Exercise the Fountain of Youth?

Growing older is unavoidable, yet very little is known about the athletic capabilities of advanced age.

Much of what is portrayed about life after 60 is expressed insultingly, usually in platitudes. "Geezer, a common slur, is brought to life in images on television, in films, books and magazines. Yet the heart, made of tough and durable muscle fibers, can pump heartily for more than 100 years.

Exploiting the human body's durability is a serious avocation for septuagenarians (and their elders) who want to explode the rocking-chair stereotype. Some in their 70s and 80s are triathletes, or run marathons.

Is the human body capable of elite athletic performance during advanced years of life? Runners and physiologists say it's not only possible but it happens all of the time.

"People who remain active can continue to achieve for a long period," said Dr. Hubert Hoffman, professor of physical education at the University of South Florida in Tampa and president of the National Association of Sport and Physical Education in Washington.

"The body seems to deteriorate from disuse when muscle and other systems are not used," he said. "We know that they atrophy. That's why even for younger adults we try to convey the message that being physically active is a lifetime commitment."

No need to deliver that message to Fred and Evelyn Jennings, of Windermere, Fla. They pursue exercise with passion.

"We've been running since 1980 just for exercise and to stay in shape," Evelyn said. "We bike, we work out on (weight machines), we walk and we play some tennis, but not a lot, and we swim some."

Fred and Evelyn are 71. They also run marathons. "We've always done something but not to the extent we do now," she said. "I run six miles five times a week. We've both run races, even marathons, and that takes a lot of training."

At the recent Plantation Prime 5K (3.1 miles) race in Leesburg, Fla., Evelyn finished first among women in her age category; Fred came in second in his group. For those 50 and older, the event was a qualifying run for the 1996 Florida Senior Games.

"I really don't like 5Ks," Evelyn said. "I like longer runs because I have more endurance than I have speed, especially in competition."

The Jennings weren't always athletes. They didn't begin their strenuous routines of training and strength-enhancing exercise until they reached their 50s.

They attribute much of their athleticism to believing in their ability. In fact, maintaining a can-do attitude, many older athletes say, is what keeps them agile, running and winning.

Physiologists such as Dr. Jan Seaman, who study the benefits of exercise, say it doesn't matter at what age regular activity begins. The results still can be profound.

There is a synergistic effect, she said, between having a positive outlook on life and exercising daily. Studies have shown that active people are less likely to suffer from depression as well as many of the crippling physical conditions of older age.

"Exercise helps to forestall aging because it helps to increase bone density," said Seaman, executive director of the American Association for Active Lifestyles and Fitness in Alexandria, Va.

The National Osteoporosis Foundation calls decreased bone density a major medical problem that primarily affects women. Twenty million American women are believed to be afflicted with osteoporosis, costing $10 billion a year.

In addition to maintaining bone density, exercise helps to lower cholesterol and maintain healthy blood pressure.

The National Institutes of Health last year issued a report on exercise. Physicians and scientists concluded that at least 30 minutes of moderate activity three times a week is sufficient to gain health benefits.

"That doesn't mean a person has to go out and run a marathon or prepare for a triathlon or that the 30 minutes of exercise must be done all at once," Seaman said. "Certainly continuous exercise is better than exercising in spurts. But at least some exercise is better than no exercise."

At 73, Bart Ross, a former New York high school coach, knows the benefits of strenuous exercise. In marathons, he's beating some of the "kids" he used to coach.

"Oh, some of these youngsters," he noted, "are about 58 now. Their children are grown up, and some of them have grandchildren."

Ross, who now lives in Orlando, Fla., placed first in the Leesburg run in his age category (nudging out Fred Jennings) and now is training for his next race.

"I run maybe 15 races a year, and I've been doing this pretty much since '74," Ross said of his running career.

During his college days in the 1940s at the former Buffalo State Teachers College, Ross ran cross country.

When he re-entered competitive races in the early 1970s, Fred was a lone runner on his neighborhood streets on Long Island, N.Y.

"People would throw things at you. They thought you had to be crazy, a grown man running through the neighborhood like that," he said.

Ross can't even begin to calculate how many miles he has covered. In fact, few runners know how many miles they've run. Pepper Davis is among them. At 69, the Orlando woman took home a first-place honor from the Leesburg run, winning in the 65 to 69 year-old category for women.

Davis said that despite all of her exercise she can't shake many of the medical conditions typical of older age.

She has arthritis and a genetic cholesterol condition, which keeps her blood levels of low-density lipoprotein -- the bad form of cholesterol -- relatively high, pushing her total cholesterol level over the 300 level. Less than 200 is considered healthy.

Still, physiologists such as Seaman say older athletes should not be regarded as role models, just as rocking chairs shouldn't be regarded as a symbol of old age.

Even for older people who are house-bound, bedridden or in wheelchairs, there is exercise to help increase circulation.

"Chair exercises can be done by virtually anybody," she said. "There has been criticism of them because they're not vigorous enough. But if the alternative is sitting and watching television, I say chair exercises are better than no exercise at all."