How it is done
Posted on Monday, July 21, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Style/231994/
MARIE SPITZBERG, GYM RAT
Age and occupation: 89, retired, “professional volunteer.”
What kind of workouts do you do ?
I go to the gym and use most of the machines. I have a knee replacement that I have had complications on, so I do not do the treadmill and the bicycles because of my knee, but I do all the rest of them. I have been working out for almost the past 30 years. I never did anything before that. Well, I walked, but I didn’t really consider that exercise at the time.
How did you start working out ?
I had a whiplash, and I would go to the therapist and all they would do would be stick me in the hot tub. So it dawned on me that I could go to a gym and get in the whirlpool and save all that. So little by little I started using this machine and that machine, and then I found out as time went on that I felt a whole lot better if I had exercised than if I didn’t, so at that time I set [myself ] a time to do it. Now I work it in whenever I can fit it in, and I also go into the pool. And I do the arthritis class in the pool.
How often do you exercise ?
I go to either the gym or the pool three to four to five times a week.... And if I don’t go to the gym, I still have plenty of physical therapy [to do ], and I have my exercises that I do at home. I do something almost every day.
Do you focus on certain muscle groups ?
I do first the legs and then arms and shoulders and neck. At home I do more neck exercises, and we also do those in the pool too. I have aches and pains almost everywhere, so one day I will do more for one group, and then one day I will do more one than the other; but when I go to the gym I do everything.
What benefits have you noticed from the exercise ?
It keeps me moving, which is very beneficial. Now when I play cards or play mahjong — I’m the only person I know [who ] does it — but when it’s my turn to deal, I stand up and move around. I’ve learned not to sit still anywhere because I’ll get stiff if I do. You just feel different, there’s just no two ways about it. You feel better.
Do you incorporate any activities to avoid injury ?
I warm up and warm down. I’ve done them so long I just kind of take them for granted.
Has fitness helped you stay active in other areas of your life ?
I would think that it has. At my age a lot of people just sit around.
What advice do you have for others who want to become active and keep it up ?
I believe I’d start out walking, then I’d go see about a gym, and if you like water, you start in the water. You start light and add on to it. Then you quit adding on when it will take too much to keep doing it. You don’t make it a chore, you make it enjoyable. There are times when I can’t go when I have something — a shoulder is giving me so much [pain ] that I can’t go. If I’m feeling bad I do not force it. Sometimes if you’ve had to take off a few weeks you have to force yourself to get started again. And I [start again ] because I know what it does for me. Know an Arkansan who has learned how to fit fitness into everyday life ? E-mail kschuman@arkansasonline. com