50somethings take on an Army fitness challenge

On your mark, get set . . . go!

As a throng of curious onlookers stood by, six men and two women, ages 25 to 55, took off down the Jones Beach boardwalk off Parking Field 2 on a hot, sticky evening in early August.

This wasn't a typical foot race, though. This was a test -- a friendly cross-generational fitness competition -- and, perhaps most important, a goal that helped shape a summer's worth of training.

What three Act2-age Long Islanders who were part of that charge down the boardwalk were trying to prove is more complex. But as one of them, Lew Bauer of Massapequa, put it, "I just like a challenge."

This challenge was developed by the U.S. Army. Twice a year, each man and woman in uniform -- from the lowest-ranking boot camp recruit to the most decorated general, must pass the Army Physical Fitness Test.

It consists of lots of push-ups and sit-ups and a 2-mile run. The required number of push-ups, sit-ups and the time limit for the run are determined by age and gender, thus making it an ideal "cross-generational" test.

So when my friends Bauer, 50, Patty Zebersky, 54, of North Massapequa, and I decided to train for and take our Act2 version of the fitness test, we upped the ante by inviting some "youngsters" to compete with us: five fit men and women, ages 25 to 46.

Our little group competition provided something that's vital to any older adult looking to start and stick with an exercise program. "Older adults are more likely to stick with a physical activity program if they have specific goals in mind," says Michael Rogers, research director of the Center for Physical Activity and Aging at Wichita State University.

"Without goals, seniors are unlikely to be sufficiently motivated to change their exercise behavior," says Auburn University's Hank Williford, an exercise scientist and expert on senior fitness.

Whether it's walking around the block or training for a 5K race, Williford says, "goals give direction in terms of starting an exercise program, participation in that program and maintaining the program."

The current version of the Army test -- in use since 1980 -- is a challenging goal, but doable if you prepare properly. Exercise scientists could argue that it doesn't measure certain components of fitness - such as flexibility and power -- and reportedly, the Army is planning to modify it over the next few years. Still, the test is a good gauge of cardiovascular fitness and muscular endurance.

"Hundreds of thousands of men and women have taken it, and I'd say it provides a fairly good indicator of your health and fitness," says Col. Francis G. O'Connor, a physician and associate professor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md.

Bauer, Zebersky and I are fit 50somethings. He's a triathlete, she's a personal trainer and I'm a marathon runner. Still, getting ready for the challenge -- and our younger competition -- required training. This is part of what makes a goal fun and motivating: the buildup, the preparation, the focus it gives to the exercise regimen.

To get a perfect score at my age, 55, I'd need to do 56 push-ups, 66 sit-ups (both in about two minutes) and run the two miles in 14 minutes, 40 seconds or less.

For more than a month I trained specifically for this. Personal trainer Bob Phillips of Eastern Athletic Clubs in Melville suggested that I make the push-ups and sit-ups more difficult, so that come challenge day, they'd feel easier.

Twice a week I did push-ups with my feet elevated on a bench, with one hand on a medicine ball. I did sit-ups while sitting on stability balls, with my feet suspended in harnesses.

On the local high school track I did intervals -- laps around the track -- gradually building up to the point that I was running 2 miles -- eight laps -- at a high level of effort.

I moaned, groaned, sweated, and a few times had to remind myself, "What's the point of this, again?" Oh yeah -- it's keeping me focused on fitness.

My cohorts approached it differently. Bauer, a chiropractor, swims, bikes or runs twice a day to prepare for his triathlons, and lifts weights.

Zebersky, a remarkably strong woman for 54, could do push-ups and sit-ups until dawn, but she also has lingering ankle and knee injuries from her many years as a competitive distance runner.

When the participants arrived at Jones Beach, I noticed the younger group, with tight tank-tops, chiseled arms and lean physiques. Still, one of these whippersnappers, Brian Mischke, 25, a personal trainer at Synergy Fitness in Farmingdale, admitted, "I'm a little nervous about the run."

Doubts creeping in among the young! Maybe the old war horses had a chance, I thought.

Mats were laid out on the boardwalk, push-ups began. For a perfect score, Gary Turturro, 42, had to do 66. Instead, he did 99. "Show off!" I teased him. I did my target 56 push-ups and, while I probably might have been able to push through a couple more, decided to stop and conserve my energy.

Sit-ups were next. I needed to do 66, but after I saw Patty and Lou crank out 70 each, I decided I had to match them, my hips and abdominals burning as I squeezed out the last four repetitions.

I'd managed perfect scores on the first two segments, and it was time for the run. Ray Sullivan, a high school track official, marked out a half-mile on the boardwalk. We'd have to run back and forth four times.

On his command, "Go!" Mischke led the pack. I was behind him, along with Bob Spina Jr., 46 of North Massapequa.

I knew that Spina -- who was doing this 11 days after having completed an Ironman triathlon in Lake Placid -- would finish first, but I was determined to stay as close to him as possible. Then I remembered my goal. "It's not about what place you finish in the run. It's about your time in the test."

It was still hard. Panting, my throat burning from the hot, dry wind, I scratched out a time of 13:39 -- a minute faster than what I needed for a perfect score.

At the end, results were tallied. Everyone did well, and three of the eight participants got a perfect score: Spina, Zebersky and myself.

Mischke finished third in the run, but missed perfection by one minute, 16 seconds. "I have to start running more," he said. When he does, he'll be leaving me in the dust. But then again, we were really competing against ourselves -- and perhaps determined to prove something about people over 50.

"It was absolutely inspiring," said Bauer's wife, Diane, 55, who cheered Lew from the sidelines. "It says something about our generation," she added. "I always say I'll never grow old and frumpy . . . I think I'm going to do this test next year."

Now that's a goal! 

The SMART way to set fitness goals

 Experts agree that goals are good motivation to stick with an exercise program. But how do you set one that's right for you?

"Goals should be established based on your current level of activity and fitness," says Michael Rogers, a specialist in senior fitness at Wichita State University in Kansas. "If one can already walk around the block five times, there's no sense making that a goal. For someone who can't walk around the block, there is no sense setting a marathon as the goal."

Rogers says the characteristics of goals can be expressed in an acronym, SMART. Goals should be:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Time-dependent (There should be a time frame for attaining the goal.)

Using those criteria, Rogers, says, "A good goal might be to say, 'After eight weeks of strength training, I will be able to walk up and down a flight of stairs 3 times,' or 'After six months of jogging, three days a week, I will be able to complete a 5K race.' "