The Radical Reconditioning Of Baby Boomers
As 75.8 million American Baby Boomers either transition from the end of their careers or are in full or partial retirement, many of them have spent their most recent years raising children, financing college educations, paying for weddings, and culminating their careers. These pressures have played havoc with their fitness levels.
Previously over-stressed, overworked, and under-exercised, the Baby Boomers are now facing much more free time. But with their higher body fat percentages, lowered muscle mass, and lessened aerobic capacities, getting back into shape is not easy. A change of lifestyle and a change in mindset are required. But this is easier said than done.
KAATSU, a revolutionary form of blood flow moderation training developed in Japan, is used daily by hundreds of thousands of individuals over the age of 50 in Japan. “KAATSU can present an easy-to-implement catalyst for individuals over the age of 50 to return to their former selves,” says Paul Grzymkowski, the former president of Gold’s Gym Franchising and now an avid fan of KAATSU. “10,000 Baby Boomers in America will celebrate their 65th birthday every day for the next 2 decades (3,650,000 new Baby Boomers per year). This is a huge market for every fitness professional to consider.”
A 65-year-old man or women sees the rest of their life much differently than they did at the age of 25 or 35. The quality of life is their focus, but it is at this time that their muscles have faded and various ailments have begun.
“We must recondition the 26% of the total U.S. population in innovative ways, using modalities that are self-sustaining and much more low-impact than what we used to do in our youth or even mid-age,” added Grzymkowski. “Heavy barbells and dumbbells are not necessary ideal equipment to serve as a catalyst to whipping Baby Boomers into shape. Aerobics, spinning, and elliptical machines are also not for everyone. We have to look for something even more revolutionary.”
Grzymkowski, a 67-year-old veteran of the fitness industry, has spent his lifetime around barbells, dumbbells, and spinning bikes. But he has substituted the iron of his youth for the pneumatic bands used by his counterparts in Japan. “I have not changed – I love feeling pumped when I exercise. When I feel my biceps bulge or my quads burn, it recalls my strength of former years. But I am doing this and changing my body shape without heavy weights. I am doing it with pneumatic bands and the KAATSU equipment that are used so effectively by senior citizens in Japan and elite athletes around the world. When I do use weights during my KAATSU workout I tend to use light dumbbells or weight plates of no more than 5-pounds.”
KAATSU is a Japanese word that means ‘additional pressure’ in English.
KAATSU is done with pneumatic bands that are inflated to safe levels by a mobile electronic touch panel device. The bands are a proven means to safely modify the blood flow in the limbs during exercise. This modification leads to pooling of blood in the muscles that leads to significant human growth hormone secretion and a literal tricking of the brain into thinking the body into building muscle.
KAATSU athletes of all ages – from 14 to 104 – and abilities, including Olympians and professional athletes, perform simple exercises to generate a muscle pump: hand clenches and bicep curls with or without light weights or heel raises or leg curls while standing up.
Photos shows 66-year-old marathon swimmer and author Diana Nyad and 67-year-old Paul Grzymkowski working out with KAATSU.