Local Entrepreneur Adam Poock Helps The 55 Plus Find Fitness

By Susie Davidson

Advocate Correspondent

NEWTON – For older would-be athletes, or those simply wishing to maintain a fully functional existence, Adam Poock is their man. His business, the Ranks, specializes in providing personal fitness training and consultation for the 55

age group. Through his individualized programs, personal training assistance and seminars, he helps middle aged and elderly individuals to maintain their health and fitness as they continue to age.

Poock, who holds a degree in applied physiology from B.U.’s Sargent College, has studied and worked with the aging population for many years. Following B.U., he has undertaken extensive post graduate study in manual therapy, functional exercise, foot mechanics, athletic training and deep tissue manipulation.

“My education really took off after college,” he explains, “doing advanced seminars in manual therapy, athletic training, foot mechanics, treatment of muscle pain, exercise therapy, and the psychology of aging. I'm a long time yoga student as well, so I incorporate the principles of yogic movement into the work I do.

“I went the route of getting nine different certifications all over the country,” he says, “studying manual therapy and functional therapy with Gary Gray, muscle imbalance with Joanne Bullock Saxton of the University of Queensland in Australia, muscular therapy with Paul St. John, ‘Integration of Manual Therapy with Functional Exercise’ with Brian Mulligan of New Zealand, ‘Pilates for Physical Therapists’ with Sean Gallagher in New York, as well as four years of yoga with an amazing Cambridge instructor named Brad Crews. Basically, to get great with the aging population, I had to stitch together skills from multiple disciplines to create the tapestry of treatment I call 'The Ranks’.”

Adam typically works with 55-90 year old clients, and is based in Newton. He goes to clients’ homes and teaches seminars to older residents in the greater Boston and MetroWest area, and plans to offer health and fitness seminars to a variety of organizations and businesses in the coming months.

“I had to become a computer geek also,” he says, “so I could film clients for video analysis and then customize training videos.” He is introducing a new concept called "GenerationRanks.com," which will further assist his clients.

Raised in Natick, Massachusetts in a Conservative Jewish home, he graduated from the Rivers School in Weston in 1989.

“I created the Ranks to connect the youthfulness of a trained body with the collective experience of our aging population,” he says. “The cornerstone of my work is balance training. Good balance is the difference between a 75-year-old leading an active fulfilling life, and a 75-year-old losing his confidence, connection to the world, and identity.

“On a local scale,” he continues, “there is a tremendous population being overlooked by the health and fitness industry. These are older people in the community who are primarily healthy, yet they feel as if they don't belong in a normal gym. They are on the cusp, however, of being able to extend their independence and productivity, or to lose their freedoms to the pain, anxiety and fear that come with prolonged deconditioning."

Adam has an unusual perspective for a recently turned 30-year-old. "It has been a blessing to me to have spent my twenties hanging out with great 80-year-olds," he says. Among prominent local Jewish clients in Adam's care is Irving Rabb, formerly of Stop and Shop.

"Irving has been a spectacular inspiration to me,” says Adam. “He an example of building a business, while at the same time giving back. Furthermore, Irving did all of this at a time when it was tougher for Jews in this country. He broke ground for other Boston Jews in the worlds of business and philanthropy. His courage and belief in the future are more heartening today in light the new challenges we are facing as Jews and as Americans."

Adam was inspired recently by a relief program for Argentinean Jewry, developed in part by his client Alex Sagan of Cambridge. Taking a cue from his philanthropic influences, he is donating his first hour of services for new clients to CJP's Argentinean Relief program. He has given past presentations at Hadassah as well.

“The aging population, particularly the inevitable aging of the baby boomers,” he predicts, “is the 800 lb. gorilla determining the priorities and policies of this country over the next 40 years.

“How this country decides to age will determine the size of the United States' tax base, and its decisions in the voting booth. Overwhelming social costs of aging will strain this country's ability to defend itself, and conduct the dollar diplomacy that is so crucial to the existence of Israel as well, unless America chooses to age better. We just have to look at Japan and its ongoing ten-year recession to see what being just ten years older can do to a nation's economy.”

Adam’s brother Jeremy operates CelebrateIsrael.com (formerly Triangle of Trade), which aims to help offset Israel’s tourism drop by marketing their personal care products as fundraisers for local businesses. Together, the brothers are planning a series of events combining their efforts.

For further information on The Ranks or CelebrateIsrael.com, please call 617-549-6997 or email theranks@attbi.com.