pick up a lot of free time when we retire, but if we’re not careful, we can pick up something else too.
Weight.
Relaxing on the recliner, going out to eat more often, just taking it slow and easy … there’s a lot to enjoy about being retired — but our local YMCA’s want you to think about making some time for some silver in those golden years.
The YMCA’s Silver Sneakers programs at the Dixon and SterlingRock Falls facilities are geared toward keeping seniors active and healthy through exercises that fit their needs. The program, which is open to YMCA members, is catered to people 55 or older, and factors in the changes in range of motion and muscle and bone health that come as the body ages.
Kathy Collinson, a Silver Sneakers trainer who’s been with the Sterling-Rock Falls Family YMCA in Sterling for 25 years, knows from experience the importance of staying in shape as you age, and is happy to help guide her fellow seniors on a path to physical fitness. Whether one’s working days are done, or winding down, Silver Sneakers gives them an opportunity to not skip a beat.
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YMCA’s ARE GUIDING older folks on a journey to a HEALTHIER life by helping them walk down the path TO FITNESS with a pair of SILVER SNEAKERS
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“People are retiring earlier, especially after the [COVID] pandemic, and now they have to have something to do,” Collinson said. “The exercises focus on senior problems. Balance, falls, coordination. How can we do this in our daily lives? It’s everything that we need to know how to do, and that’s what they’re based on.”
Stiff joints? Experiencing the ups and downs of getting up and down? Silver Sneakers can help. Katie Matteson, community wellness and fitness director at the Dixon Family YMCA, teaches the Silver Sneakers programs there, and she said she tailors her classes to focus on the kind of fitness routines that older participants will find more useful.
“The program is based on getting them in and exercising. Working out to daily living and keeping them moving is the goal in the class,” Matteson said. “We highly utilize exercises that they normally would do at home, certain situations like getting up out of bed, getting in and out of the car, stuff like that.”
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Classes last about 45 minutes, starting at 10:15 a.m. Monday through Friday, and at 8 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. In Dixon, sessions start at 10 and 11 a.m. Monday and Friday. Some exercises utilize small handheld weights, elastic stretch ropes with handles, and small weighted balls for resistance. Chairs are available if needed for seated or standing support.
The exercises not only help build better bone and muscle health, they can also aid in the prevention of serious illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, dementia and Alzheimer’s. The exercises help improve overall immune function, produce endorphins, and improve strength and flexibility. They can also give people a sense of purpose, avoid loneliness and depression, and improve cognitive functions.
“Studies have shown that maintaining regular physical activity can help prevent common diseases such as heart diseases, which is No. 1, and also diabetes,” Matteson said. “Over time, it also can improve immune function, which is important for seniors, as their immune system can often be compromised. Even light exercises such as walking can be a tool as well.”
In her couple of decades of aiding seniors, Collinson has seen students with various sorts of limitations — but that doesn’t mean they have to limit themselves to life in the slow lane.
She finds that some people’s approach can change by the day. Getting a feel of how students are feeling helps Collinson adjust her routine. If people in the class feel a little down, she can slow down a little; but if everyone’s feeling great, get ready for something a little more intense than usual.
“If you’re training somebody, and you’re doing the same workout every time you train them, you’re not accomplishing anything,” Collinson said. “You have to twist it up. Even if I did the same thing every day, twisted it up, and did a little bit of extra things, it’s a fun change.”
One thing she finds is that some people are surprised at how they feel after a Silver session.
“After class, you think you’re going to be hungry, but you are not,” she said. “You might think you want something to eat, but what you want is something healthy because you just got done working out. You are honestly not hungry, or tired. You may say, ‘Class wore me out,’ but you’re not ‘I need to go home and take a nap’ kind of tired. That’s what a lot of people think, but you have more energy when you leave than what you even had during class.
The key, though, is that the early bird feels the burn — that’s why classes are held in the mornings.
“You’ve gone up and hit that upper level, but as the day goes on you’ll gradually go down. That’s why working out in the morning is the best time to work out. You don’t want that high at six or seven o’clock at night.”
