Working out keeps him feeling young

 

WORKING OUT KEEPS JEROME GRAHAM IN YOUTHFUL SHAPE

 60 is the new 40

“I do pray that I continue to feel as young as I do,” says Jerome Graham in between sets of 10 reps of 25 lb barbell curls. The 61-year-old works out four or more days every week so he can represent the meaning of a common meme in today’s world,  “60 is the new 40.” 

During his workouts he stays focused moving consistently and quickly among his various exercises efficiently getting in as much of a workout he can in his limited time in the gym.  While Jerome is retired from a 30-year military that combined active duty, National Guard and Army Reserves, he will be celebrating a 40-year anniversary with UPS next June. So he schedules most of his Hartsville YMCA workouts in between his overnight driving as a UPS feeder driver inside South Carolina with his daytime sleep and all the others jobs of regular living

Life-long fitness focus

Jerome has been staying physically active in sports and recreational activities for pretty much his entire life – at least since he first went out for the Rosenwald High School (Society Hill) junior varsity team when he was in the seventh grade back in the mid-1970s.  While he has crossed the 60-year mark his workouts will challenge the majority of thirty, forty and fifth year olds.  “My goal is to stay fit so that I can stay healthy,” says Jerome. And, his philosophy and his work has been paying off as he follows some personal rules about seeing his doctors regularly, watching his diet, getting plenty of exercise and trying to get plenty of sleep.  “My health is one of my top priorities because it helps me ensure I can take care of those other priorities like my family,” he says.

So, where is the motivation coming from?

It also does not take too long into a conversation about lifting and working out before it is obvious that even though his competition may be mostly with himself, Jerome is competitive. “One of my early motivations for getting and staying in shape was so that I would score 300 on the Army PFT. The 300 is the top score and was always his goal. One of the few times in his life when he was not working out as often as he wanted has been the most recent pandemic, which closed the Y and other workout opportunities. 

Bench pressing is probably Jerome’s favorite heavy weight exercise. “I am now trying to get back where I was and it taking longer than I might like,” he notes.  Before the pandemic we was benching 205 in three sets of five. Being away from the regular lifting for several works he is now working back toward 205 by benching 185 in two sets of ten. If your watch him work you would know it will not be much longer before he is back.  “For me, weight lifting is about as much psychological as it is physical,” observes Jerome. He says there is a great deal of personal satisfaction and personal comfort in knowing that he is doing his part to take care of his body and his health.

He is long-term YMCA member

Jerome has a family membership at the Hartsville Y and he has been a member since the Y moved into its present location in the former Coker Department Store in downtown Hartsville. And one of the benefits he enjoys about this membership is getting to know and make connections with people from all over the community.

 He is a self-proclaimed sports fanatic and can often be heard discussing the merits  of professional, college and high school teams and athletes. He is a long-time Pittsburgh Steeler fan in the NFL and he may run into a little problem with who to cheer for with Clemson and Carolina as his son  Desmond is getting ready to graduate from USC and he just took his daughter Alyiah to Clemson a few days ago.  His oldest daughter, Lenesha earned her medical coding  Associates Degree at Florence-Darlington Tech.  He and his wife Jenelle and their family live in the Dovesville Community of Darlington County.

He is inspiring and also a mentor

In addition to talking sports, Jerome can often be heard answering questions from younger guys who are interested in his time in the Military or sharing stories with other veterans. While he did not serve overseas, he was mobilized as an Army Reserve training evaluator for an extended period of service in January 2003 as part of “Iraqi-Freedom.”

So, while Jerome says it is in his DNA to work out and stay in physical shape he also takes advantage of the social connection that can also become part of the overall YMCA experience and fitness experience.  “It is important to me to be in the gym because working out keeps me physically strong and mentally strong.”

The key is to get with the program

I am hoping to restart this blog and will begin by attaching some of the articles that I am seeing come up on my social media.  One today has to do with advice for older athletes getting back into a program.  I found most of this advice right on target:
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/here-s-how-to-get-stronger-after-50?utm_source=pocket-newtab

It is amazing how young I was when I started this blog and how much more I have grown since that time.  Had a Bootfit class with Robbie McLendon at the Hartsville YMCA today that revisted some of the challenges like tire flipping and sledge hammer swinging of a few years ago.  It beat me pretty easily and I am looking forward to the next time. It beat a lot of the others in the class too.

