.
Between 10 1/2 & 11 Mile Rd.
(313)
557-6550
/tours: Mon-Fri 10-8, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 12-5
EXERCISE & FITNESS
48
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1991
LIVONIA
13250 Newburgh Rd.
COD
1 /2 Block off 1-96
(313)
462-2697
Hours: Mon-Fri 9-6
EXERCISE & FITNESS • SAUNA & STEAM
E
nvision this: Ten very
senior citizens, six'
women, four men,
ranging in age from 86 to 96.
Six have heart disease.
Seven suffer from arthritis
and four have high blood
pressure. All look frail.
Can you picture them in a
gymnastic setting, lifting
weights?
These senior citizens were
volunteers in a pilot project
at the Hebrew Rehabilita-
tion Center for the Aged in
Boston, where people of ad-
vanced age and necessarily
sedentary lifestyles took
part in an experiment to see
if weight-lifting would
enhance their muscle
strength and their health
generally.
The project was so suc-
cessful that the federal
government has provided a
$2.9 million grant to expand
it.
True, one of the four men,
a youthful 86, dropped out
halfway through the eight-
week program on medical
advice after complaining of
strain at the site of hernia
surgery.
But two other participants
threw away their canes, and
the stamina and mobility of
all vastly improved.
The research was con-
ducted between June and
October 1988. The results
were reported in the Journal
of the American Medical
Association by Dr. Maria
Fiatarone, a geriatrics ex-
pert at Tufts College and the
Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Fiatarone and six co-
researchers directed the
pioneering study, and she
declared the regimen of
high-intensity weight train-
ing showed that im-
provements in muscle
strength and mobility are
not restricted to young
athletes.
She added that the results
"challenge the expectation
of decline in muscle strength
associated with aging." She
also suggested that the in-
creased strength might
serve to prevent falls, the
most prevalent cause of in-
jury in older persons.
A spokesperson for the
Hebrew Rehabilitation
Center for the Aged explain-
ed why the Geriatric Branch
of the National Institute on
Aging chose the Jewish
facility in Boston for its first
test of the project.
She quoted Dr. Evan
Hadley, the branch chief,
who declared that the center
had "a proven record of
excellence in long-term care
and research efforts."
The expanded program is
also being conducted at the
Hebrew Rehabilitation
Center, where 100 par-
ticipants have enrolled, as
well as at seven other treat-
ment centers.
According to the rehabili-
tation center's publication
Centerpiece, the federal
grant will finance a three-
year expansion of the pro-
ject, which bears the title,
"Frailty and Injuries: Coop-
erative Studies of Interven-
tion Techniques."
The expanded program
"involves an innovative mix
of exercise, nursing, preven-
tion and rehabilitation tech-
niques."
The rehabilitation center's
spokesperson said none of
the nine residents who com-
pleted the pilot project would
participate in the expanded
test.
But because they enjoyed
the exercise and the
camaraderie, they are conti-
nuing the program in a
weekly "Circle of Fitness"
plan that enables them to
maintain their improved
levels of fitness.
Centerpiece reported that
the Circle of Fitness
"reflects the residents' un-
broken determination to <
maintain the physical and
emotional benefits they
gained by lifting leg
weights, riding stationary
bicycles and climbing
stairs."
In the experiment, the
nine elderly Jews performed
leg exercises for their thighs
on weight-lifting devices
three times a week. They did
three sets of eight repeti-
tions with each leg. Weights
were increased as the study
progressed.
The absolute weight lifted
increased from about 16
pounds to about 43 pounds in
the right leg and from about
15 pounds to about 41
pounds in the left leg.
The average gain in
strength by the end of the
project was 174 percent for
both men and women. They
also boosted their muscle
mass by an average 9 per-
cent.
The Boston Herald, repor-
ting on the study results,
declared that five of the nine
who were tested for walking
speed were able to move an
average of 50 percent faster.