Exercise. Easier to say it than to do it. Yet every indicator and bio-metric health expert points to exercise as the foundation stone of enriched long life enriched. Still, we find excuses. Rain, aches and pains, costs of health clubs — yet the fact remains that the actual out-of-pocket cost of not exercising is far greater than the cost of health club fees.
We are lucky in Bellevue to have lots of park space, a creative parks and recreation organization, lakes for swimming, very active Y organizations and lots of health and fitness clubs. And soon, let’s hope, Bellevue can boast a world-class aquatic center.
Both tennis and golf appear to be waning for second halfers. Many of my tennis buddies have moved to the sidelines with knee, hip, and shoulder injuries. Fortunately, the softer sport of Pickle Ball is picking up the slack and becoming a second-halfer game on the rise.
Golf also has lost some of its following as players move into their upper 70s and above. Backs get tweaked. Hips start barking. And how much exercise is it really with a golf cart?
Walking is a great solution, and Bellevue Parks and Recreation has done an excellent job of creating walking venues. My three favorites are the Downtown Park and the two blueberry farms. The old Overlake farm off Bellevue Way has a number of trail options that make for walks of anywhere from a half-mile to up to three miles. This is an exercise path that never gets boring. The same is true for the path by Larson Lake off 148th.
But the best exercise of all for people in the second half of life is water fitness, and water fitness classes are the fastest growing group exercise for Americans over 50.
Water exercise has always been popular in Europe. When I lived in central Europe in my 20s — some 40 years ago — I observed that European pools were different from American pools. They were designed for adults — not children. Every aquatic center had four or five pools, all heated them to temperatures in the mid-and upper 80s because they knew that, as people age, they require warmer water.
Bellevue is under-served when it comes to aquatics. National Park and Recreation guidelines call for 1 pool for 20,000 residents. Bellevue has only 1 for its 120,000.
To learn more, go to the website created by Bellevue residents who support building for today and tomorrow’s age wave of Second Half aquatic fitness fans – www.splashforall.org
Bill Morton has a Certificate in Gerontoly from the UW and is the author of “2H: The Official Second Half Handbook.” He’s lived on the Eastside for 20 years.
