Best Fitness Regimens for Middle-Age Physiques

For more than 25 years, Gilad Janklowicz has helped TV-watching couch potatoes get in shape. His Bodies in Motion show is the longest-running TV fitness show in the United States and currently airs on FitTV and JLTV,

The 56-year-old Israeli native has trained with former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, fitness icon Jack LaLanne and former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann, and now calls Honolulu home.

In an interview with SecondAct, Janklowicz talks about current fitness trends, his favorite exercises and the best regimens for middle-aged bodies.

SA: We are a month into a new year and people are still struggling with their exercise resolutions. Any recommendations?
GJ: It is a recurring scenario every year. For the 40-plus crowd, the metabolism slows and energy levels drop. People have more responsibilities, less time, less energy than in their 20s. The challenge is how do you stay fit? The best thing if you are over 40, in my experience, is sustainability. People say I will lose 20 pounds. They make a contract they sign with themselves, but it is too hard to fulfill. The best thing is to find a program that is easy to do, fits into your schedule and just understand that it is not how hard, but how consistent you work out. Consistency is most important. Intensity is good, too, but consistency is the most important.

SA: If you only have 15 minutes a day to exercise, what would you recommend?
GJ: I would do a little circuit training. I would do one minute of cardio, maybe running in place with high knees. Then I would go into 10 to 15 squats on each leg and 10 to 15 lunges on each leg. For my abdominals, I would do some leg raises. Then I would do as many pushups as I could. Take a one or two-minute break and then do the whole circuit again and again until the 15 minutes are up.

SA: What are your favorite upper-body exercises?
GJ: They are not my favorite things to do, but pushups are a hard, very effective exercise for the upper body. You know, someone once told me, "To get agreeable results, you have to do disagreeable things." I love that saying. I also do pulling exercises for back and shoulders and pushing exercises for the chest, biceps and triceps.

SA: And for the lower body . . .?
GJ: I like plyometrics [jumping exercises that build power and speed and improve coordination and agility], although a word of caution: People in our age group start to have problems with their knees, so if you do decide to try plyometric training, keep it low impact. Living in Hawaii and being close to the beach, I also like to do sprinting-style exercises on the sand, as well as squats and lunges. These are all good exercises that work the lower extremities. As you become older, form becomes crucial to a safe workout. Holding the right posture also becomes more important the older you are because ligaments, joints and connective tissues are more sensitive.

SA: Do you have a mentor in the exercise industry?
GJ: Not in the exercise industry, per se, but Erwin Jaskulski comes close. We were very close friends for 20 years. We met in 1983. I met him on the beach; he was working out. I thought he might have been 60, but in fact, he was 83. We developed a close relationship. I coaxed him into competing in the Senior Olympics when he was 90. He broke records in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes. And when he turned 100, he competed and established age-group world records in those events. He died in 2008 at age 103½.

SA: What are the up-and-coming fitness trends?
GJ: You know, I've noticed that what goes around comes around. I see different things, like a return to the '80s and good old high-low aerobic classes; in my mind, that's what Zumba is. CrossFit and TRX? We did this in the military. It is basically circuit stations. So I'm not seeing anything really, really new.

SA: Do you still teach group exercise classes?
GJ: I'm teaching classes three times a week right now. Usually I teach when I'm rehearsing for a new program. I'll rent a different studio, like right now Powerhouse Gym in Honolulu. I post that I'm teaching on an e-mail list. It has probably been nine months since I taught on a regular basis. I love it.

SA: Take me through a typical day.
GJ: I am not a morning person. I never have been. I'm not one of those who is up at the crack of dawn. I wake up at 8 o'clock and then go right to the Bodies in Motion office. I stay busy by working on new shows, developing new DVDs, fitness projects and travel. Right now, I'm working on a new project for the abs. I push my workout to the late afternoon or early evening. Maybe I'll take a swim in the ocean or do my own workouts at a gym. I finish the day by going out to dinner, relaxing and spending time with my girlfriend.

SA: With workouts now available on smartphones and on video game consoles like Wii and PlayStation, where does that leave the exercise industry and DVDs?
GJ: There is always going to be a market for the DVD. It's skinny and it's simple; just pop it in your player and do it. Having said that, we are doing an iPod application.

SA: What are your favorite songs to listen to when you work out?
GJ: I don't have any favorite songs, but I do like to listen to '80s music, like Madonna, Billy Idol, Michael Jackson. I like the Rolling Stones, too. No hip-hop or rap for me, thank you.

Read more: Weight Loss 2.0 and Top Picks for 2011 Workouts.