There’s not only a physical health benefit from programs like Silver Sneakers, but a social one too. Instructors at both Y’s have seen friendships forged during classes. In Sterling, for example, there’s an informal group of “Silver Sippers” who meet outside of class for coffee and short day trips.
“It’s also good, too, for our Silver Sneaker classes, that it’s not just a fitness class and people come to socialize, which is especially good after Covid,” Matteson said. “Your mental health is crucial, and getting that social engagement whether they’re coming to a class or just coming to work out at the Y, maintaining a strong social life is important for aging adults. They can feel a sense of purpose and it lessens their chances of depression.”
“It’s a program I tell people they definitely should try,” Matteson added. “It’s for every fitness level and not just for one size.”
Sarah Cleary, Sterling-Rock Falls Family YMCA health and wellness director, also teaches kickboxing and spin cycling; and she’s seen the many benefits of strengthening physical and social health through Silver Sneakers and the other programs. She’s also seen people of all walks of life come through the doors.
“They are for anyone and at any stage their life,” Cleary said. “You don’t have to come in looking like a certain type, like a bodybuilder. We take everybody right where they are, we welcome anyone at any point in their lives. We love helping people achieve things, finding those milestones and goals, and being able to do things that you couldn’t do before. n
Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.
More info
Visit the Dixon Family YMCA, 110 N. Galena Ave., from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday;
6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Go to dixonymca.org/healthy-living, email katie@dixonymca.org or call 815-288-9622 to become a YMCA member, sign up for a class, or more information.
Visit the Sterling-Rock Falls Family YMCA, 2505 YMCA Way, from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Go to srfymca. org/group-fitness or call 815535-9622 to become a YMCA member, sign up for a class, or more information.
CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SHAWMEDIA.COM
BY CODY CUTTER | SAUK VALLEY MEDIA
randan Lumzy teaches yoga several days a week at six different locations, traveling back and forth between three different cities. With such a busy schedule, sometimes it’s nice to just pull up but even then, he’s still on the job.
Lumzy’s talents as a yoga instructor take him to several sites throughout the area, including the Lee County Council on Aging in Dixon, where he helps seniors sit up and take notice of the importance of exercise.
Chair yoga is becoming popular as an alternative method of practicing the ancient systems of physical, mental and spiritual practices, especially with seniors, who may find traditional yoga to be a challenge. Rather than standing or sitting on a yoga mat on the floor, chair yoga is done while seated, focusing more on comfort and balance while still providing the benefits of yoga.
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A Dixon yoga instructor is helping seniors work out to the best of their flex abilities, improving their mind, body and spirit — and he’s doing it by inviting them to pull up a chairBrandan Lumzy leads a recent chair yoga session at the Lee County Council on Aging.
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“You get to slow down,” Lumzy said. “You’re seated and you really get to think about the movement, rather than other forms of yoga where you’re standing and worrying about where you’re going. You’re right there and focused in the moment. It’s more interesting and more creative because sometimes you have to adapt the poses to the people in front of you.”
Lumzy teaches three classes a week at LCCOA and one at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Dixon, all chair yoga. He’s been teaching at LCCOA since spring of 2022, and said he enjoys his workout space there because of all the windows that bathe the area in natural light.
He also teaches more in-depth yoga at 7:24 Fitness on the Rock in Rock Falls, CGH in Sterling, and Centerstage Dance Company and Home of Hope in Dixon.
You would think with so much on his plate, he might feel like he’s stretched thin. Not so.
“It’s been a really cool journey,” Lumzy said. “Every day is a different day. No class is going to be the same, you never know what’s going to happen, but it’s all good and positive.”
The benefits of yoga go beyond just the physical — keeping the body limber and in shape — it can also help improve sleep habits, build more energy, reduce stress, help people relax, and increase focus and clarity, which can help people deal better with difficult tasks and situations, Lumzy said.
The types of chairs he uses can differ, depending on where he’s teaching. For example, the ones used at LCCOA have a padded back and openings near the seat and at the top of the backrest, making it easier for people to grip them when they do movements standing behind them.
