Aginghealth2016

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The Current

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Aging, Health & Wellness

11

2016

Boutiques, branded fitness on rise in D.C. By LEE CANNON

Current Correspondent

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he days when Jack LaLanne reigned supreme over fitness and exercise now seem quaint, compared to today’s booming workout scene. The market has since branched out from one-size-fits-all sports gyms in a multitude of directions, from smartphone apps to brand-name workouts like CrossFit. It’s all part of the rise of “boutique fitness,” which is experiencing a heyday here in D.C. as specialty studios proliferate — and traditional gyms innovate in response. Where a traditional, one-stop gym gives clients a little of everything, a boutique fitness studio does one thing and does it well. The trend appears to have sprung from fitness style preferences becoming more and more focused, along with the increasingly social function of gym memberships. Those who speak the lingo of boutique fitness discuss SoulCycle, FlyWheel, BootCamp, CrossFit and Orangetheory Fitness flu-

Brian Kapur/The Current

An instructor leads a “Piloxing” class at Glover Park’s Balance Gym, located at 2121 Wisconsin Ave. NW. ently. It seems all you need to start a fitness trend is two words pressed together, fashionable gear and a lot of buzz. Technology is also a big part of the scene. SoulCycle has its own proprietary equipment, designed for the specific class structure. Flywheel and Orangetheory Fitness use heart-rate monitors worn around the waist to give clients concrete statistics

about their performance and how they measure up to their classmates. One newcomer to the boutique fitness market — SweatBox, a part of the Urban Adventures group and due to open its first location in late April at 1612 U St. NW — will use heart-rate monitor belts as well as consoles on cycles to closely measure performance.

At SweatBox, the group will move through the routine together — using bikes, TRX system straps suspended from the ceiling, free weights and mats — and at the end, each participant will receive printed charts showing their performance minute-by-minute. Founder and president David von Storch says the goal is to make SweatBox group fitness

classes appealing to those who like metrics, and to challenge the idea that classes are only for women. “We’re using metrics to track performance and make the experience relevant to everyone,” he said. The boutique fitness model is doing so well that more traditional gyms are also jumping on board, offering some of the same See Fitness/Page 14

Area programs aim to develop seniors’ tech interests into enhanced skills By DEIRDRE BANNON Current Correspondent

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hen it comes to older adults and technology, there’s a common misconception that seniors not only don’t know what they’re doing, but also don’t want to know. But many older adults, including those in Northwest, are debunking those myths. From technology classes to drop-in sessions to talks, seniors of all skill levels in the District are getting involved in everything from learning computer fundamentals and setting up online bill paying to getting advanced tips on cyber security from former National Security Agency executives. Like people of any age, older adults are using technology to stay connected, and the rates are increasing. A recent study from the Pew Research Center found that 59 percent of people ages 65 or older use the Internet, up from 14 percent in 2000. At the Dupont Circle Village, one of many community networks across the country that help residents age in place, “Tech Tuesdays” have become a popular monthly gathering. Members and their guests meet to discuss the latest developments in electronic devices and online applications. The village launched the group after surveying members and seeing a strong interest in technology. “There really isn’t as much fear as there is curiosity,” said Kathy Cardille, activities coordinator at the village. “A lot of people

are very interested in technology and they know they don’t know it all, but that’s the lure of Tech Tuesdays — hearing about software that does things you might like to do or that you hadn’t thought you would be able to do.” The group started as a forum for members to ask each other questions and share likes and dislikes of various devices or software and “to let people talk about their concerns, questions and thrills — what they found that’s working effectively,” Cardille added. Discussion topics have ranged from exploring the newest gadgets to analyzing different phone-cable-Internet packages for the best deals to learning how to print a photo book. A recent talk on computer and Internet security was led by a member who is a former NSA executive with 25 years’ experience in coding and encryption. Tech Tuesdays also inspired members to start a Google group so they can continue the conversations online. In addition, the village has organized group classes at the Apple Store in Georgetown, and village volunteers provide one-on-one help to members who need assistance setting up a new computer, connecting a printer or programming a DVR, for example. “The thing about the village is that it’s a connectedness, not just socially but educationally, prompted by the needs and demands of members, and technology has always been on the forefront,” Cardille said. “It’s great to have volunteers help an individual, but it’s also great to have the

collective thinking of the village — what one doesn’t know, another person does, and we pull each other along.” At the Cleveland and Woodley Park Village, requests for help with technology are second only to those for transportation to doctor’s appointments or the grocery store, said executive director Mark Ohnmacht. As in Dupont, village volunteers provide one-on-one help to members. Ohnmacht says he gets about two to three requests per

