Patty Russell has been teaching aerobics at the La Jolla YMCA for 36 years. When she first started, she’d play music from something millennials probably have never heard of — 45 RPM records.
"Every song would be one specific exercise, and then we’d change our 45, put it back into the baggie, and then do another exercise," Russell said with a laugh.
A lot has changed in the exercise world since then, and not just in how we play music.
In the 1970s, it was the body building craze, led by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who later became California's governor.
Then actress Jane Fonda’s video workouts in the 1980s...
Step aerobics in the 1990s...
And don’t forget Jazzercise, an exercise dance class that’s based in Carlsbad. It's been around for 45 years but became a craze in the 1980s.
Back then, “People got involved because it was typically about having a toned body,” said Scott Goudeseune, CEO of the American Council on Exercise. The San Diego-based nonprofit marks its 30th anniversary this year and is one of the world's largest exercise organizations. It researches fitness trends, certifies personal trainers, and provides health education to instructors and the public.
Today, Goudeseune said, "People just want to live longer. They want to be able to do things when they’re 75 with their grandchildren the way they were able to when they were 40 or 50.”
But fewer people are exercising today than 30 years ago, according to the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Then, about three-quarters of adults did some kind of physical activity in their free time. By 1997, that number had fallen to 60 percent. By 2013, the trend was reversing, and it was up to 70 percent.
Percentage Of Adults Exercising
1985: 76 percent
1997: 60 percent
2013: 70 percent
Source: U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Even so, Goudenseune said, more people today know they should be exercising.
“There’s a tremendous amount of awareness today. But the studies show the obesity rate is continuing to increase,” he said.
More than 68 percent of adults were overweight or obese in 2014, up from around 50 percent in 1985, according to the National Institute of Health.
The American Council on Exercise is working to fix the strange dichotomy that more people know they should exercise, yet are still gaining weight, Goudeseune said.
“It’s not an easy solution. It’s not an overnight fix. It’s a lifestyle change," he said. "Unfortunately, we as Americans want instant gratification. And so when it comes to your fitness level, it didn’t change overnight and it’s not going to change back overnight.”
Mary Ellen Gross has been living that lifestyle change since 1980, when she began exercising after moving to San Diego from New York City.
"I wasn’t exercising at all, and at the time I decided I’d like to walk," she said. "Then very quickly I started running."
She ran the America’s Finest City Half Marathon in 1984, and at 71 years old is still running today.
Exercise is more inclusive now, she said.
“You have a lot of families. You see a lot of strollers, Moms and Dads running with strollers. It’s a whole different attitude I’d say,” she said.
As exercise trends have changed, aerobics instructor Russell has kept on moving. People’s attitudes toward exercise are better today, she said.
"People are now listening to their bodies and doing what they can do, and not what they think they should be doing," she said.
The 67-year-old said she hopes to still be exercising in another 30 years.
