Last week I mentioned the results of the Lockhart Kiwanis 5K and that 9 of the top 10 finishers were over 40 years of age. This week, both on television news channels and in news magazines, were articles and news stories about those people we named “baby boomers” and the impact they have had on the decades of life as they passed through. The ages range from mid-40s on up into the 60s for that age group. That age group has made some outstanding contributions to how we live today, and it seems they are still doing so.

The one area that most of these news stories comment on is the physical fitness practices of this group. Years ago people were told that, after 40 years of age, it is time to slow down and start thinking of finding a nice rocking chair or comfortable spot to enjoy the rest of your life with. Boomers did not buy into this practice and are still very active, and many are very competitive in physical activities such as running, triathlons, swimming and bicycling races. The problem many of them are facing is that, while the competitive spirit is still within them, the body itself is not keeping pace with the desire to be as fast or a strong as they were when they were in their 20s.

Ligaments tend to become less elastic, tendons stretch, muscles weaken and bones lose a little strength. Physicians call this phenomena for this age group “boomeritis,” and it includes things like arthritis, tendonitis, bursitis and fix-me-itis.

Advancements in medical surgery have been a tremendous help for the boomers, as years ago a knee operation took up to six months to recover and often made it impossible to continue doing anything active that you did prior to the surgery. Today surgeries such as an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in the knee can be done with a small incision, and a few weeks later you are back on the road to recovery. Joan Benoit, the first woman Olympic marathon champion, had a surgery on her knee 10 days prior to the trials for the Olympic marathon and won the race. She then went on to win the Olympic marathon by a large margin. Boomers take advantage of this advancement in medical science. Injuries that used to put the individual into the rocking chair now have them out running and swimming and staying active well into their 70s and 80s.

There is a certain amount of attrition with any age group; and even if boomers are active for the most part, there are those who have slipped off the fitness wagon and make up part of the 66 percent of the population that is overweight. The one advantage of this is that, in older age groups, there is not quite the number of competitors that were with you in those younger years. Not that they are not fast; it’s just that there are not as many of them as before.

The message for those people who have stopped exercising is that it is never too late to start an exercise program. Joints last longer when you are not overweight, and muscles stay strong longer when you work out. The one exercise that was mentioned over and over again was the need for a weight training program. Weight training slows the loss of muscle deterioration and helps keep bones stronger. The message was to remember that you are not in your 20s anymore, and things do not recover as fast as they did when you were young. In your 20s you simply put an ice pack on the injury and did a little stretching, and you were back on the road. In your 50s and 60s it isn’t that easy. The key is to start slow and take longer periods of rest between bouts of exercise. You can run every day, but just don’t run as far or as fast on every run. Most trainers in the news mentioned that crosstraining or doing a variety of different forms of exercise was better than repetitive activities every day. One day try a run, the next lift weights, the next take a bike ride and the day after that swim some laps in the pool, and at the end of the week do some mowing the lawn or gardening.

Depending on the activity, various injuries seem to plague the boomers. Runners have problems with the knees, hips and Achilles tendon, for instance. Tennis and racquet sports end up with rotator-cuff injures in the shoulder. Back problems are common, and even stress fractures in the feet make their way onto the list of injuries that boomers are experiencing. But with replacement joints, better techniques of surgery and better physical therapy methods, and personal trainers knowing how to rehabilitate this so-called older population, boomers are at the advantage that they do not necessarily have to slow down. No wonder local races are seeing these boomers take home most of the medals.

Don’t forget to make it out to the June 28 5K race at River Ridge starting at 7 p.m. This can be a challenge to you younger competitors to see how you do against the boomer age group in the race.