❝There really isn’t as much fear as there is curiosity.❞ — Kathy Cardille week for technology help, ranging from assistance setting up email to online bill paying. “A recurring theme from members is that they received an iPad or Kindle as a gift from family members and they want to learn how to use it,” Ohnmacht said. The village also recently hosted a techtutor fair at the Cleveland Park Library, where local seniors could stop by and get one-on-one help with any mobile devices they brought in or ask questions about products they were thinking about purchasing, like smartphones, tablets or laptops. About 20 people attended the drop-in session, which was a pilot program for the village. “It was an opportunity for people to get free on-site consulting,” Ohnmacht said. “One of our best volunteers was also our

youngest: a student from Edmund Burke high school just down the street. He was a big hit.” Deeming that event a success, the village now hopes to offer tech fairs quarterly, Ohnmacht said, though a date for the next one hasn’t been set. In Georgetown, the local aging-in-place village hosts a biweekly “Portable Electronics Support Group” and also offers periodic technology classes. The most recent class provided an overview of how to use Craigslist, aimed at members who are looking to downsize or sell items they no longer need. One previous class, called “Travelling Through Cyber Space,” gave members tips on how to research the best prices and book travel and accommodations online; another focused on cybersecurity and protecting one’s identity online. A certain synergy happens in the biweekly classes, said Lynn Golub-Rofrano, the Georgetown Village’s executive director. Members help one another with their mobile devices, and if no one knows an answer, they go online together to find one, she said. During one recent gathering, members were helping one woman download a YouTube video and in the process found a video interview with author Claire Tomalin, which coincidentally was pertinent to the village’s upcoming book club meeting. Golub-Rofrano said the technology knowledge works to “prevent isolation and keep our members engaged,” so they can See Tech/Page 17

12 Wednesday, March 9, 2016

2016

The Current

Aging, Health & Wellness

Spring Valley resident cured of rare, deadly eye disease by local specialist

By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer

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oanne Barlia woke up in her Spring Valley home one November morning in 2012 to a surprising sight: little spots dotting the field of vision. She closed each eye in turn and discovered the problem was in her right eye. She now knows the spots are called floaters, but at the time, she had no idea. She’d never had a problem with her eyes before — never even needing glasses or contacts. “I had no clue what it was. You think, oh, it’ll just go away,� Barlia said. “I got a little suspicious after a weekend and it didn’t go away.� When she took a nighttime drive and found the problem was growing even worse, Barlia realized she had no choice but to take action. The next day she saw her eye doctor, who pointed her to the Retina Group of Washington. Barlia assumed that she had scratched her eye and that a simple prescription of eye drops for a few days would fully restore her vision. What she found out was more troubling: She had contracted ocular melanoma, one of the only potentially life-threatening eye diseases and an offshoot of skin cancer. A doctor can usually spot the

tumor with the help of no more than physical appearance and ultrasound pictures. But ocular melanoma is rare compared to other forms of cancer, with only five to seven cases per million people in the United States each year. The field is so specialized that the Retina Group’s Dr. Bill Deegan is the metropolitan area’s only ocular oncologist, with offic-

â??That’s pretty much a shock when you get a diagnosis like that.â?ž — Joanne Barlia es in Capitol Hill and Fairfax, Va. Until last fall, he also worked out of an office in Chevy Chase. The profession is uncrowded, Deegan said, because “fortunately there’s not a lot of eye tumors.â€? He found his way into the field after working with A. Linn Murphree, a nationally renowned eye cancer specialist, during a oneyear stay in Los Angeles. “I wanted to do more than just regular retinas,â€? Deegan said. “I wanted to do kids and tumors.â€? Now he treats everyone from teenagers to senior citizens, performing one or two surgeries per month. Ninety-eight percent of surgeries like Barlia’s effectively

