PAGES : Growing Older, Not Flabbier

Who says turning 35 is a license to vegetate? Not Jimmy Connors. In “Don’t Count Yourself Out: Staying Fit After 35,” the 40-year-old tennis superstar dishes up pep talks and a practical program to keep middle-agers moving.

“I know how difficult it sometimes is to motivate yourself to get out and exercise,” says Connors, who last year battled to the U.S. Open semifinals after wrist surgery. He offers the Connors Count--a low-math point system that helps you to stay fit. Each point is worth 20 calories; exercisers choose a goal of 35 to 100 weekly points. The point system correlates with American Heart Assn. recommendations.

Connors’ program is a forgiving one that understands boomers may be too busy with business and babies to squeeze in a bona fide sweat-breaking workout. So you even get points for taking the stairs at work.

“If you’re overweight, you can expect to lose weight and look better on this program,” adds co-author Dr. Neil Gordon of the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research. If you’re already fit, it’ll help you stay that way.

By book’s end, you might even echo Connors. “I don’t think I will ever stop doing something to stay in shape,” he says. “I’m too vain for that.”