Every Monday, Elaine and Bruce Boncutter attend a Pump class at the downtown YMCA, where they have been members for 21 years. They do squats with weights, balance in the plank position and do rhythmic step routines to energetic remixes of Britney Spears' "Toxic" or the Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps."
"(Exercising) just makes me feel better, emotionally and physically," said Elaine Boncutter, 62.
The Boncutters work out together at least three days a week, taking classes, riding bikes and swimming (she also does yoga). They say they've encountered no health issues, a fact they attribute to their diligent exercise routine.
"I think I'm healthier than the general population of people my age," Bruce Boncutter said.
The American Council on Exercise named programs geared toward boomer fitness as one of the top exercise trends of 2010. A boomer, or baby boomer, is anyone born between the years 1946 and 1964. In January, the oldest baby boomers, as they begin turning 65, will become eligible for Medicare.
Healthways, a Franklin, Tenn.-based health and wellness company, offers Silver Sneakers, a fitness program for Medicare beneficiaries wherein exercise at certain facilities is covered by insurance. Participating facilities include branches of the YMCA, FitOne of Ooltewah and Genesis Gym.
"Physical exercise decreases older adults' risk for almost every bad outcome associated with aging: falls, disability, dementia, diabetes, high blood pressure, frailty," said Dr. Catherine Sarkisian, a geriatrician and associate professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles. "There is no single intervention you could do other than physical activity that could have such a strong impact on so many different chronic conditions associated with aging."
James Floyd, 61, has been working as a trainer at the Y for six years. He said he's always been active but considers fitness to be more vital as he gets older.
"I call my workouts preventive maintenance," he said. "Some things I've gotten weaker and slower at."
Despite such a claim, Floyd said he can still do 100 pushups without stopping. He attributes exercise with helping him get through a bout of depression.
"When you don't feel like working out is the most important time [to work out]," he said. "I feel 20 years old."
The Boncutters said exercise has helped them to stay young as well.
"It doesn't get easier," Bruce Boncutter said. "The older you get, the harder it gets."
"We have to make it a priority," his wife said. "It's great to have an exercise partner. One of us will talk the other one into it."