What’s Age Got to do with it?

Written by Melinda Ennis-Roughton Monday, April 19 2010

Snapshot: Jane Fonda
In 1982, Jane Fonda’s Workout Book and exercise video galvanized an entire generation of women to get physical and inspired a craze that became a way of life. Gyms and health clubs are now an omnipresent part of the American scene.

Today, Fonda is promoting fitness for the entire life span, from millennials to seniors and all the gen-xers and boomers in between, by inviting them to join her for a workout at the first annual World Fitness Day on May 1 at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome. All proceeds from the event go to the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (G-CAPP), the organization Fonda founded in Atlanta in 1995 when Georgia had the highest teen pregnancy rate in the country.

G-CAPP promotes statewide public policy initiatives that support adolescent pregnancy prevention and its underlying causes. Working with community organizers, local agencies, and youth throughout the state, G-CAPP develops educational programs and strives to address “the social antecedents that lie beneath the problem behavior,” according to Fonda. Self-image and obesity often are part of the problem as young girls struggle with weight and low self esteem, making them particularly vulnerable to peer pressure and bad choices.

World Fitness Day will celebrate personal fitness and the importance of healthy living in the prevention of teen pregnancy. The day will open with remarks from CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta followed by workouts led by Fonda and celebrity trainers such as Richard Simmons, Billy Blanks, and Denise Austin. For those who prefer a dancing workout, Debbie Allen (famed for Fame) will lead the crowds in a salsa rendition.

Hot music pumps up any workout, and World Fitness Day will include The Pointer Sisters and a closing concert by Atlanta’s own Ludacris. Fitness king Arnold Schwarzenegger, also known as the governor of California, will provide inspiration via a live video, and a Fitness Zone expo will include sponsors and vendors with health and wellness-related products and information. Tickets can be purchased by going to www.gcapp.org, with a special senior and student rate of $25.

Fonda’s stated mission for the day is “to bring greater attention to the importance of self-empowerment, health, and wellness throughout the life span.” She recently spoke with Womenetics about her own life span, which she has dedicated to helping the state of Georgia with one of its most critical issues.

Womenetics: You look fabulous. Do you still work out as assiduously as you did back in the ’80s?
Jane Fonda: I am 72 years old. I've had hip replacement and a recent knee replacement, and I still manage to stay active. My workout regimen has changed – today we know so much more and better understand that the body’s smaller muscles are just as important as the larger ones. Years ago, we were so concerned with the big muscles – like the gluteus maximus. Now we know that the gluteus minimus is just as key. My own routine includes exercises and weight work designed to strengthen and maintain my core – my torso. As we age, those are the muscles that help us maintain posture, balance, and strength. Exercise is also the key to building and maintaining my energy.

Womenetics: Speaking of aging, what are your thoughts about how American women are perceived as they get older and about ageism in the film industry?
Fonda: I must say, having lived in Europe for eight years, for some reason older women actresses, particularly French actresses like Jeanne Moreau, are more revered than in our society. I can’t figure out why – it’s complicated. Meryl Streep is an amazing anomaly. There is a tyranny of perfection here. It also affected me when I was an adolescent. There are a lot of similarities between girls at the beginning of the life span – adolescence – and women at the other end. Both groups don’t have power in our society. Older women become invisible women.

Womenetics: Do you think that generation X and the millennials are better about body image related to self esteem issues?
Fonda: Well I’m no sociologist, but I don’t think it’s any better. There are 16-year-old girls now getting plastic surgery like breast implants. That’s not a judgment about plastic surgery. I’ve had it, but they’re starting younger and younger just to fit in. That’s why I think fitness and exercise is important. When I started working out, I found that it gave me a tremendous feeling of control that I could shape my body. I could be in charge, and it was empowering.

I once received a letter from a woman who had exercised with Jane Fonda’s Workouts. She said she was brushing her teeth one morning and noticed the muscles in her arms and that gave her the strength to go in and stand up to her boss. I have four new workout DVDs coming out in December that are for boomers and seniors – exercise for the entire life span.

