Day Two: Martina Gets AARP Members Moving

It may be hard to drag yourself to the gym or walking path in the morning for a solo workout to kick-start your day. But there's power, and fun, in group exercise—especially when the instructor is tennis legend (and AARP Health and Fitness Ambassador) Martina Navratilova.

Some 300 people poured into a hotel ballroom this morning to work out with Martina. Most, but not all, were women; most, but not all, wore some kind of workout garb. A favorite sweatshirt message was spotted in the crowd: "It's not an empty nest until they get their stuff out of the basement."

A few minutes after 7:30 a.m., Martina bounded on to a small stage, flanked by four giant TV screens, and was greeted with enthusiastic applause. Before the sweating began, she said that she'd arrived in Las Vegas fresh from filming a documentary with Chris Evert on their long-time rivalry and had taken Evert up on a chance to hit some balls with her former foil.

Martina then announced the ground rules for the workout: Make your exercise fun and vary what you do, so you don't get bored with your routine. Incorporate dance steps and techniques into your movements to keep limber. Work out to music: "Music motivates you to exercise harder," said the former tennis pro. "I work out harder now that I use my iPod." Breathe through your nose as much as possible, to take in better quality air (and also to keep from over-exerting). Finally, in group settings especially, "Drop the vanity and self-consciousness. This is not a competition. Exercise at your own pace, and listen to your body."

Within minutes, the 53-year-old star athlete had the crowd up and moving—and raised the energy level and motivation when she shared that this particular workout was her warm-up before her winning tennis matches. However, she joked, "What used to be a warm-up for me is now a workout."

Throughout the energetic 45-minute workout, she shouted out instructions and encouragement, sprinkling in her exercise tips: Stretch as much as you can, since you lose flexibility as you age. "Use it so you don't lose it," she said, while in the middle of a hamstring stretch. Stay fully hydrated, and remember, she advised, "You only get out of a workout what you put into it."

OK, so you've heard some of those motivational mantras before. But somehow they carry more weight coming from someone who won 19 Grand Slam titles. The audience seemed to breathe more deeply, focus more intently, and "go for the burn" less reluctantly as Martina spoke.

And lest you think that the teacher can't learn anything from her students, Martina brought several members on stage with her for some salsa—the non-edible kind—at the session's end. "I can't dance," she pleaded. "I need help." That call prompted five members to jump at the chance to share the stage with a legend and to lead the crowd in chanting "cha-cha-cha." Dancing with a (tennis) star and a room full of smiling AARP members beats a solo workout any day, no?

Later in the day, Martina Navratilova joined journalist AARP Caregiving Ambassador Gail Sheehy and AARP Travel Ambassador Peter Greenberg in talking to members about life's transitions. The panel's advice: Go for it. Embrace change. It's never too late.

Sheehy, who lost her husband to cancer in 2008, recounted spending a "magical" evening with him, in his final days, watching jazz. She said, "It shouldn't take a transition of that magnitude to experience those moments. Just take the risk and do it."

Peter Greenberg, who has traveled the world, climbed Machu Picchu, and flown a fighter jet, stated his life philosophy: "If you have an opportunity, don't wait."

Navratilova concurred, noting that in all her years of indulging in a wide variety of physical activity, the worst injury she received occurred while sitting on a boat. "Take a chance," she said. "If I hadn't, I wouldn't have played tennis again in my 50s."