Left: Anthony Jenkins
doesn’t let age get
in his way.

Above: Boomers
(and a stray
teen) in action
Exercising Boomer Style
ANDY GOTLIEB | JE MANAGING EDITOR
Much to my chagrin, I learned recently that I am an alterkaker.

I was at the Kaiserman JCC taking the twice-weekly Boomer
Bootcamp class, when I began my usual exaggerated grumbling
about a particularly disliked exercise. My role is class clown, or
maybe class idiot, depending upon who you ask.

Instructor Jernell Mapp, who knows to not take my protests
seriously, pointed out that since I’m the youngest person in the
class, I shouldn’t have any problem completing the exercise.

I glanced around in mock shock, then slowly realized she was
right about the age part.

“Nobody here is younger than 50?” I asked incredulously, met
only with heads shaking “no.”
18 MAY 18, 2017
So even though I’m not technically a boomer — baby boomers
were born between 1946 and 1964, while I was born in 1966 — my
participation does make me an alterkaker.

That said, I’m glad I’m an alterkaker because Boomer
Bootcamp has become a community on to itself. A community of
alterkakers, but a good community nonetheless. As they (who is
“they,” anyway?) say, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

So that’s what I’ve done.

For an hour at 6 p.m. every Monday and Wednesday, Mapp
puts a group of 12 to 20 participants (and growing) through
its paces.

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To a mostly Motown soundtrack, with
some ’50s oldies and ’70s disco mixed in,
we warm up with assorted stretches. From
there, it’s on to an ever-changing mix of
arm curls, jumping jacks, pushups, head
bangers, lunges, squats and planks, and, if
Mapp is feeling particularly evil, moun-
tain climbers and burpees. (Anyone who’s
ever done one knows that the only thing
worse than burpees is herpes.)
After a few minutes of core exercises
— including the dreaded toe touches
while lying on our backs with legs in the
air (a favorite of mine since they hurt my
neck and my back!) — we wrap up with
a couple balance exercises and a few
more stretches.

I try not to look in the mirror at myself
because I envision I resemble Frankenstein
trying to exercise and am usually
completely out of sync with everyone else.

One reason the class is so popular is that
it works for varying levels of fitness. Mapp
offers alternative, less-rigorous versions of
exercises for those with assorted physical
ailments. That might include doing an
exercise while seated or holding onto a
chair; it might also be involve trying the
exercise without weights.

See Boomer, Page 20
Photos by Andy Gotlieb; Weights: adavino/iStock/Thinkstock.com
Name: Sam Azeez Museum of Woodbine He
Width: 7.5"
Depth: 4.75"
Color: Black plus one
Comment: 5/18 The Good Life
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JEWISHEXPONENT.COM THE GOOD LIFE
MAY 18, 2017
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