Womenetics: What was your inspiration for the May 1, World Fitness Day event?
Fonda: I have been writing a book about aging for Random House: The Third Act: Entering Prime Time. Among other things, I write about the importance of staying physically active in the last third of life – even if you've never been active before. It can be a determining factor in the quality of your life, and it's never too late to start. Alongside this, I have been focused for 16 years on adolescents, their feelings about themselves, their futures, their goals, and how this affects their behavior – especially their sexual behavior. This is through my statewide nonprofit, the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention. I have seen over the years that when boys and girls, but especially girls, are involved in sports and exercise, when they respect and honor their bodies, they are less apt to engage in risky behavior, less apt to give themselves away, and are less apt to be burdened with obesity. I realized that May is Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention month, and it's also physical Fitness month so it seemed a natural combination. I decided to ask other celebrities in the field of health and fitness to join me in the Georgia Dome to issue a nationwide call.

Womenetics: G-CAPP is almost 16 years old now. Can you tell us about some of the goals you had for the organization that have been achieved?
Fonda: Georgia’s teen pregnancy rate was the worst in the country, and now it’s No. 8. I’m not attributing that all to G-CAPP; some of it is fear of AIDS and other factors. But it’s starting to climb again.

We have to be honest and give girls information about their bodies. There is a lot of ignorance, particularly in poverty-stricken areas, about how our bodies work. Some girls think if they stand up after sex they won’t get pregnant. One out of three girls is sexually abused or raped. We have to help them understand how to protect themselves. We have to teach them what a real relationship is, to be sober not stoned, and to understand how they really feel.

I support abstinence. The problem with the "just say no" message isn't the "no," it's the "just." At G-CAPP we believe in concentrating “above the waist.” What happens between a girl’s ears is much more important than what happens between her legs. They have to see a positive future for themselves.

I mentor a young black woman from Arizona who is now going to law school at U. Mass (University of Massachusetts). She comes from a Precious-type background. When she went to her neighborhood to tell her homies about going to law school they called her a sellout because that’s not valued where she comes from. We have to change those attitudes.

Womenetics: What are the goals for the World Fitness Day event?
Fonda: I am interested in bringing boomers and seniors like me into the exercise world because I know it will enhance their lives. Some of the celebrities will appeal to a younger crowd, and there will be teams of students from many schools throughout Georgia and elsewhere who will be exposed to the fun and value of exercise.

Womenetics: How long will the workout last? Will each trainer specialize in a different type of workout or will there be a common program?
Fonda: Richard Simmons, Denise Austin, Billy Blanks, Debbie Allen, and I will each lead the thousands of people of all ages through different styles of exercise – each segment will last about 10 minutes. There’s going to be something for everyone. At the end of the workout, The Pointer Sisters and Ludacris are going to close the morning with a live concert. It’s going to be terrific.

Womenetics: Will this become an annual event?
Fonda: This is the first annual World Fitness Day, but we intend to make it a yearly event. Come join us – in person or virtually. We will stream the event on the web so that people around the country can participate. Anyone can join in via www.exercisetv.tv

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A veteran of the marketing/advertising business, Melinda Ennis-Roughton is the principal and owner of an Atlanta-based marketing firm called MelWorks Inc., and a freelance writer specializing in women’s issues and film criticism. She was an on-going contributing film critic for the Atlanta Journal Constitution from 2004-2007.

Her career highlights include the position of Executive Director/Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for Brand Atlanta, which was responsible for marketing the city under Shirley Franklin’s administration. She served as Global CMO for Church's Chicken, supervising marketing direction, from China to Costa Rica. And her career also includes executive positions at Atlanta ad agencies, including Fitzgerald & Co. Ennis-Roughton began her career with Arby’s Restaurants, where she stayed for ten years, eventually rising to the position of senior vice president, marketing and was the first female vice president of the organization.