Staving off 'senior-itits'

Michael J. DeCicco

There's a surprising place to find strength and conditioning training, motion and balance exercises, Tai Chi, yoga and even meditation for free or at a very low cost.

If you are among the over age-55 crowd, just visit your local senior center to find a weekly schedule of programming to keep you fit!

Heather Chew, the director at the Acushnet Council on Aging, is proud to note a senior need not be a resident of a particular town to attend a senior center program anywhere within the commonwealth of Massachusetts. The only caveat, she said, is that the minimum age to be able to join in varies. In some communities, that minimum is 60 – in others, age 50. Seniors should check that requirement first.

But she’s even prouder to note the health and exercise programs area senior centers offer now are a very good deal for the over-55 crowd.

“From Zumba to Yoga, we can help them stay happy and healthy,” she said.

She singled out as an example Acushnet’s “Strong Women, Strong Bones” program, which is geared toward seniors with osteoporosis. This program is Title III grant-funded and requests only a two-dollar voluntary donation. “But we never make anything we offer cost-prohibitive,” she added.

In the winter, the turnout for this program is no more than 20 people, she said. In the warmer weather months, however, attendance goes as high as 40.

Another Acushnet program, Tai Yo-Ba, combines Tai Chi, yoga, and physical therapy. She said it easily attracts 30 people each time it’s offered. Its Zumba classes are three days a week and they average 30 to 35 participants.

Its chair yoga classes regularly attract 18 people a session. Its Resistance Band program, for which attendees may bring their own equipment or use the center’s supplies, is new, but attracts around 15 attendees per session.

The secret to these programs’ success? “We have wonderful, warm instructors,” Chew said. “Just the best. They are all welcoming, and people’s health and safety are their top priorities.”

Karen Corcoran has been a fitness instructor in area senior centers since 2006 and an exercise teacher in total for 40 years. She elaborated that the “Strong Women, Strong Bones” class she runs aims to reduce the chances of developing phosphorus or keep the condition at bay by diminishing the effects of the condition. It combines cardio, strength, and weight-bearing aerobic exercise. She said its goals are to increase the flexibility of the bones and increase muscle mass “and keep people in their homes and as independent as they can be.”

At the same time, these classes achieve another goal, Corcoran said. The seniors are socializing. She sees that the seniors like that they are making friends when they come to a senior center exercise class.

The seniors she has taught have not held back on their appreciation of what these classes do for them. “Last Thursday, a lady in my class said, ‘I can put on my pants for the first time, and they fit!” Corcoran said. “I see a lot them grow a little bit stronger. They can play with their grandchildren. They are so happy doing exercise. They see a better outcome of their day. It releases the endorphins. I see the stress release from their faces.”

Acushnet’s senior community center is located at 59 1/2 South Main Street. Its website is acushnet.ma.us/councilon-aging. Its Facebook page is facebook.com/acushnetcoa.

Whole health

Similarly, at the Marion Council On Aging’s Benjamin D. Cushing Community Center, at 465 Mill Street in Marion, director Karen Gregory said, “They let us know all the time that they are so happy we are here and it’s the highlight of their week.”

Marion’s Tai Chi classes are offered through a grant funded through Coastline Elderly Services grant that will last through September 2023. This program is popular, but Marion’s Strength and Balance class attracts more seniors, 20-25 participants each week. Meditation class attracts an average of 10 to 15 attendees each session.

“There’s something for everyone here,” Gregory is proud to note.

In Marion, that “something for everyone” includes dental cleanings, from a dental hygienist who travels to the Marion COA with a mobile dental unit providing dental cleanings, screenings, and oral health information and education, including denture adjustments and cleanings. Also, a podiatrist provides foot care monthly, and a Public Health Nurse is available at the COA on Wednesdays from 1 to 3 p.m. for routine immunizations, blood pressure and blood sugar readings, as well as home visits.

The Marion COA is available at marionma.gov/councilaging.

