At the fine age of 80, after his wife's death, Fauja Singh moved from India to the UK to live with his son. Being in a strange country and speaking a foreign language, Singh found himself isolated until he rediscovered an old passion - running. Twenty one years later, he is the marathon world record holder for adults 90 years of age and older, clocking in at 5 hours and 40 minutes.

Singh's rapid rise in the marathon world started 17 years ago, when at age 80 he completed the 26.2-mile race in six hours and fifty minutes. What made this achievement so special was the fact that he knocked 58 minutes off the previous world best in the 90+ age bracket. Since that time he has competed in more marathons and holds many world records. Singh's achievements have not gone unnoticed. In 2004, Adidas signed him to appear in a major advertising campaign that also featured soccer great David Beckham. The campaign's tagline, "Impossible is Nothing," reflects not only Singh's achievements, but also those of older athletes from around the world.

In the U.S. alone there are over 250,000 older athletes. These athletes desire to compete, no matter what their age, and have created national and state-level Senior Games and Senior Olympics.

What can you do to tap into the rising numbers of older athletes who want to compete outdoors without getting injured? Whether it's the training for the Senior Games or for a weekend competition (librarian by day, world record holder by night), helping the 50+ adults achieve their dreams is a valuable business.

First-Things-First

The following are eight tips to share with your staff and clients as initial approaches to building "Life Champions":

1. Don't underestimate your clients' desires. When an older client wants to train for a competitive sport, or a competition such as the marathon or triathlon, don't discard their commitment or capabilities. Fauja Singh is only one example of what happens when desire is set in motion.
   
2. Understand the aging body. Many of the perceptions of what the human body is capable of in old age are not only incorrect but debilitating to a generation who's true potential may be snuffed out by ageist points of view. Today, gerontologists have found that many of the issues we attribute to aging are more a function of disuse. When your clients choose to challenge their bodies and minds, they are capable of pushing past what was once thought unachievable.
   
3. Set goals.When setting goals for your client, identify the challenges they will face along the way. Your job is to create a realistc picture of what they will have to do, and not do, to achieve those goals.
   
4. Make short-term advances. Be sure to monitor your client's progress on a regular basis to ensure that they are making the desired improvements in their performance. This is not only a way to motivate older athletes, but is an important process in ensuring that their body is able to handle the trainings. For example, an older body takes more time to heal after a competition, so you may need to encourage your client to compete less frequently, but to go for it when they do. Competing less may improve their actual performances.
   
5. Create a foundation. Before starting your clients on a sports-specific training regime, be sure to build a solid foundation by having them participate in a regular fitness program that includes cardio, strength, balance, range of motion and flexibility training. Once they have the foundation in place you will be able to build upon it, bit by bit.
   
6. Get rest. Since an older athlete may require more rest to recover from their training, be sure to structure the program to take this into consideration. Also recognize that people over the age of 50 are more likely to experience aches and pains. These conditions may not have a considerable impact on their program. However, some may suffer debilitating pain; for these indvidiuals, you will need to adjust their training. Some may find relief by doing flexibility exercises throughout their program, or less strenuous sessions in the pool. You can also try making the warm-ups and cool-downs longer and more gradual.
   
7. Water counts. Aging reduces the body's mechanism to alert us about thirst and dehydration, placing older clients at risk. This can have an impact on the older person's ability to compete or process their medication. Remind your older clients to hyrdate before, during and after training.
8. Enjoy the experience. For many older adults, whether participating in team sports or an ultra-marathon, the most rewarding part of the journey into competition is the experience they gain and the challenges that they overcome during the process. Make sure to recognize and reward these along the way.
   

Future champions

By helping your customer to enjoy their competitive spirit outdoors, you are helping to create an environment that says, "It's never too late to pursue your dreams...and we will help you."

What are you doing to inspire older adults to enjoy the competitive side of physical activity and sports in the great outdoors?

You have probably heard the saying, "A family that plays together, stays together." If this saying is true, our goal must be to provide the environments and programs that support this intergenerational bonding activity. The question is, How do we, as providers of health and wellness services, achieve this goal? Two words: active aging.

The active-aging approach enables you and your organization - as well as governments, product and service providers, employers and the health care industry - to create and implement strategies that provide fitness and wellness offerings over the life span. To help guide this process, the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) offers a roadmap with its "Nine Principles of Active Aging."

Nine Principles of Active Aging

As you develop and deliver programs and environments for the family, remember to take the following into consideration:

1. Populations: Who is your consumer? The US population is extremely diverse - from ability and age, to income and culture, to sexual orientation. How will you meet the needs and interests of the different individuals you serve? And consider how these challenges may be heightened in centers that serve multiple population segments.

2. Perceptions: Ageism, racism, and negative stereotypes are stalling the opportunity for inclusion. Moving forward means leaving old ways of thinking behind. What family programs can you offer that are inclusive and give people opportunities to discover misperceptions they may have about others?

3. People: What personnel will you need? If you offer a fitness program for grandparents and grandkids, what staff and staff knowledge will be required to run the program? With fewer people working in the field of aging, where will the workers come from if the program should need to accommodate special needs, such as those of frailer individuals or those living with disabilities?

