• The Miami Herald, Thursday, June 21, 2007 11:15 AM

About 25% of the 4,500 or so members of Shula's Athletic Club in Miami Lakes are over age 65--a figure that general manager Bill Higgs sees as part of a national trend. In fact, as more of America's baby boomers start entering their 60s, even startup gyms are homing in on the mature market.

The business potential is huge -- and expanding. The U.S. health club industry pulls in about $16 billion in annual revenue. Club 50, a fitness chain for the over-40 crowd, points out that seniors control more than 70% of the country's disposable income.

"As we get older, we're sort of intimidated about going into a 25,000 square-foot gym with rock music and people in tight leotards and muscles bulging from every aspect of their tank shirts," says 74-year-old Sheldon Zinberg, who opened the franchise Nifty After Fifty in Southern California last year. The gym plays softer music and uses smooth, air pressure-driven equipment for strength training as opposed to the typical metal weights.

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