08-15-2006

Mature adults can improve their level of mental and physical fitness, and resurrect their driving skills in a location designed exclusively for them, thanks to a new concept called Nifty after Fifty.

The first of the new centers, developed to improve greater wellness and lasting independence, has opened in La Habra, Calif.

The 73 year-old physician and founder of Nifty after Fifty, Sheldon S. Zinberg, MD, says a progressive loss of fitness, both mental and physical, is the most important factor challenging our future independence and quality of life. This is a new concept to improve fitness and mental acuity for the mature adult under safe clinical supervision.

At the first visit, specially trained fitness coaches and physical therapists will evaluate the new member’s overall level of fitness and specific areas of de-conditioning. They will help customize the member’s exercise program and monitor their progress at every session, coaching them to a new and better level of vitality. A variety of scientific advances are used such as newly developed air pressure machines that will smoothly build the member’s strength and balance, and also, innovative low impact aerobic machines to improve endurance.

Another key service featured at Nifty after Fifty is the state-of-the-art driving simulation program called Reviving your Driving. Members will be able to rekindle their driving reflexes in a safe environment using a computer-based driving simulator called the Virtual Driver. Virtual Driver’s interactive Defensive Driving Course is the only one approved by the National Safety Council, according to the company. It provides numerous practice sessions that include coaching in almost every kind of traffic hazard and weather condition.

We need to practice in a safe setting to sharpen our reaction-time, build our confidence, and rebuild the confidence of others in our driving abilities, Zinberg says. As an added bonus, he said, most insurance programs-under federal mandate-offer a 10% discount on liability insurance for those that complete the program and who are 55 years of age or older.

As a consequence of the normal aging process, most of us begin to lose our ability to remember at a rate of 1% a year starting in our mid 30s, says Zinberg, who is also the author of Win In the Second Half-a guide to better aging and fitness (Saddleback Press, 2003).

Nifty after Fifty features the Rewinding your Minding program that provides a selected series of computer and non-computer based mental exercises designed to rejuvenate the ability to remember and to enhance problem solving.

Other services offered at the center will include physical therapy and rehabilitation, and social networking (acquainting and dating services, dance nights, makeover nights, health care lectures, movie nights, book club nights, etc), a med-spa for non-surgical facial rejuvenation and body contouring, and a nutritional guidance and weight control program.

For more information call (800) 928-0867.

[SOURCE: Nifty after Fifty, August 11, 2006]