Introducing

stave off the tumor, which is most common in patients with green eyes and light skin, according to Deegan. But there’s always the possibility for metastasis elsewhere, he said. When Barlia sought Deegan’s help, he walked her through treatment options: a radiation therapy called plaque brachytherapy, or a more challenging last-resort process called nucleation, which culminates in removing the eye permanently. Deegan determined quickly that the first option would be feasible. “That’s pretty much a shock when you get a diagnosis like that,� Barlia said. Barlia describes what happens next in clear procedural steps: A month after diagnosis, she went to Sibley Memorial Hospital, where Deegan and his team surgically sutured a radiation disc onto the wall of her eye. To limit exposing the outside world to potentially harmful radiation, she stayed in the hospital for four days, wearing the disc or “plaque� the entire time. Then she went home. But it wasn’t actually that simple. Barlia’s husband stayed with her through much of the four-day hospital stay, but she didn’t want any other visitors — including her four children, ages 20, 18, 16 and 11 at the time — because she

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Brian Kapur/The Current

Bill Deegan of the Retina Group of Washington is the region’s only ocular oncologist. Post-surgery, he removed the patch covering Joanne Barlia’s eye in his home during the Christmas holidays. was feeling constant discomfort. Following the removal of the plaque, Deegan typically helps his patients take their patches off, but because Barlia’s surgery happened shortly before Christmas, he wasn’t going to be in his office. Instead, Deegan offered to remove the patch at his Foxhall Village home the day after Barlia left the hospital. Barlia took him up on that, with Deegan performing the task in his own kitchen, as his 14-year-old daughter watched. After the procedure, Barlia spent the next few weeks taking numerous eye drops. “I had stitches in my eye. It basically felt like a piece of sand in your eye for 10 days,� she said. “It’s crazy, so crazy uncomfortable.� And while the surgery was successful, one consequence is distorted vision. Barlia waited for a month after the hospital stay to drive, and even now she likens the view from her right eye to the experience of opening one’s eyes underwater.

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Now Barlia sees Deegan every four or five months to check in on the progress of the shrinking tumor. She also gets regular CAT scans to monitor whether the tumor has spread to her liver and lungs. In her spare time, the stayat-home mother hosts fundraising events for the Ocular Melanoma Foundation. “It was just a way for me to do something good, and to make me feel good, and also for those around me, my friends and family, a way to help support me,� Barlia said. Since she didn’t experience chemotherapy or longterm treatment, she wasn’t in need of constant aid, but people she cares about still want to help. For Deegan, working with a patient like Barlia can be particularly resonant, since he’s in her peer group and a father of two himself. “We’re relatively close in age,� Deegan said. “You just get a little bit more sensitive to the disruption and the potential for problems when you’re dealing with someone like Joanne.� REDUCE pain RESTORE mobility REBUILD strength and balance

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The Current

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Aging, Health & Wellness

2016

As we age, how much exercise is really enough? Local experts weigh in By LEE CANNON

Current Correspondent

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t’s common knowledge that regular exercise is crucial to longevity and good health. But how much exercise is enough? And what methods are most beneficial? Not surprisingly, experts say the answers change as a person ages. “For people in their 20s, pounding it out on the elliptical or treadmill is popular,” said Dr. Anastasia “Stacey” Snelling, chair of the Health Studies Department at American University. “But as we age, strength and flexibility become more important.” Snelling said the need for hard cardio workouts gradually declines because a person’s maximum heart rate also declines, making it easier to challenge the cardiovascular system. Additionally, whereas 20-year-olds need to strive to reach 80 percent of their maximum heart rate during a cardio workout, 60-year-olds don’t need to hit that high a target. Dr. Loretta DiPietro, chair of George Washington University’s Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, boils all the thinking on exercise and aging down to this: “Move more, sit less!” “As people age, they spend the

majority of the day sitting and reclining,” said DiPietro. “You need a lot of exercise to offset the 12 to 14 hours of sitting people do every day.” The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity. DiPietro contends those numbers represent a bare minimum, not a target. “People need to do moderate exercise five days a week and do two days of strength training. I tell people to reduce their sitting time by two hours a day,” she said. “When people are watching TV, they can even get up and march in place during commercials.” DiPietro is also an expert on the effects of exercise on glucose in the blood, so her research has implications for the many seniors who suffer from Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, conditions more common among seniors. While exercise doesn’t have the direct impact of lowering blood sugar, there is a strong indirect relationship. Exercise enables the body to better handle blood sugar, which helps control diabetes. This effect in turn lowers blood pressure and cholesterol. “Physical activity is basically helpful for all aging ailments,” DiPietro said.

