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Turning Back the Clock This Renaissance man helps his older adult students with their own revival. Being older doesn’t mean you’re just waiting to die. Get up and live, declares Jeffrey Wheat, popular instructor of exercise classes tailored for the older adult. Wheat has a lot to say about how activity of mind and body can slow problems associated with aging. He has long had many things going on in his life, and while he doesn’t yet qualify for senior status, he is an expert on the ways fitness can benefit older adults. Though the modest Wheat would never admit it, he appears to be well-versed in numerous subjects. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physical science from Harvard University, and a master’s degree in exercise physiology from George Williams University. A basketball player since youth, Wheat says athletics have been a lifelong interest. “I was always doing something,” Wheat said. “Of the children in our family, I was the outside kid.” Besides athletics, Wheat has become an expert at Tai Chi, and regularly incorporates the discipline into his fitness teaching. He’s also an avid barbershop quartet singer, and tells the story of the time his quartet so shocked an audience with their caveman outfits, they ended up winning a contest and touring Sweden and Germany with the routine. Wheat arrived in California in 1986, after a stint working as a cancer researcher at the University of Chicago, among other positions. He interviewed with the San Diego Community College District, and had a choice between teaching physical science at Mesa College or older adult fitness for what was then the College of the Emeriti, a program within Continuing Education that focused on classes and other resources for older adults. Wheat opted for the older adult fitness program. “At George Williams, my emphasis was on preventive health education,” Wheat said. “When I entered the program, I began working with people who had gone through heart attacks, people with Alzheimer’s disease. I began working with them on ways to exercise that would address their individual needs.” Wheat has seen graying seniors turn their lives around. Fitness routines may not be the mythical fountain of youth, Wheat says, but they can help maintain youthful energy and emotional well-being. “The proper type of exercise can not only make older adults feel better, it can stave off depression,” Wheat said. “The demographic of our entire population is changing, and fitness is one of the ways we need to address that. As the baby boomer generation reaches full maturity, a strong emphasis on fitness will save money, prolong lives and make people happier during those longer lives. Health is wealth, and there is a wealth of joy and information in our older adults when they are healthy.” Wheat talks about better balance meaning fewer falls and fewer broken hips. Exercise means better bone density, meaning fewer broken bones. Keeping mentally fit also means understanding instructions for medicines better, remembering to eat right and other related benefits. Despite advantages, during times of budget cuts and other financial crises, the program has been threatened. At a meeting of the district Board of Trustees recently, several seniors spoke out against getting rid of the older adult program. “When you eliminate the entire older adult program, you are in essence saying our future learning is eliminated,” Wheat said. “All of us are going to reach these life plateaus, and all are going to need the proper education and training to handle the challenges. This is our future, so why would we want to get rid of it?” By keeping older adults fit and active, Wheat says, the public benefits by saving dollars that would be spent on care for these adults, not to mention the costs down the road as each of us reaches senior status. One older adult learner addressing the board told of how she had been house bound and dependent on a home health aide because of myasthenia gravis. She can now cook for herself, groom herself –– when before she couldn’t reach high enough to comb her hair –– and credited her improvement to the fitness classes. For now, the free classes have been saved. Evolving the free classes into fee classes is part of a larger developing plan to balance the budget. “When you place older adult learners in a classroom situation with younger people, they lose interest and confidence,” Wheat added. “They make considerably more progress when they are in their own element, working alongside those in their peer group. It’s difficult to marshal independent seniors into cross-generational settings.” That said, Wheat also points out that sometimes intermingling can be healthy, as in recent programs when older adults learn alongside their own children in some situations, or even their grandchildren. “The best payoff, though, is when both age groups can intermingle in the appropriate courses, and go their separate ways in other courses,” Wheat said. “Having older adult classes means we might save 10 older adults every session from going into depression sooner than they would otherwise.” Wheat is fond of saying that older-adult learners have taught him more than he has taught them. The Tai Chi program he has implemented has helped not only his students with various heart diseases, but the focus, discipline and philosophy of the Chinese form seems to benefit nearly all of his students immediately. During his time in San Diego, Wheat has also seen downtown San Diego change. “This downtown has blossomed into a major urban center,” Wheat said. “It’s been interesting to see how the Gaslamp District has developed such a varied dynamic. There are good people down here, and we’re seeing more retired people not only living down here but also venturing downtown from elsewhere.” Wheat tells the story of one street person who came in very disoriented and unfocused because of some serious personal dramas. The individual ventured in and out of the class until he better understood the mind-body-spirit connection Wheat teaches. That person went on and took other classes, and is now a teacher’s aide. Working in a downtown environment, teaching so many older adults and his other activities have given Wheat a full appreciation of life. “I’ve made some wonderful friends,” he said. “The community has allowed me to meet people on so many different levels. I enjoy the idea of helping older adults as I grow older myself. That’s one of the reasons I see myself doing what I do for many years to come.” |
SLOW AND STEADY. The measured movements of Tai Chi promote good balance and muscle tone. Here, Jeffrey Wheat leads his class for older adults at the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association Senior Garden. |
