You make me feel so young

Most workout classes get participants pumped with the upbeat sounds of classic rock or hip hop music. But not the Tuesday morning Silver Sneakers program at the Montana Athletic Club in Bigfork. No, this class sweats to the suave crooning of Frank Sinatra.

But don't think for a second that just because the Rat Pack is setting the mood that this is no more than a high-intensity game of pinochle. It's work.

"Who says chair aerobics isn't hard?" asked instructor Pam Beyer as she led her class of eight through a series of resistance training exercises last week. Using hand weights, exercise balls and resistance bands, Beyer worked the class for an hour with strength training, stretches and range of motion drills.

"We don't want to go overboard with anything," she cautioned. "I think what we do is sufficient."

The MAC's class is part of a growing trend around the country that has many senior citizens setting foot inside a gym or health club for the first time.

The Silver Sneaker's program is designed for Medicare-eligible individuals and the average age of the program's members is 73 years young.

"Fifty-seven percent of the members have never been in a gym or fitness facility before they sign up," said the program's Montana Field Manager Bryan Newton.

Though different health care companies partner with the Silver Sneakers program, in Montana only Humana takes part. Though, Newton said, there are situations where an employee retirement program with certain companies might have a connection to the program, and Silver Sneakers just started an agreement with Curves fitness clubs at the start of the year to offer the class to their members.

Health care providers and insurance companies have been receptive to the growing trend, as many statistics point out a link between healthier lifestyles and fewer insurance claims.

"The stats pretty much prove it's a win-win for everybody," Newton said. "It's phenomenal the money that's saved in claims. The equivalent of them (insurance providers) paying a $30 gym membership is pretty minimal when compared to claims."

Fitness for senior citizens doesn't just get the older folks pumping iron, it also creates a social meeting place for people who have sometimes been virtual shut-ins.

"The social aspect is huge," Newton said. "It gets them a chance to live again.

"A lot of these people, the closest they got to a social situation was waiting room at a doctors office," he said.

That stereotype, though, is fast changing, as Newton noted that in the next few years the number of Baby Boomers turning 65 is up by a factor of seven or eight times. And this quickly approaching demographic shift is going to bring some changes.

"Whitefish is a great example," Newton said. "We struggle filling our classes there because they're more of an active, healthier type person. They're out skiing black diamonds, mountain biking and kayaking."

But in a lot of Montana, where people spent their lives in a more rural environment and maybe aren't as "gym savvy," as Newton put it, getting people in the door is the hardest part. From there it's easy, just ask Irene Danz of Bigfork:

"If an 86-year old can do it, anybody can."

Silver Sneakers meets at 8 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Montana Athletic Club. For more information, contact the club at 837-2582.