4. Potential: With the population aging, age 50-plus consumers will dominate purchasing decisions for decades to come, creating untold business opportunities for those who attract them. What are these opportunities, and how can businesses tap them? One opportunity is to offer programs that grandparents will support. Engaging these consumers in family activity is good for the whole family - and for your bottom line.

5. Products: What products and services will you need to meet the needs and interests of multiple generations? From technology to fitness equipment, to outdoor playgrounds and fitness trails, are the products and services you use accessible and inclusive for all? Or will your choices limit the family experience?

6. Promotions: Effective promotions are important ways to inspire connections between generations. Yet marketers often earn a failing grade with the older population by being youth-oriented in their promotions. Did you know, for example, that 95% of all marketing dollars are spent on attracting people 35 years of age and younger? To be effective, promotions must be rooted in the realities of today's diverse population, including young and old, fit and non-fit, and individuals from a variety of cultures.

7. Places: Environments can encourage or discourage families in leading active, engaged lives. What environments - both indoors and outdoors - will you use to support active aging across the generations? Also, how will you create an environment that feels welcoming to all? It may make all the difference to people continuing to participate in your programs.

8. Policies: How do policy decisions affect active aging? Consider how important policies are in areas such as age discrimination, where policies can help avoid the unfair exclusion of young or old, and encourage intergenerational relationships. Are your policies inclusive, or do you need to revisit them?

9. Programs: As promoted by ICAA, the seven dimensions of wellness - physical, social, spiritual, intellectual, emotional, vocational and environmental wellness - are the backbone of active aging. They are also key to meeting the challenges of providing the wide variety of programs and environments that fulfill the needs and interests of a diverse population. What programs can you offer in each dimension of wellness that will support your family plan? One example is a program where adults mentor children through lifelong learning... Why? Research from the MacArthur Foundation Network on Aging in Society shows that children who fail to graduate high school live 10 years less than their counterparts who graduate. No matter which programs you decide to create - and there are many possibilities - focus on getting the family involved.

What is your family plan? Only you can answer this question. But the Nine Principles can help guide you in establishing your plan of action - from recognizing the populations you serve to choosing the place, products, and programs you offer to those who participate.

What do we know about physical activity among older adults?

For starters, physical activity is a powerful means to help prevent age-related loss of function, reduce the risk of chronic disease, improve mental and physical health, and support quality of life.

Older adults who exercise can:

• Reduce their risk of heart disease, some cancers, hypertension, high cholesterol and obesity;
  
• Mediate hypertension, diabetes and depression;
  
• Lower their risk of falls and injury;
  
• And improve their sleep.

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that older adults get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardiovascular exercise per week. Recommended activities include strength-training, neuromotor exercise, functional training to improve balance, and flexibility excerise.

In general, strength training is important not only for fall prevention, fat metabolism, and bone health, but for the ability to perform daily activities such as lifting groceries. Cardiovascular conditioning reduces the risk of heart disease, improves endurance, and elevates mood. Improvements in flexibility aid regular activities like reaching, and ease certain conditions like arthritis. Improvements in balance help prevent falls and improve performance in sports and games.

Walking is the primary recommended activity, since it is inexpensive and simple. Only 12% of adults age 65 to 74 years old do strength training, but this is also an equally encouraged activity.

Aging is such a personal process that levels of physical fitness and function can not be recommended by chronological age. Some people in their '70s and '80s run marathons, while others are confined to wheelchairs. The prescription for physical actiivty must account for individual levels of function as well as the biological process of aging.

While the value of physical activity for older adults is well-documented,the number of older adults who exercise remains small. There is an unhealthy trend toward obesity in the older population, which is a future health problem. Other reports show that physical activity is more prevalent among white Americans than among ethnic groups or people of color.

Survey after survey finds that older adults know about the benefits of exercise, yet few take action. How do we change this?

The National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP) is clearly a positive step forward, as it is filled with solid research and recommendations. However, like older adults themselves, we need to move from recognizing that physical activity is important to actually making change happen.

Making an Impact

How do we make an impact? How do we get organizations and individuals to embrace exercise? How do we fulfill the visions of the National Physical Activity Plan?

Maybe the answer lies within an August 27, 2012 New York Times article by Jane Brody. In the article, entitled, "Changing our Tunes on Exercise," Brody interviews Michelle L. Segar, a research investigator at the Institute for Research on Women and Gender at the University of Michigan. Brody writes that "based on studies of what motivates people to adopt and sustain physical activity, Dr. Segar is urging that experts stop framing moderate exercise as a medical prescription that requires 150 minutes of aerobic effort each week. Instead, public health officials must begin to address 'the emotional hooks that make it essential for people to fit it into their hectic lives.'"

"Immediate rewards are more motivating than distant ones," says Segar. "Feeling happy and less stressed is more motivating than not getting heart disease or cancer, maybe, someday in the future."

How can we benefit from this information? According to Brody, "stop thinking about future health, weight loss, and body image as motivators for exercise. Instead, experts recommend a strategy marketers use to sell products: portray physical activity as a way to enhance current well-being and happiness."

What do you think? Is this a promising strategy? And how will you use it to increase the physical activity level of your older consumer?