Has your fitness progress seemed about as swift as a bill crawling through congress? Don't get discouraged. John H. Bland, M.D., a professor of rheumatology at the University of Vermont, and a cross-country skier in the 75 to 79 age group, has some great news for you.

Dr. Bland has come up with some information that will make the young jocks green with envy. The fitness level of older adults doesn't slip away as quickly as it does for younger exercisers. It takes a while longer for the mature body to reach its peak but it will hold onto this level much longer.

Though researchers don't know the precise chemical reasons for it, they do know that the young athlete who stops training is going to start slipping as soon as one to three weeks, whereas someone over 60 who has to cancel his workouts because of injury or other reasons might not see a dramatic difference for as many as twelve weeks.

The older body also has a few other advantages. We've known for sometime that the "mature" brain works better because it has more experiences to draw upon. Our muscles also get "smarter" as we age. Although they may not get as big from training, they efficiently increase their strength by "recruiting" more muscle fibers into action. There's also the same "holding bonus"-if we stop, the conditioning stays with us longer. There's more good news! Older exercisers get the same aerobic training effect at a lower percentage of maximum heart rate than younger athletes do.

Getting in shape takes some effort, especially if we've put it off longer than we should, however the benefits of increased energy, strength, vitality, improved heart health and a smaller clothes size make it well worth the effort!