Specifically, a recent study DiPietro conducted with colleagues links better 24-hour glycemic control with walking 15 minutes after every meal. In fact, the benefit of exercising moderately three times for 15 minutes each proved to be greater than the benefit of exercising once for 45 minutes. Another conclusion the health and exercise field has recently reached is that the same exercise routine over and over is not enough. Variety is key. As Dr. Victoria Bown, a physical therapist at Arthritis & Rehabilitation Therapy Services (ARTS), puts it: “Variety in frequency, intensity, amount and type of activity is key to promoting good health in all body systems — no matter your age or exercise goal.” Dave Reynolds, owner and manager of Dave Reynolds and Associates Fitness and a certified specialist in medical exercise, fitness and posture alignment, also stresses varying exercise routines. “Do something every day, whether it’s a walk or stretches or alignment exercises, but muscle strength is vital to overall health,” Reynolds said. “Only aerobic exercise is not enough. Even some marathon runners can’t lift and carry easily.” Reynolds works with private clients and with Iona Senior Ser-

vices, a local nonprofit, to raise awareness and fitness levels in the community. Reynolds has been in business for 35 years, and his focus has gradually shifted toward seniors because he perceives particular need in that demographic. “A person’s needs and how their body functions changes over time,” he said, “but some things we think of as age-related are actually deconditioning. People reach a point of discomfort with stairs or stepping off curbs or reaching upward, so they avoid it, then lose the function.” Reynolds works with patients to reset foundational muscles, those that support the spine. “A deconditioned state is the result

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of imbalances in muscle systems, which lead to weakness, which leads to fear. First, you get them to do something they can do with no fear,” he said. Reynolds says this can be as simple as rolling the shoulders in a circle or stretching the hips and moving them with isometric movements. Then, when the client is comfortable and confident, he challenges them with different movements and body positions. Among Reynolds’ clients, “many in their 80s and 90s are doing better now than a few years ago,” he said. Reynolds helps them achieve results by unlearning the habituated movements they use to compensate for weakSee Exercise/Page 17

14 Wednesday, March 9, 2016

2016

The Current

Aging, Health & Wellness

FITNESS: Experts see diverse array of classes as a way to maintain interest in exercise

From Page 11

classes, equipment and experiences as the boutique studios. North-

west Sport&Health in Tenleytown offers an array of popular and brand-name classes, such as Barre, Zumba and a selection of

Les Mills classes, like BODYPUMP and BODYJAM. Balance Gym in Glover Park has a dedicated CrossFit space —

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making it one of the few gyms that has integrated the program — and now offers classes using the cutting-edge Lagree Megaformer machines used in Pilates. “Consumers look for polished programs, so it forces us to innovate,� said Devin Maier, managing director of Balance Gym. “We can take cues from [boutique fitness studios] and offer studio-caliber classes at gym-membership prices.� Balance Gym began with boot camp classes, but the gym has expanded to include a full range of equipment, classes and spaces for circuit training. It offers classes for children and the Silver Sneakers program for seniors. “What’s hot now is a curated, high-end experience,� Maier said. “Workouts need to be measurable. People use FitBits and PRs — personal records — so exercise is now competitive and performance-based.� As to what he sees on the horizon, Maier said, “Over time, boutiques will wane, then those [techniques] will be integrated into gyms. There will be a trickledown of technology, and full-service fitness centers will become more tech and competition focused.� Interestingly, boutique fitness studios are also taking a cue from the fitness center model and branching out, adding complementing classes to round out fitness routines. The last thing a boutique fitness studio wants is to lose members to a sports gym because its customers want more variety. Thus, for example, Flywheel offers Flybarre, so loyal Flywheelers can get in an isometric workout along with their cardio. It’s hard to say which trendy workout will stand the test of time and the scrutiny of exercise science, however. Yoga has proved to be the blue jeans of the fitness scene, but remember Tabata? Few do. There are health benefits to any option, however. “Any physical activity plan needs to be sustainable. There is some benefit to new exercise routines because they keep people from getting bored,� said Dr. Anastasia “Stacey� Snelling, chair of the Health Studies Department at American University. “Barre, spin and the others keep their attention.� So, is any of this really new? “I don’t think much is actually new in terms of body conditioning behind the trends,� said fitness instructor Ashley NewmanOwens, who teaches both freeform and branded fitness classes

