** “As seen in the Vancouver Province Newspaper on January 8, 2017” 

Personal trainer Svetlana Pelletier works with Lois Keebler, 69, in Vancouver to improve her balance, muscle strength and bone density through resistance training. Keebler says she recently started to slip on an icy sidewalk, but was able to right herself without hitting the ground. She credits that to better balance and overall fitness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With half of Canadians over 40, simple demographics have put exercise geared to older adults on the last three annual top-10 list of fitness trends compiled by Canfitpro, a national training and certification company for fitness professionals.

“From a business perspective, it’s at that stage where you can’t really ignore that market anymore,” says Colin Milner, CEO of the Vancouver-based International Council on Active Aging, an organization that promotes healthy living after middle age.

It’s also linked to a change in the way we define healthy aging more in terms of keeping as active as possible rather than the absence of disease, Milner says.

“Today we are living longer — many of us thriving — with diseases which once killed us. But if you lose your functional abilities — you’re not able to stand up, you’re not able to get out of bed — you lose your ability to function day-to-day. Life is very different.”

Fitness goals vary widely, from people who have stuck with a vigorous routine for years to others who want to garden, play with grandchildren or get up off the floor if they need to, he says.

Personal trainer Svetlana Pelletier (right) works with client Lois Keebler. ‘Older clients are much more focused,’ says Pelletier. ‘They have a goal to stay independent, so they’re much better clients than younger ones.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Svetlana Peltier is a Vancouver personal trainer with BodyAge Fitness who has specialized in working with older adults for about half of her 30 years in the industry. She says she’s observed more interest among both clients and trainers, particularly as people retire to the West Coast specifically because they can be outside more to play sports or enjoy nature.

“It’s a perfect environment to maintain a healthy lifestyle,” she says.

“The reality is we’re all getting older and if you don’t use it, you lose it. You become dependant and this is one of the biggest fears,” says Pelletier. “Older clients are much more focused. They have a goal to stay independent, so they are often more motivated than younger ones.”

Train Smarter – Not Harder!

Svetlana & Michel Pelletier