Chairs without arm rests are best for chair yoga, making it easier for people to keep their palms facing outward at the sides while concentrating during yoga.
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Objects as simple as a ball can be used in chair yoga. During his classes, Lumzy will have students roll their feet across a lacrosse ball to help keep tissue in the feet flexible. Tennis balls can be used too.
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“You’ll want something with no arms, so that you have the freedom of mobility,” Lumzy said.
“You need the space.”
Lumzy begins classes with simple breathing exercises and then asks them to clear their thoughts of anything that went on before class, and anything that’s going on after class — the focus is entirely on the class until the final well-wishing of “Namaste” is spoken at the end of class. He makes sure everyone is starting out sitting upright, with foam bricks helping people with shorter legs maintain good posture with backs pressed along the back of the chair. Exercises are done both seated, with a grip on a chair, or free standing next to the chair, accompanied by relaxing music — and the workout focuses on fitness from head to toe. It begins with relaxing the mind, and toward the end of each class, students roll their feet across small lacrosse balls, aiding the fascia tissue healthy fascia is more flexible while tighter fascia can inhibit movement.
“With a lacrosse ball, it’s really good to break down the fascia and the muscle,” Lumzy said. “It was something that I just wanted to do with the feet, because people often forget about or neglect their feet. They carry you everywhere, but you don’t really take care of them.”
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Karen Willett often comes to Lumzy’s classes at the Lee County Council on Aging. She enjoys the chair method, as opposed to traditional yoga, helping in her balance as she deals with sciatica nerve issues in one of her legs.
“This has helped,” she said. “He makes it easy because he tells us to do what you can do, and don’t push yourself. It’s comfortable. The people are friendly.”
Upon learning about her sciatica, Lumzy gave her additional exercises that she can do at home to help alleviate the pain. Lumzy is open to his students, and encourages them to talk amongst themselves before and after classes. For Willett and a few others, it’s led to additional friendships.
More info
Contact Brandan Lumzy at lumzyyoga@gmail.com or call 815-4405293 for a schedule of classes in Dixon, Sterling or Rock Falls.
EXERCISE WITH BRANDAN
Lee County Council on Aging hosts free workout classes with Lumzy. Thirty-minute sessions are available Mondays from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Fridays from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Call 815-288-9236 to set up an appointment. A schedule of his classes at LCCOA appears in the monthly Golden Echo, in the Telegraph and Gazette. The Echo can also be found at shawlocal.com/saukvalley/enewspaper/ (scroll down to the Golden Echo
“I’ve made new friends,” Willett said. Four of us went to lunch Monday afterwards, just getting to know each other. It’s a good thing because when you get to be our age, groups can get smaller.”
Positivity and growth is Lumzy’s mantra in life. He found yoga to be a convenient alternative to playing basketball a few years ago. He started when he was unable to get out of the house and play hoops, and it didn’t take him long to get hooked.
“I never thought I’d be here, and it brings me so much joy, and it’s brought me to places I never thought I’d be,” Lumzy said. “I’ve met people from all walks of life. It’s been great.” n Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-6322532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com
arry Ybarra spent many years coaching
Newman Central Catholic High School baseball players to get in the best shape they could to achieve victory and accolades on the diamond.
These days, Ybarra is focusing on helping people his own age understand the value of physical fitness.
Ybarra runs the Sterling Park District’s Fit For Life senior fitness program at Westwood Sports Complex, where, since 2018, he’s helped people focus on fitness as they age.
“What I try to impress upon the class is that, as we age, certain things are happening to our bodies,” Ybarra said. “We go through a full body workout.”
Sessions run from 7 to 8 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday and the classes are designed to improve strength, balance and cardiovascular fitness. They begin with stretching exercises to warm up the muscles, then Ybarra’s exercise plan kicks in, one day with circuit training — where one works on a certain exercise for a short time and then rotates to another — and another with weight training.
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Fit for Life’s smaller class sizes allow for more one-on-one time with Larry (right).
