THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 2, 1995 TAG: 9512020569
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Charlise Lyles
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
There were no aerobic exercise divas clad in neon leotards to scare me away. No thongs on the booty.
Just regular people, a gym, some jump ropes and other rather odd items.
In recent years, the multibillion-dollar fitness industry has done more to ostracize than to invite me and many others: Expensive health club memberships, mega sneakers, designer workout outfits - including those thongs - and high-tech machines.
Rather than feeling fit, I feel like a misfit, too poor and intimidated to get in shape.
At 36, my joints are stiff on these chilly fall mornings. The old knees crackle and pop like cereal. The once-flat stomach has become a visible force for zippers, buttons and belts to reckon with.
The Stairmaster just wasn't cutting it.
So I joined 13 others on Thursday night who plunked down $55 to learn from Garry Ross of LifeLines Training and Conditioning based in Warrenton.
A 26-year fitness-industry veteran - and he's got the legs to prove it - Ross is the boss when it comes to an inexpensive workout that can fortify the body against inevitable aging.
Trying to stay or get slim, I've fixated on those three blinking red digits telling me how many calories I've burned. But Ross talks about strength and endurance.
``I've studied heavily the aging process, physical and mental,'' said Ross, 48. Pointing to the thousands of hip replacements in this country each year, Ross says something's wrong.
``I try to provide people with exercises to delay the onset of situations where you lose elasticity in certain muscles and joints, and arthritis sets in. This can be easy. And it puts off 10 or 15 years.''
Hips are what Ross works first: ``Squat, drop, hop,'' he coached me and others who all seemed a lot more agile. Squatting works the inner layer of muscle which supports the joints.
Then came the weird stuff.
A foot-wide rubber band encircling our ankles, we skipped and scooted about like the toys in the movie ``Toy Story.'' The tension works your butt. Hard.
Next came the bowling pin lift for upper-arm strength. (Lanes give worn pins away for free.)
14. . . 15. . . 16. . . I started to feel the burn.
This is when you gain respect for muscles you never knew you had - especially in the thighs.
Yet, the exercises are playful. Almost downright fun.
But make no mistake, this hurts.
As far as machines go, Ross recommends cycling to give knees and hips a full range of motion.
If you run or walk, those joints are only being worked half way.
These are the muscles and joints that sit you in a chair or tub.
Sadly, tasks that become difficult or impossible for some people as early as 55 years old.
You can do Ross's workout at home with the kids instead of driving cross town to a gym where you might have to deal with those divas.
And you can buy a cheap stationary bike second-hand, and a jump rope at the dime store. The rubber bands are about five bucks.
Hey, you've got your own gym.
All will fit in a suitcase. So you won't return from a business trip or vacation carrying 15 extra pounds that are not in your suitcase.
But says Ross you'd better buck up and face it: ``As you get older, you absolutely have to do more.''
The Ross way makes it a little easier to do that.
Work out with Ross today, 2-5 p.m. at the Churchland YMCA, 4900 High St. West, Portsmouth. ILLUSTRATION: Drawing by John Corbitt, The Virginian-Pilot
by CNB