Health and Fitness
Like you, staying fit and healthy is the goal of many Manor Park residents. They take advantage of the free membership in the Manor Park Wanda Campbell Fitness Center, where a trainer provides personal instruction and coaching.
Living a healthy lifestyle is easy and fun at The Village at Manor Park! At Manor Park's Wanda Campbell Fitness Center the focus is on balanced fitness including strength and flexibility training and aerobic exercise! Due to the popularity of "The Club," the facility has doubled in size since its inception in 1998. "The Club's" health promotion program involves the use of specially designed Nautilus resistance training equipment, cardio equipment (treadmills, airdyne bikes, and rowing machine) as well as small free weights and resistance bands. Dance and other exercise classes are also available for community residents. All activities and exercise programs are goal specific and tailored to individual needs and wants. Maintenance programs for those who have recently finished physical therapy or cardio-pulmonary rehab can be set up. The personal trainer for the Health Club works with each resident to devise a fitness program suited to each individual.
Activity: The True Fountain of Youth!
According to the National Institute on Aging, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, aging is not the primary reason seniors lose the ability to do things on their own. Instead, the book, "Exercise: A Guide from the National Institute on Aging," points out that the culprit is, in all likelihood, inactivity. The introduction to the book states that not exercising can, in fact, be "risky behavior." "For the most part, when older people lose their ability to do things on their own, it doesn't happen just because they have aged. More likely, it is because they have become inactive," the book says. "Older inactive adults lose ground in four areas that are important for staying healthy and independent: endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility."
Authors of the MayoClinic.com website go even further: "Regular physical activity can help keep you healthy, strong and flexible. It can also help reverse some of the physiologic changes that otherwise come with aging."
Not only does regular exercise prevent and in some cases even reverse changes that come with aging, the
MayoClinic.com web site points to the ability of physical activity to also prevent many conditions normally associated with aging, such as, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, depression and some cancers.
Staying in good shape also helps keep people happy. Perhaps that's why the Manor Park residents who congregate at the facility's state-of-the-art Health Club laugh so much. Anne McLaughlin, who is 78, was full of smiles as she worked out on high tech Nautilus fitness equipment at Manor Park.
When asked why today's seniors seem to be more active than the "old folks" of the past, Mrs. McLaughlin beamed.
"I guess because people try to be more health conscious and take care of themselves and, therefore, feel more like doing more instead of just being stuck at home all the time," she said.
"We had not done this sort of exercising before. It's for toning and flexibility. It was offered and we thought we would take advantage of it. When you are away and you don't do it for a while, then you realize that you need it," says Ann. Mrs. McLaughlin's husband, Jim, who is 81, joked with other exercisers as he finished off the cheesecake flavored frozen yogurt he earned by completing the circuit.
Jim McLaughlin stated that he was enjoying the fitness center, and life in general, at Manor Park. The director of the Health and Fitness Center at Manor Park stresses, "We want involvement to be fun, and we strive for safety. I visit with participants one-on-one to see what it is that they're seeking from the program."
During the consultation, he plans to maximize the effectiveness of the routine while striving for safety for the participant.
"We do have two types of programs: a maintenance level program, and a more aggressive strength building program we call Boot Camp." said the director.
Another Health Club trainer stressed,
"The Nautilus machines and the workouts are geared to meet the fitness level of the individual. We set the machines specifically for each resident member. And, when the participant is ready to increase the amount of weight to be lifted, we go up in ounces, not pounds."
Seniors are taking a more proactive approach to health by involving themselves in programs like the Health and Fitness Program at The Village at Manor Park. It is believed that with more seniors involving themselves with these types of programs, we're seeing a more vibrant and active group of senior adults.
With programs like these, senior life has definitely changed for the better.
Call today to learn more.
432-689-9898.