“I think a lot of older people who haven't been in the facility might feel intimidated, but he does such a nice job explaining it and making them feel comfortable," said Sterling Park District marketing manager Breanne Hunter.
The classes are smaller — around 10 participants — allowing him to give personalized guidance. During the workouts, Ybarra oversees how each participant is doing, letting them know what’s the right pace or weight depending on what they’re able to do. He also informs them of conditions such as osteoporosis (bone health) and sarcopenia (muscle health), and the role exercise can play in their prevention.
While most people are familiar with osteoporosis — remember being told how drinking milk can make strong bones? — not as many are familiar with sarcopenia and the breakdown of muscles, Ybarra said. Weaker muscles can also lead to more wrinkles.
That’s where weight training can help, but there’s more to it than just picking up a dumbbell. There’s a method to the lifting, and Ybarra teaches his classes the best way to use weight, based on their abilities.
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Larry Ybarra has been a fitness trainer with the Sterling Park District since 2018, and he conducts exercise classes for seniors twice a week at Westwood Sports Complex.
“It doesn't make any difference what condition they are in, as long as they’re doing something, as long as they’re moving their body ... they're helping themselves,” Ybarra said. “That’s what I do, is to make sure they help themselves.”
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“If they’re able to lift a certain amount of weight one time, then they can’t do it anymore than just that one, that’s the maximum,” Ybarra said. “Then you scale it down. So if you can do 100 pounds of bench press, but can only do one, then you scale it down. If you do 60 percent of it, which is 60 pounds, you can maybe do six or seven reps, and if you go to 50 pounds, you can do more reps; and that way they can engage themselves.”
Ybarra’s experience and the way he teaches and guides his students is something that Sterling Park District Marketing Director Breanne Hunter enjoys seeing. She’s heard from several of his students, some of whom are friends of her grandmother, about how the class not only helps them physically, but socially. They develop a sense of camaraderie and looking out for one another, both in and out of the gym — and that begins with the way he treats his students, Hunter said.
“Larry does such a nice job explaining how to use the equipment to people,” she said. “I think a lot of older people who haven’t been in the facility might feel intimidated, but he does such a nice job explaining it and making them feel comfortable, and making sure they are doing things the correct way so that they aren’t going to injure themselves.”
While a large part of the class focuses on physical fitness — top to bottom, shoulders to feet Larry doesn’t forget the heads of the class. Mental fitness is important too.
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“It’s a funny thing sometimes, when you think about it: They may not exactly know what’s going on with them as far as the brain is concerned,” Ybarra said. “What happens is that, as we get older, we have a tendency to slow down, not only in our body but also in our brain. Our brain doesn’t function as fast as it used to. We don’t react quickly as we once did. We got to try and activate that a little more and get people to start thinking a little quicker.”
It’s another aspect of Ybarra’s teaching technique that Hunter has come to appreciate.
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More info
For more information about Sterling Park District’s Fit For Life programs and other health related programs, including class schedules, go to sterlingparks.org/ fitness-classes or call 815-622-6200. sterlingparks.org/ fit-for-life/
“I’ve been impressed when I’ve seen his class that he does stuff that stimulates the brain, too,” Hunter said. “One time he had them close their eyes and they had to follow his commands. It keeps the memory fresh and the brain stimulated, which is important — especially as you age — in helping prevent Alzheimer’s and all sorts of other issues.”
In the five years he’s been teaching the senior fit ness class, Ybarra has incorporated more routines into his classes as he’s learned more about his partici pants. Some people who’ve been in his classes have taken what they’ve learned from Ybarra to their own home settings.
To get people to take charge of their own physical fitness is one of the best parts of his job, Ybarra said — getting them to break bad habits and form healthy ones.
“It’s well worth one person coming into class to ex ercise, and it doesn’t make any difference what condi tion they are in, as long as they’re doing something, as long as they’re moving their body in some way or an other, they’re helping themselves,” Ybarra said. “That’s what I do, is to make sure they help themselves.” n Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com