Sampling local fitness classes

On a quest for deeper knowledge of the topic, this reporter dropped in on a few different exercise classes to see what the buzz is about. SoulCycle lived up to the reputation described in the company’s mission statement: “The experience is tribal. It’s primal. It’s fun.â€? The experience was, indeed, fun, while still a challenging workout. The clients in the Georgetown studio that day did come mostly in groups, using SoulCycle as their afterwork “tribeâ€? activity. Balance Gym offers a very-new newcomer to the branded fitness-class world: Piloxing, a combination of Pilates and boxing choreography blocks, with dance moves in between. Fitness instructor Michelle Risinger headed the class, calling out encouragement as often as she called out the next jabcross combination. Fitness instructor Ashley Newman-Owens’ Freedom Barre class offered at Northwest Sport&Health in Tenleytown had the group bouncing in second-position pliĂŠs and utilizing mats, balls and weights for the mix of ballet stretches and strengthening. The community feel, the hip dance music, the fresh choreography all did paint a picture of a social movement, fitness-style. The appeal of boutique fitness studios and branded fitness classes is easy to grasp. It’s also not hard to appreciate the value of a routine designed to be habit-forming and keep clients coming back. Despite all that, after each class this reporter had to go home and lie down. All right, no more excuses, team. Time to form new habits. — Lee Cannon

at three Northwest-area gyms. “Interval training definitely has a physiological basis, so I would say it is all it’s cracked up to be, but anything is only all it’s cracked up to be if you keep in the habit.�

16 Wednesday, March 9, 2016

The Current

Aging, Health & Wellness How we sorted through our senior living options

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y husband Claude and I loved our house on Huntington Street NW. It was the right size for us and convenient to everything we needed, and we were in excellent health with very active lives. So why did we sell that house and move into a continuing care retirement community (CCRC)? Claude had spent 25 years as a financial adviser, helping others plan their post-retirement lives, and it was time for us to implement our own plan. We wanted to make such a move while still able to take an active part in our new community. After checking out various local possibilities, we chose Ingleside at Rock Creek, a not-for-profit CCRC in Northwest Washington. In many respects, Ingleside is typical of most CCRCs, and we chose it for the same reasons as most residents of any such community. To begin with, it was in the same area in which we had lived for the previous 34 years. Like other CCRCs, it offered a full range of living options, including independent apartments, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. It was smaller than many other retirement communities, with just 128 independent apartments, so we knew we would recognize most of the other residents after just a short while. We could walk to all the buildings without going outside. Since Ingleside was close to our previous home, it offered the chance to form new friendships while retaining our longer-term friends and our church. Pets were welcome, and weekly apartment cleaning was included.

We made a deposit two years before our moving date, which allowed us to visit several times to meet residents, get an idea of the available activities and sample the food. That last activity is very important, since monthly charges include at least one meal a day. When I spoke with Ingleside at Rock Creek’s executive director, the first benefit she pointed out was companionship, especially for single residents. “You don’t have to eat dinner alone,â€? she told me. She added that meals are healthy and the menus varied. I remember how my mother used to worry about my grandmother, who lived alone in an apartment and often did not feel like making meals for one person. Activities include fitness classes, games of bridge or Scrabble, jigsaw puzzles, knitting groups, a chorus, a monthly concert series, regular trips to museums and other cultural institutions, a speakers’ series and twiceweekly movies. The community even arranges for transportation to some activities. We take comfort that people are well cared for here. I see this as the most important advantage to a CCRC: Residents are safe, and they and their children know it. Of course CCRCs are only one of many available options for active agers. Many people wish to remain in their own homes and bring in help as their budgets allow. Other people move to an area where they have the support of relatives. The most important thing is to think about these decisions ahead of time, while you can make plans and before you have an urgent need. So go ahead and talk about it: What would be your choice? MartĂ­ Villarreal is president of the Ingleside at Rock Creek Resident Council.

