An estimated 10 percent of the lifeguards who work New York’s public beaches and parks are over the age of 50. Their secret? Intense winter exercise so they can stay in shape to pass the lifeguard fitness test year after year.
In order to return for another season of sun, surf and rescues, the experienced lifeguards have to pass a state-administered rehire test every spring. The exam is meant to test their speed in the water and on land. The test consists of a 100-meter pool swim that must be completed in 1 minute, 20 seconds and a quarter-mile run in 2 minutes, 10 seconds.
“If you don’t pass, it doesn’t matter how many years you’ve been there,” said Bruce Meirowitz, 60, a retired high school art teacher from Sound Beach, N.Y., who has been a lifeguard since he was 17. “To stay in this Peter Pan, Never Never Land we live in as lifeguards, you have to pay your dues.”
That means training — much of it done over the winter, which is when older adults tend to slack off. By contrast, in early November, Mr. Meirowitz and about a dozen of his colleagues from Robert Moses will hit the pool at the Brentwood campus of Suffolk County Community College.
You can see some of their exercises in the slide show “Staying Fit to Stay on the Job.” Read the full article, “Keeping Themselves Fit for Going to the Rescue,” and then please join the discussion below.
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