Company zooms in on strength training for seniors

By Donna Williams Lewis

Eric Levitan wasn’t satisfied with just accepting the decline he saw in his parents’ health as they aged deeper into their 70s, especially as his mother began having a series of “catastrophic” falls.

His research into what was happening with them led Levitan to leave corporate America after more than 25 years of working in technology and running software companies.

He found his new calling in preventing loss of muscle mass, something that begins to happen after the age of 30, according to health experts.

In 2019, with a team of medical advisors, the Sandy Springs resident launched Vivo, an interactive online strength training fitness program for adults 55 and older.

Incorporating individualized stretching, balance, cognitive and resistance exercises, the program gives participants a chance to develop community with a personal trainer and other class participants from their own homes.

Vivo’s certified trainers lead live 45-minute classes on Zoom, working with up to six seniors per class, typically twice weekly.

It’s one of an ever-increasing array of fitness programs for seniors, but Vivo’s sole focus is on building strength — something Levitan calls “the No. 1 factor in maintaining a high quality of life.”

“We really want to change the narrative around what aging looks like,” Levitan said. “You don’t have to age into a frail older person. You can continue of life and maintain your independence and remain According to the U.S. Control and Prevention, strength training helps and conditions common among older adults, including arthritis, diabetes, osteoporosis, heart disease, obesity and back pain.

Vivo offers monthly memberships, which include classes averaging about $20 per session, nutrition analysis and initial and follow-up fitness assessments.

“It’s just not that hard. It doesn’t take that much work. Literally, 45 minutes twice a week and I can tell you it will change yours and anybody else’s life who tries it,” Levitan said. “Even it’s not Vivo … if you focus

Free fitness programs

on building your strength as you get older it will absolutely change the course of your life.”

For more information: teamvivo.com or 678-701-8486 facebook.com/teamvivo

Search YouTube to find plenty of strength training and other fitness workouts for seniors. Check community centers, recreation centers, senior centers, libraries and other locations for online classes. Here are some resources:

SilverSneakers - Live online classes, on-demand videos and access to thousands of fitness locations and classes. Free program for adults 65+ through select Medicare plans. silversneakers.com.

Local government senior services:

■ Atlanta — https://www.atlantaga.gov/government/departments/parksrecreation/office-of-recreation/prime-time-seniors-ages-55-and-up.

■ Cobb County — https://www.cobbcounty.org/public-services/seniorservices.

Chronic Diseases

■ DeKalb County — https://www.dekalbcountyga.gov/senior-services/ senior-services-1.

■ Fulton County — https://www.fultoncountyga.gov/services/seniorservices.

■ Gwinnett County – https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/web/ gwinnett/departments/communityservices/healthhumanservices/ seniorservices.

By Kathy Dean

For most of us, retirement means slowing down and enjoying what’s familiar and comfortable. That’s not true of everyone, however. There are older adults who have an enterprising spirit that kicks in and keeps going well after their mid-60s. We’ve found four of them nearby.

Mary Ellen Moseley found herself in need of a new career in the late 1990s, so she turned her skills into a business helping others keep up with their household chores. “Anything a housewife doesn’t have time to do, I’m there,” she said. Miss Moseley, as she prefers to be called, will turn 80 in August, but she has no intention of slowing down.

Much of Geoffrey Levy’s life involved selling pearls and working with soccer teams. When the 65-year-old noticed small CBD shops popping up in the area, he saw an opportunity. “I decided to open one that’s more like a supermarket,” Levy said. His Apothecary ATL, located in Sandy Springs, offers more than 250 products.

For Gene Rubel, 78, the prompting to do something new came from his wife, he said. His business ended after the 2008 recession, and she wanted him to stay active — so Rubel found a way to turn his computer hobby into a business. “That’s how Digital Device Doctor got started,” he said.

Paul Richin, MD, who goes by Dr. Richin, retired from working in hospitals in August 2020. The doctor, who said he is “over 65 and on Medicare,” decided to go back into private practice and “get back to old-style medicine” with Orthopedic Cortisone Injection Center, the office he opened in Dunwoody at the end of last year.

A New Lease on Old-Style Medicine

Dr. Richin was an orthopedic surgeon who practiced at the DeKalb Medical Center in Decatur for almost 40 years. “I was Chief of Orthopedics for a few years and on many committees at the hospital,” he said.

Originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Dr. Richin attended medical school at Georgetown University, where