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Illustration by Drew Shannon
The retirement articles all said the same thing. Exercise, try new activities, stay socially connected. Sure. All good advice. What I really wanted was a way to turn back the clock on my 68-year-old arthritic hips, in a place with likeable people and decent playlist.
I googled Pilates classes around my home in Vancouver. Classical? Reformer? I quickly lose the plot. I visit some commercial gyms. Serious posing and too much Lululemon.
I keep googling and discover Bodyworks at the UBC School of Kinesiology. A bit of a mouthful but it seemed promising. I decide to have a look.
The Bodyworks gym for senior adults has an impressive mixture of old-school weights and newer high-tech research equipment.
These gym rats are mostly retired with ages ranging from 55 to 80-plus and display varying levels of ability. In my case, a lifetime of physiotherapy after back surgery, combined with running and swim clubs along the way, offered some preparation. But that was too many years ago and this would be my first real gym instruction.
I suppose I am on Team Boomer. As everyone seems to know, we got all the good jobs without really trying, bought up all the houses for cheap and managed to wreck the environment in the process. Some of that may be true.
But I notice the trainers are all much younger. I wonder how this will go.
I am assigned to a semi-private class offering a ratio of one trainer dedicated to three aging, wobbly weightlifters.
Our trainers are primarily early twentysomethings completing undergraduate kinesiology degrees. The “old” ones are mid-20s and in master’s programs. They come from across Canada: Vancouver Island, Edmonton, Prince Edward County, the Maritimes.
This must be Team Gen Z. Conventional wisdom tells us they are addicted to their cellphones, feel entitled from getting too many participation trophies without winning anything and that they spend too much time complaining. Some of this may also be true.
There are multiple classes offered at Bodyworks. One group, Brain Wellness, is for those dealing with more specific health issues. In the coming months I would watch this group and be humbled and impressed, both with the spirited effort of the participants, and with the young instructors whose commitment was obvious. I hope there is a spot for me when my time comes.
My first few sessions, while not awkward, are businesslike. Soon I establish an easier rapport with the five trainers I work with on different days. We begin to surprise each other with our growing mutual respect. I listen to them because they know what they are talking about. The cellular changes in muscles, best form for exercises, the latest research on senior fitness, all information they deliver with confidence. I offer them advice on things that I know about such as managing their nerves before a critical master’s thesis presentation, and planning careers and résumés.
The reality, of course, is that the age gap cannot be totally ignored. I issue a music trivia challenge and suggest that if I can name three Taylor Swift songs, they should be able to tell me the significance of the Band and the Woodstock music festival. “What band? Who’s Woodstock?” they ask. I assign them homework to research and report back.
One trainer does show an awareness, especially when told that Robbie Robertson of the Band fame created music for movies by Martin Scorsese. A film buff, he vows to investigate. He also knows about Woodstock, but it is the 30th-anniversary festival in 1999 he tells me about. Huh? In fairness, I knew little about that one, so we call it a draw.
When we talk about our weekends, I also notice the age gap. When another young trainer asks about mine, I say I didn’t do too much, meaning that I watched some Netflix and went for a walk to the grocery store. Their version of “didn’t do too much” often includes attending a fantastic party, a 2 a.m. visit to a dance club, completing an eight-kilometre hike in the mountains, and polishing off the three books they had been reading.
Eventually, I realize something is off. The entitled complainers are nowhere to be seen. These Gen Zers are empathetic and surprisingly effective relating to clients older than their own parents.
After 10 weeks of workouts, I reach several conclusions.
It turns out Gen Z is hard-working, smart, confident, funny and likeable. They will be just fine. Conventional wisdom had it wrong, or at least mostly wrong. They really are addicted to their cellphones.
As for the boomers, we are still learning and doing our best to pass along something useful. While it is true we did get cheap houses, we also share the worry about the environment.
As for the workout music playlist, who would have guessed Gen Z are huge ABBA fans?
Stephen Curran lives in Vancouver.