Collaboration, leadership key to healthy aging VIEWPOINT marianna blagburn

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any have said that “it takes a village� when caring for our young people, but this concept has rapidly grown to encompass seniors wishing to age in place. Living in your own home and/or staying connected to your community minimizes isolation, creates intergenerational networks of support, and is far less expensive than other residential options. Living a full, meaningful and healthy life as we grow older — remaining actively engaged with family, friends and community, regardless of where we live — requires a personal openness, a willingness to embrace the changes that will occur and a desire to continually learn and appreciate our changing abilities. Two area organizations, Northwest Neighbors Village and Washington Hebrew Congregation, have joined together to offer a spectacular daylong “Healthy Aging Forum: New Challenges, New Possibilities� on Monday, April 18, at Washington Hebrew Congregation, 3935 Macomb St. NW. Targeting individuals 60-plus, the event is open to those living in D.C. and suburban Maryland. Forum sponsors include Charles E. Smith Life Communi-

ties, Grand Oaks, The Senior Beacon, Johns Hopkins Medicine and Senior Retirement Living. Other forum collaborators include the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, the Sibley Senior Association and Iona Senior Services. Northwest Neighbors Village and Washington Hebrew Congregation each work with seniors in different ways, but both organizations place a high value on ensuring that seniors are treated with dignity and respect and that their talents are utilized on behalf of the community. They also believe that seniors should remain connected, valued and active in the community. This view of civic engagement and the ability of seniors to contribute positively to those around them is one of the bridges between the two organizations, as noted by Northwest Neighbors Village president Steve Altman and Washington Hebrew Congregation Rabbi Joseph Skloot. “Both organizations recognize how beneficial it is to age well,� Altman said. “Being active and engaged in a neighbor-helpingneighbor village model, or being a member or volunteer in a supportive, vibrant community, is what works as we grow older.� This shared commitment to seniors was the impetus for the April 18 forum, which will be a

welcoming and safe space that showcases the newest and most compelling practical tools and spiritual wisdom in the field of aging. Said Rabbi Skloot: “As a community of faith, we have a moral obligation to help our members — and our neighbors, too — to live lives of dignity and meaning.� Next month’s forum will emphasize active and positive healthy aging, providing tools and information to help attendees enjoy a richer quality of life as they grow older. Expert-led workshops, many of them interactive, will encourage and support living a life of health with purpose, compassion and engagement. Workshop topics will include navigating medical relationships (doctors and systems); creative aging, or telling your life story; movement and mindfulness; decluttering and home safety; difficult family conversations; intimacy and sex; and music and brain health. There will also be a select vendor fair of businesses that help promote healthy and positive aging. Advance registration is required to ensure workshop preference, and the $18 fee includes the entire day, with lunch and coffee breaks. Registration is available at nwnv.org. Marianna Blagburn is executive director of Northwest Neighbors Village.

The Current

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Aging, Health & Wellness TECH: Senior groups debunking myth of technological disinterest From Page 11

keep up with the technology their children and grandchildren are using. “Being on Facebook or using FaceTime, they can watch their grandchildren who might live across the country grow up.� She said sometimes members need more patience and confidence when learning new technology skills. “If something doesn’t go right the first time, or if they type in a password and it doesn’t go through, they think, ‘I can’t do this,’� Golub-Rofrano said. “What I find is that they are quick to doubt their own abilities, they don’t trust themselves, but I encourage them to try again, and they become more used to it.� Meanwhile, the Palisades Village offers a tech camp at the neighboring Georgetown Day School, where volunteers help members with various technologies including computers, mobile electronics and television services, said executive director

