Baby Boomers are Flooding the Gyms

But is the exercise they're doing helping or harming? Experts say running may not be the best option.

By Ted Johnsen

SYRACUSE, NY: With spring here, odds are you’ll probably start seeing all types of people running alongside the road. One age group you’ll most definitely see more of is the baby boomer generation: ages 45-65.

Glenn Heyer is not your typical middle-aged American. At 65 most retired folk would probably sit back and relax. Not Glenn. He has run every day for nearly 14 years. No days off. "Well I started for about a week and I said gee I ran every day this week- and then 2 weeks then it turned into a month and I said gee I can get to 100 days that's a good number and I got to 100 and then 200," he said.

But should older people pick up running as their form of exercise? Most health experts say no.

“Probably up to six times your body weight on heel strength,” said Glenn Axelrod, an Orthopedic Surgeon in Liverpool. “So if someone comes in and weighs 150 pounds when they're running that’s 900 pounds across their knees which is significant obviously.”

Axelrod said that he sees many older people trying to push their bodies’ limits. But he said that running at an older age can cause arthritis and other ailments in the lower body joints. “I think most people should start cross-training from day 1. And if they are runners, maybe consider cross-training a couple times a week,” he adds.

At the Fitness Forum gym in Dewitt, a sign hangs in the lobby encouraging middle-aged people to bring their friends to the gym. This shows health clubs recognize the trend that more and more baby boomers are wanting to stay fit.

But personal trainers know they need to keep a special eye on the boomers. “They need to start off slow,” said John Henneberg a personal trainer at the Fitness Forum. “They need to just listen to their bodies and if their bodies start to hurt- they need to slow down just a little bit.”

So as most people get ready for the weather to warm up, experts are urging older people to do low-impact training, instead of running. But for some die-hard runners, that’s asking a lot.