Michael Bernard, a 75-year-old retiree from Vancouver, has had an extensive career in media. He worked as a journalist for 25 years before transitioning to communications, where he spent another 25 years at various public relations firms and institutions. Michael is actively involved in Fit Fellas, a renowned fitness program for older men in West Vancouver. Established 46 years ago, Fit Fellas has grown to 170 participants and has been supported by institutions such as Simon Fraser University, UBC, and the municipality of West Vancouver. Michael has been a CLSA participant since 2013.
Michael (right) with his brother, Peter (left) at a recent Fit Fellas class in West Vancouver.
Q: Why did you decide to participate in the CLSA?
I think it was an advertisement (in a local newspaper) that first caught my attention and just a general sense of curiosity as to what that process of tracking seniors and aging would involve. From a participant point of view, it seemed like an interesting journey to embark on.
Q: How do you personally define successful aging? What does that mean to you?
I would say it’s a combination of maintaining physical fitness and social (well-being)?. One of the things that impress me about the follow-ups I’ve been through with the CLSA is the focus on social activity and how important maintaining social contact is.
I think that’s particularly important because men like me may have spouses with their own physical issues or who are not necessarily able to participate in activities with you. For instance, I’m an avid sailor and my wife is 74 and not at all enthusiastic about coming out on our sailboat. We on our sailboat. We do many things together, but you know there are some things that the Fit Fellas program provides, like coffee time after the exercise. It is a male-only club, and for what that’s worth, there are different topics and subjects that come up.
Q: Could you tell me a bit more about the Fit Fellas program?
Fit Fellas was started up about 40 years ago by a physical instructor who had fled Hungary with his family and was teaching at UBC. He found that there was quite a bit of interest in running and jogging and so he brought together a group of people in West Vancouver to do that on a regular basis.
Over the years its grown and grown and received a lot of support from the municipality of West Vancouver, which provides the gymnasium space and the senior centre coffee shop as another facet to it. I should point out that Fit Fellas itself has been subject to several studies including by researchers Simon Fraser University and UBC. When these Kinesiology experts attended conferences all over North America, they say they have yet to find anything comparable to Fit Fellas.
Q: Beyond the physical benefits, how has Fit Fellas enriched your life?
What I really enjoy about Fit Fellas is it doesn’t take a whole lot of commitment. We can go see each other for three times a week, go and have a coffee together. I don’t necessarily have to invite them to dinner or invite them to go sailing, although it has occurred to me as a possibility. In other words, it’s a casual, non-organized form of social interaction. It’s really easy, it’s low threshold from the point of view of barriers.
From my perspective, it satisfies that need for more casual interaction – say with those other than a family member or a spouse. For example, the brother that encouraged me to join lost his wife last year to cancer. From observing him, I can see it’s been really important to have Fit Fellas as a form social interaction and meeting a need. I mean he has lots of grandchildren, lots of friends at a summer camp that he’s been going to for 60 years, but I just think its one more facet that he really enjoys and he’s been doing it for more than 10 years.
Q: What type of exercise does Fit Fellas focus on?
Fit Fellas focuses on stretching exercises. It’s not weight training and it’s not heavily aerobic. But I think what it does, probably from a medical point of view, is reduce the likelihood of falls, which major risk factor for people in my age group.
For about 10 or 15 men who are in their 90s, they have a separate exercise group called The Senators. That tells me that Fit Fellas will thrive for a long time to come. In other words, it’s something I can count on from now until the grave as a form of activity that’s satisfying socially and physically.
Q: Do you have any final thoughts you’d like to share?
My advice from being reasonably successful in maintaining an active lifestyle is, for men in particular, to simply keep trying things. For instance, I just started two weeks ago going swimming at the West Vancouver pool early in the morning, 6 a.m., two times a week. I think as one gets older you have to fight that sense of “Oh, I’m too tired” or “Oh, that seems like a lot of work.” I think there are rewards for maintaining your interests and your willingness to try different things. It does take an effort to keep that up, but it goes full circle and means that you’ll stay healthier longer.