Andrea Saccoccia. Like other local villages, volunteers also visit members’ homes for one-on-one help on tasks like setting up email. For cases that require more specialized assistance, the village maintains a referral list for members. The Northwest Neighbors Village is also on top of the issue for its members. An IT expert will discuss cybersecurity as part of a panel discussion next Tuesday co-sponsored by the Chevy Chase Citizens Association. Speakers at “Be Smart — Don’t Be Scammed at Home or Online� will discuss “the latest fraudulent schemes coming to our homes and affecting personal safety,� according to a description in the village’s newsletter. The event, open to the public, will take place March 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Chevy Chase Community Center, 5601 Connecticut Ave. NW. The D.C. Public Library also provides technology services that can be beneficial for older adults. The central Martin Luther

King Jr. facility, for example, provides more than 20 free computer classes a month, open to the public. Although they’re not specifically geared toward older adults, training coordinator DesirĂŠ Grogan said all age groups are welcome. A “PC Basicsâ€? class for beginner and intermediate students is popular starting point for older adults, said Grogan. She finds that many of the seniors who attend the library classes want to stay in the loop with the rapidly changing technology. Like the technology itself, ideas for training seniors are always evolving, said Dupont Circle Village executive director Eva Lucero. On the horizon are Uber-style apps geared toward older adults that would allow them to schedule home health aide visits and other medical care. That platform is now being tested in San Francisco. “It’s one way that health and aging and technology are coming together, making services accessible and allowing people to age in place,â€? Lucero said.

EXERCISE: Age changes needs From Page 13

nesses, as well as offering advice on nutrition and general health. “Some of the declines associated with aging can be prevented through good diet and exercise,� he said. At a recent open-house event at Balance Gym in Glover Park, sisters Amy, 48, and Ava, 50, as well as gym regular Charlie — who would say only that he’s in his 60s — opened up about how their exercise habits have changed as they have grown older. Ava runs five days a week and has no joint issues yet. She loves to eat and have a drink, but has noticed her metabolism changes every seven years, so she has to exercise harder. To round out her fitness routine, she has added yoga, swimming and weightlifting in the last few years. Ava is a breast cancer survivor, too, so she is aware of the need to maintain her bone density and exercise. Amy has started having hip problems, so she seeks out lowimpact exercise classes, instead of distance running like her sister. She also blames a short attention span as her reason for seeking out alternatives to running: “I’m not as disciplined, so I take new classes.� She has also tried some boutique fitness classes and smartphone apps to freshen her routine. Charlie, who never broke stride on his stationary bicycle while being interviewed, reports that he exercises two to three hours a day. He walks one to two hours, bikes and cross-trains. He

also does yoga and Pilates often. “As you get older,� he said, “you can’t just work out with weights. You have to stretch your body.� He stresses the need for healthy eating and exercise while aging, as well as self-educating about health. Cory Robinson, fitness manager at the University of the District of Columbia’s recently finished fitness center, says that as people age, “their focus on getting exercise shouldn’t shift, but their modes should change.� “As people progress into middle age,� he added, “they need to have bone density scans and start paying attention to pain and heredity.� In his private fitness practice, Phoenix Health and Fitness, Robinson works with doctors to incorporate exercise into treatment regimens for high-risk patients, such as those with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes or morbid obesity. Many of these clients are seniors. Above all, he said, “seniors just need to know they still have muscular strength.� The bottom line appears to be that, no matter how much exercise a person is doing, it is not enough. However, the throughline in experts’ opinions is that everyone needs to continue to push themselves to get up and move more, move differently, and venture out of their comfort zones more often. “The body is smarter than you think,� says Robinson, so listening to it is crucial. Reynolds adds, like a mantra: “Your body is meant to move.�

17

2016 Alzheimer’s trial at GU seeks local volunteers

Georgetown University’s Memory Disorders Program is looking for volunteers for an international clinical trial of a drug that, if effective, could stem the mental deterioration that comes with Alzheimer’s disease. The trial will test the benefit and safety of the drug aducanumab in patients ages 50 to 85 with mild cases of Alzheimer’s, according to a news release. “We are excited to offer this clinical trial to our patients,� the university’s principal investigator R. Scott Turner says in a release. Participants will either receive a low dosage, a higher dosage or a placebo drug, but they won’t know which one they’ve been given until the conclusion of the study. Interested volunteers can contact 202-7846671 or cw2@georgetown.edu.

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