Silver Sneakers Rule... Then What?

Twice a week my wife and I get decked out in our gym togs and go to the "Y” (formerly known as the YMCA) to participate in the Silver Sneakers fitness program along with thirty-or-so other seniors. We have never been joiners, but, at my wife’s behest, we decided to see what our health insurance company was touting as an outstanding personal wellness undertaking.

We’ve now been at it for about six months and can unequivocally attest that it has been the best investment of time and energy we have made in years. We started out with a degree of skepticism acquired in our youth on the streets of the Bronx in New York City.

Of what value is marching in place while sitting in a chair?, we wondered. Besides, everyone in the room, except for the instructor, was old and we have always tried to be around younger people who can be more fun. We soon found that there is much more to Silver Sneakers than marching in place and the people who subscribe to the program are more alert and vivacious than they appear at first glance.

The exercise regiment involves dumbbell weights, a rubber pulley band and a rubber ball that is larger than a soft ball and smaller than a soccer ball. These apparatus are lifted, pushed or pulled in sets of repetition counted out by the trainer with fast-paced music in the background. It can be Lady Gaga or Ricky Martin or some hip-hop group urging the Silver Sneakers on to the next level of exertion with the cadence of sounds that are unfamiliar to many people in the class.

The music of Ella Fitzgerald or Frank Sinatra or the Beatles would probably be more to their liking, but the whole idea of Silver Sneakers is to shake people out of their comfort zone and get them to share on a higher plain of physical activity.

Moreover, the realization of what we accomplish in class has encouraged many, my wife and I included, to exercise at the “Y” on off days. As a result, we are experiencing less aches and pains, fewer sleepless nights, lower blood pressure and cholesterol and more energy. Best of all, we are losing weight for the first time in a decade.

Multiply those individual achievements, small as they may be, by the millions of people over the age of 65 and the health care system in the United States will unquestionably benefit; more importantly, so will the general population that relies on that system.

A recent study confirms those benefits. Researchers found that participants in the Silver Sneakers program had reduced their health care costs substantially and were hospitalized less than non-participants in a control group. The study was conducted by Group Health and the University of Washington in 2008 and was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In March of that year, Healthways, Inc., which founded Silver Sneakers in 1992, counted 2,800 participating fitness centers in 49 states. Since then the program has grown rapidly. By 2010, the network was up to 10,000 fitness centers, including the “Y,” 24 Hour Fitness, Curves, Gold’s Gym, Lifestyle Family Fitness and even community centers, making the program accessible to older people almost everywhere free of charge.

Healthways partners with dozens of major health insurance providers to deliver the exercise program to older folks, who qualify for Medicare, at no additional cost beyond their supplemental insurance premium. That makes good business sense because the less we use the health care system, the more efficient and profitable the companies become. Silver Sneakers is a win-win all around.

So as I huff and puff my way to the nirvana of physical fitness and watch us older folks collectively rejuvenate, I have only one nagging question. How will our youth-oriented society deal with revitalized elders, who are healthier, fitter and increasingly motivated to stay active and productive? If the economy can’t make room for them, volunteerism may be a partial solution, but it won’t pay the bills for over-achieving old-timers, who continue to earn the right of full participation in the mainstream.

And, That's That...