Fit Over 50 Six Experts Show and Tell All

By Judith Stiles

LINDA WOOD-HOYT

Body Builder

In a slinky black leotard that reveals her magnificently sculpted body, Linda bounds out of her TriBeCa office to greet me. Within minutes, this internationally acclaimed body builder and fitness legend is talking up the benefits of weight training, treadmills, and Stairmaster – all of which she insists are great for the 50-plus set. A member of this set herself, Linda has pro status with the International Federation of Bodybuilders; after 23 years of competing, she is now a U.S. delegate and judge of the World Universe Championships.

At 5-foot-3 three and a compact 143 pounds, Linda zips through a workout that includes weight lifting and leg presses, smiling all the way.

I blurt out: “How old are you, again?” to which she replies: “A mere 62.” Chuckling, she goes on to explain that Fitness Together (387 Greenwich Street) is a new “retirement business” that she started full-throttle after she left IFBB. Now she loves to teach everyone from pregnant women to septuagenarians how to stay active and physically fit.

Linda Wood-Hoyt’s Secret Fitness Tips:

• I don’t have any cool remedies or magic potions, but my strong advice is, YOU GOTTA KEEP MOVING! I believe that through exercise have staved off arthritis and other ailments that run in my family.

• Years ago I swore off sausages, bologna, ring-dings, and all junk food. I eat hot oatmeal or grits for breakfast, no juice.

• No soda ever. I used to drink a lot of soda, but when I saw how it cleans pennies, I never touched the stuff again.

• But the main secret ingredient is laughter, which Linda sprinkles over everything she does.

Contact: 1Flex@optonline.net

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JOHN O’HARA

Swimmer

When John O’Hara belly-flopped into the Notre Dame swimming pool 38 years ago, he huffed and puffed for just three laps before he quit, completely exhausted. His father, John O’Hara (no relation to the author), had been a swimming champion who raced against the likes of Johnny Weissmuller. Like father like son? Not exactly. When John Jr. took up lap swimming, it was not for medals or glory, but for the everyday Zen of the sport. An individual who never required camaraderie or competition to endow exercise with meaning, O’Hara maintains his 90-lap (180 lengths) three-times-weekly (at minimum) swimming schedule at age 59 – racing against himself constantly, always trying to improve his stroke and his time.

After some hesitation, I ask this tall, lanky gentleman what he is thinking about at around, say, lap number 40. He tells me he enjoys going through the alphabet of Italian Renaissance architects and pondering their work. “A” is for Alberti; “B” is for Bamante … Somewhere around “M” he gets in a groove, which involves a sensation of flight through the water, with no thinking at all. He sees himself as a kind of YMCA swimming groupie because he finds Y’s all over the country when he travels for business. His pulse is around 60, and he hasn’t succumbed to so much as a cold in more than a year. Greenwich Village residents have been known to send their water-phobic children to O’Hara for swimming lessons. Most of the kids emerge with a great stroke and water-love to last a lifetime.

John O’Hara’s Secret Fitness Tips:

• Contrary to what you might think, the best way to fight a cold is to jump in a pool and swim vigorous laps because it builds up the immune system.

• The best anti-depressant on the market is vigorous swimming at least three times a week.

• Breathe in on the count of one, and out on the count of two. This will speed your metabolism.

• Be disciplined about long-distance swimming at least three times a week, and don’t let your wife tell you there isn’t enough time.

Contact: JCOHARANYC@aol.com

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YAMUNA ZAKE

Body Rolling Fitness Expert

“We live in a push culture!” exclaims Yamuna Zake, a fitness expert who deplores the current over-exercising craze. “If you buy into American standards for fitness, you are going to be injured,” she says, closing her eyes in frustration. Yamuna’s personal and professional mantra is: Fitness. Wellness. Oneness.

When I enter her new workout space in Greenwich Village, I’m struck by the contagious calm and relaxing scent, maybe jasmine. Soon I imagine my harried New York life rolling into the gutter outside. Yamuna has a sprightly gait, and her joints and bones are well hidden. Still, I know she is over 50. I follow her into a sunny room where we sit on the floor and talk as she starts to demonstrate different ways of rolling oneself on brightly colored rubber balls. “[Body-rolling] creates space in the body, especially in areas where you feel pain or discomfort, where there is compression and contraction,” says Yamuna.

She recommends body rolling for those who have been bit by sports injuries, accident injuries, strokes, Parkinson’s disease, and scoliosis. Yamuna has seen a spike in carpel-tunnel syndrome from much computer use, and high-heeled shoes have brought her clients with foot injuries. Her advice: “Strong feet and a flexible body lead to clear-headedness, and more energy to take you wherever you want to go.”

Yamuna Zake’s Secret Fitness Tips:

• Live first; don’t work to live.

• Take time to take care of your body. A little TLC and your body will go the distance.

• Wear good shoes – not those hi-tech running shoes that are like down comforters and make the muscles in your feet lazy.

• Sometimes I skip breakfast, and that’s fine. Every body has different needs at different times. Sometimes my body needs a little yogurt or fruit in the morning; other times it needs nothing.

Contact: YBRinfo@yamunabodyrolling.com


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