Why You Should Join an Active Adults Class Especially If You’re the Youngest by 20 Years (aka Endorphins, Eighties Music & Eighty-Year-Old Badasses)

Top 5 reasons to try an “Active Adults” gym class (after your GP says go for it):

1.     It’s social — you walk in, they walk in, and boom: you have 20 new friends who all know your squat face.

2.     Camaraderie: I still can’t do a long jump, and everyone pretends not to notice. That’s real love.

3.     The soundtrack is pure Gen X comfort — INXS, Men at Work, Human League…hell YAZ!

4.     You can pause mid–rep to look around and literally no one notices. This is NOT high school. Judge Judy is off duty. 

5.     Working out beside people 20+ years older than you? Humbling. Beautiful. Occasionally awe-inspiring.

I’ve been “getting physical” with a core crew of folks in their 70’s and 80’s for three years in a 55-minute class called Active Adults at my St Kilda gym (that’s in Australia). They’re legends — fierce, funny, and frighteningly committed. My 57-year-old joints are humbled daily by their squats, lunges, and step-ups; some of them have been showing up for over a decade, rain or shine.

Three times a week, we rotate through the circuit like a slightly confused but enthusiastic high school marching band—chatting, sweating, complaining about the timer, and belting out whatever 80s hit is blaring. Picture Adam and the Ants, Bananarama, Chaka Khan, and a room full of boomers (plus me) moving in 10 different directions with absolute conviction. 

Scene: Monday or Wednesday, 12:00 p.m.

Thirty active adults milling around, laughing in little clusters, doing half-hearted stretches.

Trainer (who we adore):
G’day all! Happy Monday! Today we’re smashing out 6 stations, 6 minutes each!

Us:
Chatting. Ignoring him. Showing each other smartphone photos (mostly of grandkids — theirs).

Trainer:
Here are the 10 stations… (proceeds to demonstrate while we continue ignoring him)

1.     TRX Rows (getting out of bed)

2.     Deadlifts (lifting luggage)

3.     Standing Bicep Curls (carrying groceries)

4.     KB Squats (ass to grass, obviously)

5.     Lunges (just… ugh)

6.     Ski Erg (top shelf retrieval)

7.     Rower (kayaking, I guess?)

8.     Tricep Dips (getting off the couch)

9.     Battle Ropes (why)

10.  SkillMill Run (balance)

Plus occasional bonuses: Attack Bike (don’t let it win), Jumping Jacks (try not to pee), Step-Ups (stairs), Push-Ups (the floor is lava).

Trainer:
Let’s warm up. Blasts Men at Work.

Us:
Finally paying attention. Ish.

Trainer:
Clock starts. Human League cranks.
3…2…1… GO!

Me:
Belting “You were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar…” while on the SkillMill.
Too easy. Too fun.

And now is when you can close your eyes and listen to this sound effect: Needle dramatically scratching across a record! Open your eyes.  

It’s Wednesday morning and in place of our amazing trainer stands… The Substitute. Our beloved trainer dared to go on holiday and in his stead stands…her. She’s fine, but clearly has no idea how we do ANYTHING around here. 

·       She didn’t review exercises over our talking.

·       She didn’t turn on the music (how am I supposed to sing??).

·       She didn’t do the math on the number of people per station (as many of the boomers pointed out).

·       Her warm-up stretches were… odd. But she did play Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill, which bought her 90 seconds of goodwill.

Round two, everyone settled in. At bicep curls, I look over and nearly faint — a woman I know in late 70s is casually curling six-kilo dumbbells (13.2 lbs). My hero.

At the end, the substitute chirps, “Let’s finish with some core!”

Us:
Groans.

One boomer:
Well… that’s actually a good use of five minutes.

Another Boomer (whispering): 

I think we broke the substitute. She’ll either be back stronger or never again.

Another boomer (to me):
Lisa, you coming to pool aerobics Friday?

Me:
Not there yet. I could use the workout… but I’m not that badass.

Substitute (passing by me): Give it a month.

Moral of the story? If you’re a Gen Xer inching into your late 40s, 50s, or 60s, go work out with people in their 70s and 80s.They’ll humble you, motivate you, and make you laugh.

You’ll get stronger. They’ll keep you honest. And when Human League hits, you’ll remember exactly who you are. And give the substitute a chance. 

dōte.worthy:

here’s a mixtape for your next workout (i’ll name the song and you name the artist…it’s also a Gen-x brain game!)

• Eye of the Tiger

• Maniac

• Footloose

• Holding Out for a Hero

• Physical (obvi)

• I Wanna Dance with Somebody 

• Take on Me

• Walking on Sunshine

• You Make My Dreams Come True

• Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

• Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go

• Welcome to the Jungle

• Livin’ on a Prayer

• She Drives Me Crazy

• Jump

• You Shook Me All Night Long

• Sweet Dreams Are Made of This

• Tainted Love

• Don’t You Want Me

• Just Can’t Get Enough

• Dancin’ on the Ceiling

dōte.note:

share a Gen X mixtape with dōt.age yep, seriously!