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Pairing the word "senior" with the word "center" typically generates a string of other words.

Checkers. Bridge. Coffee cake.

Alone, none of these nouns is unflattering. As a collective, they cultivate an image of old people sitting around a table, their creaky joints, muscles and organs gathering rust.

At some senior centers, that's just not the case. Tuesdays and Thursdays are two of the more popular days at the senior center in Bergenfield (NJ). On those days, the center offers exercise classes.

"We have a lot of people that call or come on those days in particular for that class," said Tara Prestigiacomo, the activities coordinator at the Bergenfield Senior Center.

Prestigiacomo said the classes include older seniors, students who are in their late 80s, early 90s. But no two seniors are built the same. Some spent their lives running marathons; others spent their lives in a slightly more sedentary style.

We asked some experts, who passed along these guidelines for older seniors who want to stay in shape, get in shape for the first time or just make the climb upstairs a little easier.

* Check in with your doctor. "One of the things you have to recognize," said Dr. Knight Steel, chief emeritus of geriatrics at Hackensack University Medical Center, "is unlike high school kids - most of them are reasonably fit - older people are markedly varied."

Some have bad kidneys. Some have heart issues. Some have arthritis.

So it pays to ask the doctor what you can do and what you cannot do. If you have a heart condition, but you have never jogged a step in your life, you probably should not be heading out on a five-mile run.

* Don't go it alone. It might cost a little more, but if you are a late arrival to the fitness bandwagon, you will want to consult an expert.

"If you're in your 20s, you can go make mistakes and hopefully [you'll be fine]," said Tamir Greenberger, a personal trainer with Unique Training Group in Westwood. "The most important thing is probably have someone show you how to go through the motions correctly."

* Keep it simple. Greenberger ushers his first-time clients - young or old - through a series of basic movements. Anything confusing can lead to injuries.

"Some squats, some rows for the back," Greenberger said. "Any kind of basic movements - chest presses, shoulder presses, bicep curls, tricep extensions. There are a lot of trainers that might take them through more complicated routines, but I wouldn't personally recommend that, not to start with."

* Build slowly. "You want to start off very gently and very slowly and make it more strenuous," Steel said. "You want to start out and say, 'OK, I'm going to start out doing exercise. I'm going to run half a block. And I'm going to run three-quarters of a block, two blocks ...' "

* Three words: cardio, cardio, cardio. The big issue, Greenberger said, is that many senior citizens retire and settle into sedentary lifestyles.

"Even if you walk at a fast pace outside [while] walking your dog," Greenberger said. "Jumping jacks in the house. You can run on the treadmill, [hop on the] elliptical.

"You know what the most important thing with cardio is? Doing something you enjoy doing. At that age, you want to be moving as much as possible."

* Think functional. Most seniors are not training for marathons.

"When you think about it," Steel said, "what you really want to do is walk and get around more than anything."

One exercise Steel recommends is putting light weights on an athlete's foot and having him/her attempt leg raises. This builds muscle mass in key areas - legs and thighs.

It makes the trip up a set of stairs that much easier.

(c) 2011 Record, The; Bergen County, N.J.. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

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