During her professional tennis career, Chris Evert spent countless hours on the practice court on a virtually daily basis, whacking forehands and backhands from the baseline and hitting the gym for weight work.
Evert retired from the pro tennis circuit in 1989, having won 18 Grand Slam championships and 157 tournaments overall. When she ceased playing competitively, Evert stopped her strenuous daily workout regimen — but she’s remained physically active. Today, at age 63, Evert is a tennis commentator and remains in terrific physical condition.
In an interview with U.S. News, Evert talked about her post-career workout regimen and offered tips to baby boomers (people born between mid-1946 and mid-1964, according to the Census Bureau) on how to remain active and fit as they age. Getting enough exercise is a challenge for many U.S. residents. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults do muscle-strengthening activities at least twice a week, as well as 150 minutes of “moderate level” aerobic activity. But a CDC report released in June 2018 found that only about 23 percent of adults in the U.S. work out that much in their leisure time.
[See: 6 Exercises Women Should Do Every Day.]
For the roughly 74 million baby boomers in the U.S., the keys to remaining physically active, Evert says, are to develop a workout routine that fits into your schedule and engage in activities you enjoy.
Though her intense, hours-long tennis workouts are over, Evert remains active because “being healthy and playing sports and exercising have always been a part of my life, since age 6 when I started playing tennis,” she says. “When I retired, I didn’t want to drop the ball. I still realized the benefits of exercise.”
Retiring from the pro circuit isn’t the only change that’s affected Evert’s fitness regimen. Getting older has too. “I don’t train as hard or with the same intensity as I used to,” she says. “You have to change and tweak your activities and exercise [routine] as you get older.” Today, Evert’s workouts typically consist of hiking, walking, rock climbing, light weight training, stretching, hot yoga and, yes, tennis. She co-owns the Evert Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, Florida, where she often takes the court and coaches young players.
Evert gets something different from each aspect of her exercise regimen. To varying degrees, tennis, hiking, rock climbing and walking provide cardio workouts. “I feel I need cardio work, but I also need strength and flexibility,” she says. To that end, Evert also works in some weight training, to maintain muscle tone. “It’s very beneficial,” she says. “If you don’t use your muscles, they disappear.” Maintaining good upper body strength helps her play tennis effectively; it’s particularly good for her serve.
Practicing yoga provides multiple benefits. “With yoga, I get the cardio, the flexibility and the strength,” she says. Evert typically practices hot or Bikram yoga. Both of these practices are conducted inside hot rooms and are widely considered to be among the more physically vigorous of the yoga styles. Bikram yoga is a technique that involves 26 poses performed in a specific sequence in a room that’s 105 degrees Fahrenheit; Bikram yoga classes last 90 minutes, according to YogaHub, while hot yoga sessions are typically 60 minutes long. In a hot yoga class, the room temperature can range from about 80 degrees Fahrenheit to 100 or so degrees, and hot yoga can encompass an array of styles and poses, unlike the strict Bikram regimen.
[See: 8 Ways for Baby Boomers to Maintain Their Agility.]
The former tennis star has learned how to work exercise into small increments of time that fit into her busy travel and work schedule as a tennis commentator for ESPN. Currently, she’s in London for the Wimbledon tournament, and will spend much of her time during the two weeks of the competition preparing for and conducting interviews and analysis. That won’t leave her big blocks of time for exercise, but over the years, Evert has adapted. “You can watch the morning news while you stretch. You can put on a pair of running shoes and go for a 15-minute walk. You can lift hand-held weights or do push-ups while watching the news,” she says. “I have an app for a 7-minute workout.” If she’s calling a match and doesn’t have time to hit the gym, Evert says, she uses the app, which takes her through jumping jacks and other exercise routines. Exercising also helps mentally and emotionally, Evert says. “It benefits me emotionally, and makes me more clear and alert,” she says.
Evert acknowledges that she and other baby boomers can’t put in the same kind of workouts they did when they were younger. “You have to listen to your body,” she says. “You have to be smart. You don’t want to be running on cement,” which can pound your feet, knees and joints. Swimming and bicycling are good forms of exercise that don’t exact the kind of physical toll that running, playing tennis or pickup basketball might, for example. Such activities provide “more gentle and fluid ways of maintaining fitness,” says Dr. Dave R. Shukla, an orthopedic surgeon with the Hoag Orthopedic Institute in Irvine, California.
[See: The 10 Best Exercises You Can Do for the Rest of Your Life.]
Baby boomers, whether they’re a world-class athlete like Evert or a weekend rec player, need to remain physically active to maintain their muscle tone and strength and avoid having their muscles atrophy, says Dean Maddalone, a physical therapist assistant and director of fitness and wellness at the Professional Athletic Performance Center in Garden City, New York. “Simple exercises, such as swimming, walking or riding a bicycle [a stationary bike is OK if the person can’t ride outside] are some exercises that can help prevent muscle atrophy and increase cardiovascular endurance,” he says.
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Baby Boomers, Take Note: Chris Evert Describes Her Fitness Regimen originally appeared on usnews.com