The goal is to move and if you have specific goals then move with your program.

Why did it take so long to discover YOGA?

A small change in the normal exercise routine opened a choice that I had not previously given myself. I had an opportunity to take YOGA, something I had been arguing with myself about for way too long but somehow I never took a class.

Yoga, it is being taught at the Hartsville YMCA by Jessie Avant Smith, feels like it is making a significant difference in the way my muscles are relating to each other -- even though I have only taken about four classes. Could be there is a large psychological factor in this improvement but either way, it sure feels like it is working to be stretching muscles instead of only contracting them.

Are there things I have to "get over?" You could say that. I have no form. What I do and what a Yoga pose is supposed to look like often bear no family resemblance. I can stretch myself enough to even fit into the simplest of the resting poses. But, the class is mixed with beginners to veteran yoga masters and they do not seem to mind the incompetence on the mat. Mostly, exercising when you are older means you have to "get over" thinking it matters what you look like doing the exercise. The ONE and the ONLY thing that really matters is that you are doing an exercise. Moving your muscles and working your body is a miracle health treatment. Try it!

For Ann Lighty, Exercising and Socializing are the Same

Workout partners, Ann Lighty, right, and Shonda Wingate, take on the elliptical machines at the Hartsville YMCA.


A little free weight training is part of Ann's regular workout session.





Treadmill and television -- often part of Ann Lighty's YMCA workout.



Ann Lighty warming up just prior to the YMCA Monday evening spin class.


Ann Lighty is one the Spin bike about 15 minutes prior to the music coming over the speakers. She is pedaling fast and this is just warm ups. As the class begins, and the music begins to pound she pedals faster and before long she is among the fastest spinners in the class -- and she maintains that pace through the hour-long class -- nearly every Monday and Wednesday evening. Spin is the work in her four-night-a-week exercise schedule. And, she has been finding Spin Class fun for about the past two years, since joining the YMCA just before she retired in August 2010.

Ann just barely made the criteria for this series about people working out past the age of 60. She hit that milestone on November 14, 2011. And, she is happy with her new age, smiling as she reflects on hitting 60 and noting that she believes she is getting older and getting better. "I'm proud I'm 60. Growing older and getting better...I am loving life." That may not have been so true a little more than three years ago. It was then that her husband succumbed to cancer and she was without her partner of 38 years. His death sent her into a depression that she fought and exercise became one of the weapons in her fight.

It was about two years ago that she decided she needed to do more than go to work and she joined the Y. At nearly that same time she talked a work colleague, Shonda Wingate, into joining her in the exercise. They have been workout partners for the past two years and it doesn't take long to notice they enjoy their time at the Y. "I'm not going to lie," says Shonda, "it might be as much for the socializing as it is for the physical but we enjoy it." Ann does say that having a workout partner is one of the motivations she sometimes needs to get up and get out to the gym. "I don't really like working out but I just work out," she says. "If I did not have someone to work out with, I might not come at all." They motivate each other and talk about how most days they can't wait to find out what the other has been up to.

"After my husband died, I lost some weight and then, I did not want to put it back on so that was my first reason for deciding to work out," says Ann. She knows the workouts give her more energy and she also says that one of the greatest benefits is "peace of mind." "You can come to the gym and just let your mind go," she notes.

Ann seems to be happy with her retirement, which came after about 19 years with the Scott Center, most recently int he Bridging the Gap program. She gets to keep up with things at work as she talks with Shonda. Besides working out, she likes yard work and has a dog that she walks, though it is not always clear if she is walking the dog or he is walking her. She has grown children and also has two grandchildren, students at Florence-Darlington Tech., living with her. She is certain that with her workouts she is in better shape than her teenage grands.

