Catch-Up Fitness

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When Maida Kelly, 73, of Falmouth, Mass., signed up for Nelson's first strength-training trial 12 years ago, her idea of exercise was running over to a Filene's Basement sale on a lunch break from her job as a phone-company sales manager. After a year of twice-a-week sessions, Kelly's lower-body strength improved 41%, and her upper body improved nearly 86%. Now retired, Kelly has added Rollerblading, dancing and white-water rafting to her thrice-weekly sessions of aerobics and weight training. "At my age, there isn't anything that I can't do," she says. "Exercise has changed the way I live."

Not surprisingly, the fitness boom among older adults has led to a spike in sports injuries. Exercise newbies may suffer from flare-ups of old injuries or normal age-related wear and tear of tendons and joints. Overenthusiasm is another problem. "They make the mistake of upping the ante too far and too fast, doubling the time or the mileage," says Dr. Doug McKeag, director of sports medicine at Indiana University. A few minutes of warm-up and cool down, instruction from a certified trainer and appropriate safety gear can help.

Despite almost daily exercise, Angwin has avoided injuries. He runs at dawn to beat the Florida heat and varies his routine with swimming and cycling. "I'm as addicted to good health now as I once was addicted to unhealth," he says. "I can do anything a younger athlete can do. It just takes me longer."