Finding fitness

The Rochester Council On Aging, at 67 Dexter Lane in Rochester, includes one thing none of the others in the area offer: a fully-equipped fitness room for seniors to use weekdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Rochester COA Director Eric Poulin reported the fitness center includes 13 pieces of exercise equipment. In January 2023, the monthly membership for this center will drop to $5 per month from what was $10 per month. And a re-investment of revenues has allowed the addition of a new Concept II rowing machine and two new exercise bicycles. The equipment room is supervised by a fitness room monitor certified in first aid and CPR, whose salary is paid through the Senior Community Services Employment Program at Coastline Elderly Services, Inc.

There’s even more available outside this room. There are Tai Chi & Qigong and Tai-Yo-Ba classes that are funded through a grant from the SouthCoast Community Foundation and a “Strength and Stretch” class funded through a Title III Grant from Coastline Elderly Services. As with other area COAs, the cost for these classes is a voluntary donation but they don’t turn people away with limited funds.

The most popular health and exercise program in Rochester is currently its Zumba Gold class which attracts up to 30 participants at one time (the charge is $5 per person); “Strength and Stretch” brings in up to 15 seniors at any one time; and line dancing classes on Tuesdays and Fridays can bring up to 15 seniors each time.

Line dancing has been so popular that the senior center has split the activity in two – one for beginners and the other advanced (the cost is a $3 donation).

Elsewhere on the Rochester COA’s health and wellness calendar, the town nurse offers a regular Blood Pressure clinic on Wednesdays, and the center has medical supplies for those in need of them, from blood pressure cuffs to oxygen monitors. It runs a medical equipment loan program, offering walkers, wheelchairs, crutches and canes, etc. Rochester shares this program, Poulin said, with other area senior centers. Rochester will loan a piece of equipment in its stockpile that another COA’s senior needs. “There’s good camaraderie among senior centers,” Poulin said.

The feedback from town seniors is just as good. “They love our programs,” Poulin said. “They’re very grateful we’re here. They love the new rowing machine. We’ve gotten some good feedback. It’s helping them with their flexibility and motion. They always say that they are sorry when they miss a class because they realize how much it benefits them.”

The Rochester senior center’s web site is townofrochestermass.com/council-aging.

Testing the waters

The Dartmouth Council On Aging’s Program/Volunteer Coordinator Nancy Miller boasts about the variety of that town’s senior exercise programs. “We have a very well-rounded assortment of exercise classes. All are a little bit different from each other and be can be modified to fit anybody.”

Dartmouth’s bi-weekly “Cam’s Body” class, for example, focuses on mobility, posture and breathing techniques, Miller said. It attracts up to 15 participants at any one time. “It’s functional fitness,” she said.

The center’s bi-weekly “Strength and Flex” class involves working with free weights and focusing on each body part or muscle group. It has been so popular that it had to be moved to a larger room, for an average size of 27 participants (the cost is $2).

But all classes are walk-ins; you don’t have to be a Dartmouth COA member,” Miller said, “and are free or charge or only two to three dollars. There’s no real commitment, like with joining a gym. If you are unsure about a class you can just observe before participating if you want to.” For those not comfortable with using weights, there’s the resistance band class, which uses the fluid plastics used in physical therapy to strengths seniors’ muscles gently. This one too attracts 12 or more each time. Then there’s the “Osteo Exercise” class, which is free and twice a week. It features seated weight exercises to promote bone growth.. This one attracts 30 seniors each week.

Miller said Dartmouth’s exercise programs have been so popular that they still attracted large numbers when they were conducted outside during the COVID pandemic. As another example of their popularity, its Tai Chi class costs $30 for eight weeks but most senior participants continue with it beyond the eight weeks. “I tell people to come to all of then and then decide which one is the best for them,” Miller said. Find these programs at the Maria Connor Center for Active Living, 28 Dartmouth Street, Dartmouth. The website is dartmouth.ma/us/ council-aging.