Jane Seymour Fonda was born on December 21, 1937 in New York City to Henry Fonda and Frances Seymour Brokaw. Jane’s parents were highly recognized in the public eye at that time, as her father was a legendary actor and mother was a New York socialite. Her childhood was normal except she was subjected to the limelight at an early age. The first production featuring Jane was “The Country Girl;” she was acting with her father by her side. In 1958, she joined the Actors Studio and debuted in the production “Tall Story” in 1960. She briefly attended Vassar College, then her film career started to take off and soon enough she was nominated for multiple Academy Awards and Oscars.

The Vietnam War took Jane Fonda‘s career to another level. The actress was very outspoken about her views on the war. She went on tour to cities along the West Coast to interview soldiers before they were deployed. The American public was upset with Fonda when photos surfaced of her on an anti-aircraft battery surrounded by Vietnamese soldiers. After the Vietnam War, Jane apologized to veterans and others who were upset by the photo.

During the 1980s, Jane found a new calling: exercise videos. As a child, she took ballet classes, then in her adult life she would do ballet to stay fit. However, a foot injury during the filming of “The China Syndrome” she had to find a new workout. Jane started aerobic and strengthening exercises, and wanted to share her new exercises with other baby boomers approaching middle age.
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Scarves and ponchos are among the things I would expect to boast a ‘one-size-fits-all’ label. Fitness clubs simply cannot. They are finally starting to realize that exercise classes don’t possess universal appeal and that they have to target their demographics very specifically. This is bringing about a booming trend for 2011: age-tailored exercising.

The fastest growing market, with the most expendable time and money, is the baby boomers. Men and women of this generation are dominating health clubs which is bringing about a rise in activities that appeal to them. The second largest demographic is kids, ages six to 17. As Meredith Poppler of the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association says, “Youth programming is a hot topic.” We must stop the rise of obesity now and the only way to do that, to truly eradicate obesity, is to educate and motivate our children. People are clearly understanding this message and gyms are responding with more family-friendly activities.

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