Fitness Tips From Boomer Lifeguards

Roughly ten percent of the lifeguards on New York State’s ocean beaches are 50 or older, according to what the New York Times calls “unoffical estimates”. And all of them are in great shape. The New York State office of parks knows that they’re in great shape because the guards have to pass an annual fitness test requiring them to swim 100 meters in a pool in less than one minute and 20 seconds, and run a quarter of a mile in two minutes and ten seconds. To make sure they will pass, the New York Times reports, many of the guards train all winter.  One group does 60-minute workouts three times a week, with a focus on shorter, harder intervals, to mimic the test. A typical workout is two laps in the pool at an almost all-out pace, done four times, with just 20 seconds rest between each two-lap set. The Times reports that the guards’ strategy for staying fit has four later-in-life fitness lessons: Set Goals; Harness Group Power; Play in the Snow; and Adapt and Adjust. Read more about each in the New York Times.