Most of us would be happy to make it to our 90s, let alone be able to move about at that age free from canes, wheelchairs or handlers.

But staying fit well into the twilight years should not be seen as a far-fetched impossibility. In fact, doctors and medical studies say fitness and growing old are not mutually exclusive – even if the previous 90 years were mostly spent on a couch.

“If you don’t get up and move around, you get rusty,” 91-year-old Art Gaul said, after exercising at the RiverPlex Recreation and Wellness Center in Peoria.

Born in 1917, Gaul said he didn’t start exercising until the early 1990s after having a pacemaker installed and undergoing a quintuple bypass.

The same goes for Howard Simpson. Now 90, he started his health regime while working for his publishing company hauling textbooks between high schools.

“And then my back went out and my doctor said, ‘You better get some exercise,’” he said.
Simpson has been keeping fit with the program for 21 years.

The health course at the RiverPlex, which counts about 300 participants both old and not-so-old, encourages elderly exercise through several classes, each with a different level of intensity. Some classes focus on basic mobility and flexibility while others involve more advanced cardiovascular workouts.

The classes also provide members with emotional support and mental stimulation, which studies show can be just as beneficial for an aging body as a walk around the track.

“It’s their big event for the day,” nurse Karen Ehnle said. “Other than that, a lot of them are kind of bound at home.”

To be sure, some of the credit for seniors staying active goes to something even physical exercise can't change: their genetic code.

“There is an old saying: You can’t outrun your genes,” said Dr. Don McRaven, a recently retired cardiologist.

But McRaven said attitude plays a big role in a person’s longevity. Having a lust for living and a strong commitment to working toward a goal gives people the drive they need to become healthy.

“You have to have a plan and be motivated to executing that plan,” said McRaven, 72.

A generational difference could be another reason behind a longer, healthy life. Ehnle said many of her 90-plus clients lived tough lives through economic depression and wars, sharpening their resilience and willpower.

“It really is about hardiness,” she said. “They looked at it proactively and said, ‘I’m going to do something.’”

Whatever the physiological reason, some say they just do it for fun.

“It keeps me out of mischief and out of the house,” said 89-year-old Paul Snider, who has been with the program for 19 years. “You got to keep moving or you lose it.”