On the beach in Ocean City, an 82-year-old woman takes an exercise class on a thick, humid morning.

And in the workout room of a senior citizens' complex in Atlantic City, people are lifting weights and spending time on machines that would tax athletes of any age.

These people have found a way to get older and better. And while their approaches are different, they share a technique that researchers are citing with increasing frequency: To stay young you've got to stay active. That may not sound scientific, but that's what the latest studies indicate.

Consider Eve Shaw, 82, who was recently spotted on the beach in Ocean City taking part in a lively aerobics workout.

"You can do it no matter how old you are," Shaw said. "You feel so much better." <P>David Costill, director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Ball State University in Indiana, conducted a study for the National Institute on Aging that went a long way toward proving the anti-aging properties of exercise. But not in all the ways that people suspected.

One finding: Sweat-inducing aerobics step classes and other strenuous activities aren't always needed. Walking, vacuuming the living room, tending a garden, bowling are all beneficial.

Costill's findings, put unscientifically: Unused muscle withers. And then you can't use it.

Tai chi for septuagenarians

At the Cape May Care Center in Cape May Court House, the gentle, flowing martial art of tai chi is making a believer of the nursing home residents - and of the administrator, Karen Stratoti.

"Well, I figure that just because they're 75 or 80 years old doesn't mean that they have to give up," Stratoti said. "I don't believe a nursing home is the end. It's the beginning of a new phase in their life."

Stratoti, who is also a nurse, has witnessed what she says is remarkable progress in some of the nursing home residents, thanks to a karate/body building program developed by karate teacher Joseph Artesi of Vineland.

Stratoti said the facility had an exercise program before, but it was pretty basic. It was also not well attended. Before, she said, maybe five to eight people attended exercise activities, but with Artesi's program, 20 to 40 of the facility's 116 residents often show up.

Artesi's job is to build muscles, self-esteem and karate skills. Both Artesi and Stratoti agree that one of the more difficult parts was getting older people to believe in themselves. Some had been inactive for so long they believed there was no other way they could be.

Some were inactive because they were afraid, legitimately, of falling. Others had been inactive so long that their muscles hardly worked.

When the first resident broke a board, shock waves went through the nursing home.

Lou Glass, one of the residents, was partially paralyzed for eight years after suffering a stroke. Now he's practicing karate, breaking boards, body building and gaining strength in areas that doctors thought were paralyzed.

Peter Pedano's body was "wrecked," Stratoti said, when he came to the nursing home. He often fell, and walked bent over. Now he stands tall, literally and figuratively.

Artesi's program is a mix of tai chi, positive thinking strategies, dietary supplements and body building. Stratoti said patients seem more clear-headed, more active and less depressed. Some need less medication. They're sleeping and eating better.

"They're not just existing," Stratoti said. "They're alive again. For people like this, it makes a big difference in their lives. "

Before the program started, thinking had to change. The staff was often overprotective. Strangely, Stratoti said, people in the nursing home industry told her she and Artisi were wasting their time.

"At first the attitude was, 'What are you doing this for? Why bother?"'

"Slowly, they're buying into the program because of the results," said Stratoti. She said that while there was concern among patients and staff that patients might hurt themselves doing karate, she believes patients have the right to do what they want. They sign releases if they're going to be body-building.

Soaring like .... really fit older people

At the nursing home, Artisi is part trainer and part motivator. Armed with a small sound system, he stalks the room where he conducts his classes like a stage entertainer. To get the attention of people who can't see or hear well, that's not a bad idea.

As he works on posture and breathing he sounds like a cross between an eastern philosopher, a football coach and a talk-show host. He tells the residents, "Just do it." And they do. Or at least they try.

"You're free and you can now soar through the sky like an eagle and you go so high you can reach out and touch the face of God," Artisi said.

He helped Pedano into a machine that straightens his legs, allowing him to walk more upright, and then starts tightening the machine, stretching Pedano's muscles.

Artisi boomed: "How do you feel?"

"Tight," Pedano said.

"If you hear a snap you know we went too far."

And then Artisi tightened the machine, further stretching Pedano's leg.

"We were amazed at what they were able to do and now we want to see how far they can go," said Artisi.

The tai chi moves are simple, like raising their hands above their heads. But they are exercise.

Weight lifting at residence

At the Cosmopolitan Retirement Residence in Atlantic City, residents meet three times a week for individual sessions with a trainer. Some residents also train in tai chi. They lift weights and work on machines that are a little like Nautilus machines and stair-steppers, but are easier and safer for use by the elderly.

Rosemary F. Devine, a certified therapeutic recreation specialist and director of recreation and volunteers at the facility, said the program started in January. Since then, she said, residents have added a quarter to half-inch to their major muscle groups. They are breathing deeper and their workouts produce the coveted euphoria-producing endorphins, just like any other person working out. That means a lot to an older person. It helps to overcome the constant pain of arthritis and the damping effects of depression.

"The pain can be severe," Devine said, "And it gets to them."

Some residents tend to complain - and with good reason - but when they work out they complain less. Exercise reduces anxiety, gets them out of their daily routine, helps them feel better about themselves.

"This exercise program, like any other, is addictive," Devine said. "It makes them feel good."

During a recent workout, several people were on the machines, including Hyman Soll, 93, who decided to take a nap after a tough run on the stair-stepper. Later, Soll said the exercise seems to help his arthritis.

Seymour Solomon said the workouts have "unquestionably" helped him.

"At this age, to do some of these things - at first it just seems impossible," he said. "I'm able to do things now that I found very difficult. "

Morris Freeman, 85, who "regrets greatly" not being more active when he was younger, appears to be making up for it now. He did a lot of reps on one of the upper-body machines.

And if you think these workouts are easy, you should try a machine. A fairly fit reporter tried them, at the settings used by the residents, and was surprised how much effort they took.

These people work hard, and they work through pain.

"Rosemary, am I done?" one resident asked Devine.

"No, you most certainly are not," Devine replied gently.

And maybe that's the key. Maybe we're never done.