In addition to the Spin class, Ann mixes up her workouts with some light weights for arms and upper body and then work on the treadmill and sometimes the elliptical. She has found that she often enjoys watching the news on the PreCor Treadmill and says that makes the 30 minutes of walking go by pretty quickly.

As the interview was happening, a ten-year-old got on the adjacent treadmill telling us both that he thinks, "you are never too young to train." Ann smiled as she agreed with him and we turned that line around and decided that you are also probably never too old to begin to exercise.

Den's Lifestyle has just about always included regular physical exercise

Dumbell bench press is a regular part of the lifting workout for Den Latham






Den is good at nearly vertical sit ups.










Den engaging in a Yoga stretch at the Hartsville YMCA



Den Latham, who is somewhere around 62 going on 40, has been working out most of his life; a life that included a couple of years as a high-school wrestler. That wrestling background may be all you need to know about Den's unusual personal work ethic. Wrestlers are focused athletes. Reflecting back on his high school years Den declares he was not that good but he clearly remembers his coach working the wrestlers until they became stronger than they had imagined. "After that, I always tried to stay in shape -- mostly running, push ups individual work..."



Yoga starts his day

Today, about five or six days a week (depending on his schedule as the Manger of the Hartsville Center Theater and Building Commission), you can usually find Den in either the weight room at the Hartsville Family YMCA or in a Yoga class at the same facility. And, you probably won't find him while he is at it but he begins just about every morning with a 30 to 45-minute personal Yoga workout at home. Matter-of-factly, he just says it is the way he starts his day. Part of that morning ritual is some orange juice and a cup of green tea. He says he began the heavy emphasis on Yoga about three years ago with Joni Lynn at the YMCA and then with Stephanie Keach at the Asheville Yoga Center. He will sometimes fill in as a Yoga instructor because when Den begins something, he usually follows it through until he becomes a pretty accomplished practitioner. And, you will find a lot of people around who benefit from Den's focus. While he never pushes anyone, he is almost always available for those who would like to learn a little something new.

TAI CHI
Probably the most current example is Den's love of Tai Chi. Tai Chi is ancient form of exercise and Den began his investigation of the art with the late Berry Litsey, who was a Professor of Psychology at Coker College. Den says there is no master level in Tai Chi, that is not that kind of exercise, but there is some intense study and focus that goes into Tai Chi. Shortly after Dr. Litsey's death, Den called the person whose video tapes Dr. Litsey had learned from, and visited Terry Dunn in Santa Monica, California, for even more advanced training. Den has introduced a number of people to the discipline of Tai Chi and he figures about six of those have made it a part of their life style. In fact, he credits Tai Chi and Yoga for helping him stay out of pain from past athletic or accident injuries. And, just a day after he mentioned this while we were talking, THE PEOPLE'S PHARMACY discussed that concept as part of their weekly radio program.

Working out is just something he does

Den enjoys an active lifestyle. Working out regularly and enthusiastically is one of the requirements for his maintaining that lifestyle. "If I have a philosophy," he says, "it's kind of spiritual. I think God and nature have give us these fantastic bodies. You only get one, and you need to take care of it: proper nutrition, rest and exercise. It's disrespectful not to, like throwing away a great gift."

And, Den is not a person who just talks about living a full life. He will get an idea and then will focus on that idea and do all he can to get the most from the experience. For example, sometime after he hit his 50th birthday, he was introduced to the world of kayak surfing. That was in the year 2000. By 2003 he had made the U.S. Kayak Surfing team, an honor he repeated in 2005 and 2007.

Surf Kayaking is tough sport

Surf kayaking is not for the faint of heart or for those with less that professional skill levels. "It is really a dangerous sport," reflects Den as he looks back on those action-filled championships. A point he will make is that he had to be in shape and he had to be strong to both compete at that high level and survive at that extreme sport. "So weight training is just something that I had to do," One observation that he made will probably resonate with some who are actively working out now. "All my life people have been saying, 'You're in shape now but wait till you're 30, or 40, or 50...I was stronger in my 50s than I had ever been." Den does not talk a lot about his adventures but if you get the opportunity, you should ask him about some of his surf kayaking success. For example, when he was 56 he competed in the team trials and made the men's 18 to 40 team.

