It was only a couple of decades ago, back in the ‘80s, that “seniors” had role models like Bea Arthur and Rue McClahan on Golden Girls or Angela Lansbury on Murder, She Wrote. These days, Baby Boomers and Beyond boast such sexy contemporaries as Goldie Hawn, Diane Sawyer and Harrison Ford among their own. No reason that you can’t look equally fit and fabulous.

According to Colin Milner, CEO of the International Council on Active Aging, seniors of today have a much different view of fitness than their predecessors, many of whom who viewed involuntary exertion as a major annoyance. Milner said, “The term ‘exercise’ meant hard work. It was what you did in the military or body builders did at Muscle Beach, and women were told that if they did it they weren’t womanly or it would hurt their reproductive organs.” It was Baby Boomers like Jane Fonda, jogging pioneer Jim Fixx, and aerobics inventor Ken Cooper who put a positive spin on the act of being active.

Milner pointed out that 37% of health club members are now 55 or older, and that doesn’t take into consideration those working out in retirement homes, an area that he said is exploding.

Robin Stuhr of the American Council on Exercise recommends that older people get a good physical before embarking on a fitness program. “Exercise can be a fountain of youth,” she says, “in that it can help slow down aging changes and help you maintain a level of vitality and energy that you might not otherwise have. But you just have to do it smarter, because your body is more vulnerable because of the aging process.”

Author of Dare to be 100 and Living Longer for Dummies, Dr. Walter Bortz is 77, but he has run a marathon every year for the last 35 years. Dr. Bortz says, “Fitness for young people is an option, fitness for old people is an imperative.”

The National Institute on Aging recommends regular activity for seniors to help them maintain their strength and fight diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Following are the four types of exercises NIA suggests for seniors:

1. Endurance: At least 30 minutes of activity that causes heavy breathing, almost every day.
2. Strength: Lifting weights for building muscle strength so you can get up from a chair by yourself or pick up your grandchildren. Light weights or even your own body weight is sufficient for beginners.
3. Balance: Standing on one foot, walking heel-to-toe and standing up without using your arms can help improve balance.
4. Stretch: Warm up before stretching, and don’t overstretch till it hurts. Stretching exercises make muscles more flexible and help you move more freely.

According to Milner, “In the fitness industry, there’s the old saying, ‘use it or lose it.’” Milner insists that even if you’ve lost it, you can still find it again, no matter how old you are.