European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 17, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                It s not necessary to have expensive equipment Tike this Jungle gym to stay fit running and swimming Are cheap ways to get a into shape. By americans need to do More by Nicole Wise new York times Hough athletic Wiear is the height of fashion most americans Are not fit. Only 40 percent of adults in the United states say they exercise with any regularity and Only 20 percent do so at Levels vigorous enough to produce cardio respiratory benefits. Those Are numbers that should be improved says Peter Jokl president of the american Academy of sports physicians and the director of the Yale sports Medicine Center in new Haven  the sports Medicine Center a joint venture of the Yale University school of Medicine and Yale new Haven Hospital the professional staff helps injured athletes a those who play for fun As Well As those who play for pay a get Back into the game As quickly As possible. Jokl a professor of orthopaedics and rehabilitative Medicine at Yale also spends a Good Deal of time on educating the Community including High school and College coaches on the prevention and rehabilitation of sports injuries. Quot the Best injury is a prevented injury Quot he said. In an interview at his office at the sports Medicine Center Joki discussed fitness f Lere Are some excerpts from the conversation. Are americans becoming More or less physically fit there is a big Gap developing. A Large number of americans Are becoming More sedentary and less fit. There is More television More driving kids get taken to school fitness that comes from everyday activities is less and less the Norm. Buta significant number of americans decided that being physically fit and Active is Good and a Large number of people particularly of Middle age and older Are in very Good shape. What kinds of patients do you treat at the sports Medicine Center athletes of every form shape and age a As Young As 4, As old As 90. We have equestrian people hockey players Tennis players Ping Pong players runners. We also treat musicians artists and dancers from Ballet to modern dance to jazz. In my opinion anyone who is physically Active is an athlete. What Are the most common injuries you treat ankle sprains and muscle strains resulting from overdoing it. And then the biggest problem we see is that people Don t train right and there Are various aspects of that including How you prepare yourself for an activity and the kind of equipment you use. If you Are going to run for example you have to invest in Good shoes. If you Are going to play a Racquet sport the Money goes to the Racquet and shoes. How does aging affect athletic ability Well you Aren t going to have a 50-year-old win the . Open in Tennis but on the other hand the potential at that age is still phenomenal. The Best 50-year-old could still win 90 percent of the Tennis tournaments in this country. There Are tremendous improvements in performances at the ends where we considered people old. Have that luxury. If you want to do a sport such As Tennis on a weekend you have to do some training during the week As Well or you Are probably going to get injured. Does being physically fit significantly prolong life age is a genetic component and every species has its programmed age which can t be changed a at least not right now. In humans that age is around 90, with a 10-year-or-so spin each Way. The one thing you can do is get to be 90 years old and be healthy. Some people can even do a Little better than that. What Are your recommendations for people who want to stay in shape you know everyone thinks that they should run but there Are Many other ways to get aerobic like walking or swimming or Cross country skiing or working out on a Cross country ski machine. Anything where you can sustain a High Tevel of aerobic activity for 20 minutes or More is Good. The other part of the training that people forget is that you also need strengthening which should be done with some kind of organized program of weight work or any kind of resistance work. Is there one activity that is Best for All around conditioning Cross training is really what s Best. If you want to got into shape you Are probably going to suffer fewer injuries by Cross training and by that i mean something like running one Day cycling one Day rowing the next Day. Maybe working out on a nordic Irack machine the next. You Don t have to have expensive equipment either there Are cheap ways to do in. Running is cheap swimming is cheap. I know someone who skips rope to get in shape. You Don t need fancy equipment to do weight work. Any particular precautions older athletes should take As you get older it becomes More and More difficult to be a weekend Warrior. Young people have More Reserve and can get away without constant training but the older person does no tto your health tuesday july 17, 1990 the stars and stripes a Page 13