There’s always room for controversy. Even in adult gymnastics.
I recently came across a video of a 30-something year old gymnast who was raising the question of whether adults should be using the term “Geriatric Gymnastics.” I watched the video and looked at some of the comments and felt a little perturbed that someone would be inclined to yuck my yum.
Apparently, some people feel that the term “Geriatric Gymnastics” is inappropriate and possibly damaging to our perception of ourselves. Or, to other people’s perception of adults participating in gymnastics. Or perhaps some combination of the two. To be honest, I’m not 100% sure of the issue.
Since I call myself The Geriatric Gymnast, I’d like to offer up my thoughts on this topic.
The pre-menopause perception of “Geriatric”
If you are in your thirties, or possibly forties, I think I can understand why you’d take umbrage with the thought of being called a “Geriatric Gymnast.” Your body, while it has been through some paces for sure, still feels closer to your 20s than your 80s. Geriatric is certainly not a term I’d imagine you’d want to use to describe yourself, especially if you train like a beast in the gymnastics setting.
Then, the menopause transition hits
But once you move into the elongated and sometimes torturous menopausal transition (and you will, trust me), you’ll feel a whole new way in your body and mind. And it will likely hit you when you least expect it, like a Mack truck that runs back and forth over you at sixty miles per hour. Fully loaded with hammers and anvils.
Any combination of potentially thirty-plus different symptoms associated with the menopausal transition completely messes with your existence. Brain fog, dizziness, weight gain, hot flashes, joint aches, the list goes on and on. Someone in their early thirties simply cannot (thankfully) conceive of what any or all of this will feel like. For those of us who are in or have gone through that inevitable period of time, we know exactly what that feels like.
And on many days, we feel utterly geriatric.
It doesn’t mean that we feel that way all of time. But it does mean that our experience of physical highs and lows has downshifted in the wide range of wellness feelings.
Now in my mid-fifties, there are times when I feel utterly beast-like. I am stronger than I ever was in my twenties and thirties. I am certainly much wiser as well. I am still gaining skills in the gym, albeit slowly, and I have no qualms about my ability to learn something new.
That said, there are other times when I wake up or stand up after sitting for a while, and it feels, quite literally, like my joints are eighty years old. Getting up requires support and is is usually accompanied by some gutteral sound until the joints get enough lubrication to walk normally. I wish I was kidding. It’s the weirdest juxtaposition: feeling so able-bodied sometimes and so creaky and frail at others.
By the way, it doesn’t really matter how strong or mobile you are in your best moment. Your body is still going to loudly talk back to you (or moan like a banshee) when it’s not fully recovered or has stiffened up. This is why “geriatric” applies.
Defining “geriatric”
I think the kerfuffle is that young-feeling people don’t want to be considered “old,” like it’s a bad thing to be. Many think of the word “geriatric” and immediately shun the idea that they might fit the description.
I hope I don’t sound too harsh when I say, “to each their own.” By all means, call yourself whatever you want. Create the label that you feel suits you. For me, being The Geriatric Gymnast offers an opportunity to redefine how older people are perceived.
We do not have to succumb to a negative connotation of the word. “Geriatric” simply refers to the focus on the health, well-being and medical care of aging individuals. How we interpret that straight-forward definition depends upon our cultural beliefs surrounding older people.
There is a huge difference in the life experience of people as they advance in decades. There’s also a wide range of experience between people the same age. And within the same person at different times of the day. Our feelings about “age” is all about our ability function and thrive.
I suppose it begs the question, where does youth end and “geriatric” begin?
I argue that you can have feelings of both youth and age. Sometimes in the same day, and even the same moment. In my fifties, my thoughts about myself aren’t much different from my twenty-year-old self. But this older body often betrays those youthful thoughts. Sometimes, I can push through and do what my young self want to do. Other times, I must spend more time in recovery mode.
At this point in my life, I feel like the line between youth and geriatricness (it’s a word) is thick and blurry. And, I like defying expectations related to age and ability.
But knowing how other people feel about aging in general, is it harmful to the cause of adult gymnastics to call us “geriatric?”
Is the term “geriatric gymnast” discriminatory?
I think what I took issue with in the video is the creator’s thought that the use of the word “geriatric” in a gymnastics setting might lead to some sort of perceived discrimination based on age.
Side note: I have only once run into any pushback from anyone regarding my Geriatric Gymnast status. There was one doctor that I saw for a back-handspring-related finger injury who audaciously asked me “isn’t gymnastics for teenagers?” In my head, I was saying, just fix my damn finger. I never went back to him.
Back to the discussion at hand: Doesn’t the fact that more older people are training regularly and competing in gymnastics kind of defeat the notion that there’s some sort of discrimination? There are more adult gymnastics opportunities now cropping up than ever before.
The word “geriatric” doesn’t have to land squarely into a discriminatory or ageist sentiment. In healthcare, there is a sensible distinction. The health and well-being of a fifty-year-old shouldn’t be dependent on the rules of a twenty- or thirty-year-old. Nor should it be based on that of an eighty-year-old. Each phase of adulthood relies on a different set of rules requirements. As it should be.
Same goes for gymnastics. I am an older adult. While my approach to training and competition is very different from a teenager’s, I still have no problem taking class, working on skills and signing up for a meet if I want to. In fact, being a “Geriatric Gymnast” is a badass badge of honor.
One more thing: In the world of gymnastics, if Aly Raisman was lovingly called a “grandma gymnast” at 22 in her Olympic heyday, then what would you consider a fifty-something recreational/newly competitive gymnast?
You guessed it: Geriatric.
Here’s my bottom line
We, the Geriatric Gymnasts of the world, have an opportunity to redefine society’s perception of the definition of labels once thought of as negative.
I choose to use the Geriatric Gymnastics moniker to inspire empowerment and progress in our older age, rather than as a label describing someone who should be put out to pasture. I do that through my actions, my videos and my blog postings all about my training experience. People can decide for themselves how they feel about it.
Just remember, two things can be simultaneously true: You can be a Geriatric Gymnast and you can be a badass beast. One doesn’t cancel out the other. If anything, being a GG validates our badassery.
If you have given any thought to trying gymnastics as an adult, read my article Starting Gymnastics After 30. It's a good guide to getting started. Maybe it will inspire you to give it a try!
