Emery Lang has never had much use for studies that warn fitness declines with age. ''Mainly, because I defy those things,'' says Lang, 86, of Miami Shores . ``I always have.''

Lang is a champion rower. In solo and multiple-manned slim boats, Lang has won gold after gold in amateur rowing competitions. Most importantly: He has done it all since age 65.

He's not alone in enjoying an active lifestyle well into his senior years. Disabilities that once meant that aging and pain went hand in hand are declining at about 1.5 percent a year and have been since the 1980s. It means millions of people 65 and older are not facing as serious health declines as early as their parents did.

''This is a very important positive outcome,'' said Dr. Richard Suzman, director of the behavioral and social research program at the National Institute on Aging, the lead federal agency on the health and well-being of older Americans.

Already, the decline has put to rest fears that greater longevity would mean only more years in pain. A National Center for Health Statistics study published in August found the opposite: that older Americans typically are disability-free for the roughly 10 months of life expectancy that were added from 1992 to 2003.

The decline shows up in Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that growing numbers of older Americans are continuing or returning to work. The good news: Their earnings reduce the pressures on Social Security, as well as on households. In addition, Dr. Kenneth Manton, a research professor for demographic studies at Duke University in Durham , N.C. , projects Medicare savings from reduced chronic disability of $73 billion for 2009 alone.  

CONTINUING TO GROW

Doug Beach, secretary of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, says the number of active seniors who pursue activities like Lang's rowing will continue to grow. Two key reasons, Beach says, are that public gyms are more accommodating to senior clients, and housing developments that cater to seniors are encouraging exercise, too.

Of the four ailments that plague seniors most often in the United States -- heart disease, hip fractures, diabetes and depression -- most can be treated and ''dealt down'' with a regimen of proper nutrition and exercise, Beach says.

John and Janet Gardiner, dancers on the Miami Heat's Golden Oldies dance squad, consider themselves pretty fit and pretty lucky nowadays.

Most of their lives the Gardiners thought of themselves ''reasonably'' active, says John Gardiner, 71. But when he underwent triple-bypass heart surgery in 2001, the couple realized that reasonable is not necessarily good enough.

'John used to tell me, `I'm active! I cut the grass,' and so on,'' says Janet, who turned 70 on Monday. 'But I would tell him `that isn't enough,' not anymore.''

When they moved to Miramar in 1999, Janet joined a Jazzercise class. John, a retired U.S. Navy sailor with 30 years service, soon joined her.

''A few years ago I had some problems with my legs, and I didn't walk very well,'' says John, who credits the Jazzercise and other classes with keeping his blood pressure in check and his cholesterol low.

``Today I'm walking with the best of 'em.''

About a year ago, the Jazzercise instructor encouraged them to try out for the Golden Oldies. They made the squad and have been dancing at Heat games ever since -- the team recognized the Gardiners' 50th wedding anniversary during a game last month.

Not everyone wins equally or even wins from declines in disabilities, however.

According to Dr. Eileen Crimmins, a professor of gerontology and sociology at the University of Southern California , 25 percent of Hispanic and black Americans older than 65 need help with basic tasks. For whites, the rate is 17 percent. Differences in disability rates linked to income and education also persist, Crimmins and others have found, and while women live longer than men, they endure more disabilities.

FIT AND PROUD

Jose Rodriguez, 69, says that keeping in good shape is about more than just feeling good.

''I am fit, and I'm very proud of it,'' Rodriguez says with a laugh. ``No one ever believes me when I tell them my age for the first time. But I'm doing this for my wife as well. She has Alzheimer's. She was diagnosed in 1999, when she was 58, and I have to take care of her. So I have to take care of myself.''

Three or four times a week, Rodriguez bikes, walks or swims for 45 minutes to an hour at a gym and park close to home.

''I exercised before,'' he says. ``But even though more of my time is spent taking care of my wife, I actually spend more time exercising now, because I find that it keeps me sharp both physically and mentally. A healthy body helps maintain a healthy mind. And a healthy mind is everything.''

That's a belief that Lang, who narrowly escaped the Holocaust as a child, has followed throughout life.

After moving to the United States from Europe in 1948 with a six-day-a-week fitness regimen of swimming, weight lifting and walking, Lang decided when he retired to Sarasota in the mid-1980s that he would take up rowing.

''It looked enjoyable, and it certainly looked as though it could keep you in good shape,'' he says.

EXERCISING CAUTION

The amateur fitness guru urges other seniors to exercise with caution and common sense.

''Most people my age cannot keep up with my pace,'' Lang says. ``You must consult your doctors before you exercise and select simple exercises, especially if you have not tried to exercise for many years. And you must exercise your strengths and protect your weaknesses.''

Hip replacements put Lang on ice temporarily in 2003 and 2006, but because of his active lifestyle, his recovery was fast, he says.

''My doctors called it a near miracle,'' Lang says. ``Not months, not years, but in about four weeks after each hip replacement I was back in my boat and rowing again.''