One reason Den Latham is an early example in this working out after 60 series is that he is one of my role models in the gym. Den gets to the gym. Den does the work, and does it well. Den is accomplished at what he is doing and works every day to get even better. He has an exercise ethic worth emulating. And, his approach is not all that different from lots of others who WORK OUT. "Many times I walk into the Y and think, 'I really don't want to do this." Then he throws that thought out of his mind, picks up some dumb bells and goes to work. "But, 15 or 20 minutes into the workout, I'm pumped. Exercise has to be part of your lifestyle. It is something you, part of your day, like eating or sleeping."

Den is a person of many interests
Den has pretty much replaced his focus on surf kayaking with his continuing love of backpacking and hiking and blackwater kayaking. These are often things he does with his wife Allison and when you hear Den talk about Allison you will see his eyes light. "In 2007, Allison and I spent a week wilderness backpacking we hiked and kayaked in Alaska in eastern Yosemite... Best hike ever!" The two are often in Yoga during the 5:30 p.m. class at the Y.

The hard part of this story is stopping. And as we come to the end I think we will close with a quote Den shared from Henry David Thoreau: "If one advances in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours." Maybe those words will help all of us keep exercise as as a key component of our lifestyles.

Author's note: Den lives a very balanced life style and packs a lot into his life. For example, he has just received word that he will have his latest book, PAINTING THE LANDSCAPE WITH FIRE published. It is a book about the longleaf pine ecosystem and will be published by USC Press in about year. He has a December 31 deadline for final edits, index, etc.

Spin in the morning

The morning is usually rolling out of bed and into a four mile walk. The walk is usually accompanied by earphones playing a good book; THINKING FAST AND SLOW is the current offering.

Kim, who is the Monday night Spin instructor, is celebrating her birthday today. she also is the YMCA Wednesday morning SPIN leader. So, decided to celebrate her birthday with a morning Spin class. Have been thinking I should shock the workout system a little and Spin usually does it and this morning adventure is not an exception.

Spin in the morning was a system shocker and it may be one of those routine changes that can help move me from the plateau. It will be interesting to feel what the rest of the day and week hold after this morning's Spin. A big question will be if I will be able to do this afternoon's spin class. Jury still deliberating.

Lazy? Age? Motivation? Just what is the problem?

I think of all the birthday's the one this past January 1 might have been the most traumatic. There is just something about 62. The basic age when you can start pulling your money from those retirement accounts without penalty is one thing. (Okay, not much money left now in those retirement accounts with this economic thing stealing everything that took years to save.) But, maybe it is being qualified now for social security even though they hope we won't touch that until 70. Not sure what, or why but this past birthday seemed to drain away energy and motivation. I did have a night class and that may have been part of the reason I could not get myself to the YMCA but what about the other three nights of the week and the weekend? And, then there were the mornings. I can't remember another year that I have been four days in a row without a three to six mile walk/run. But January and February, I would awaken and turn back in. Too cold is what I said but it is never too cold in South Carolina. Now, I have four days in a row at the Y and am feeling better about things but the decision to workout is way to conscious and way too debatable in my life right now. The slacker is winning the debate and going in opposition to what is clearly common sense, basic wisdom and life skills. So, what is it -- age, laziness, motivation, or just plain stupidity that is keeping me of the streets and away from the weights?

ending one year, beginning another

Being a "New Year's Baby" you get an extra bonus when January 1 comes around because you literally are beginning a brand new year. So, exercise wise, I spent a little time closing out 2009 at the Hartsville Y, doing some ab work and some leg work. My pathetic attempts at working out during the past three months have ensured that yesterday I was not lifting much in any of the exercises. Missed the traditional running out the old year and in the new that Greg and I just have not been able to solidify as a tradition, but this morning did get four miles of walking before seven. So, not a bad start to 2009. My goal is to consistently get in some real physical exercise. Exercise is not a habit, it is a daily conscious decision, especially as you get older. Spurring me to a greater commitment was Y regular Dorothy Beaver, who fights off rheumatoid arthritis with several Y trips a week. What a great role model she is.