Fitness program designed for older adults

Betsy Bown, not only instructs the Pilates classes at the Cheyenne County Community Center, she also teaches a SilverSneakers Fitness Program Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-10 a.m.

“The program is designed to increase strength, range of movement, agility, balance and coordination,” said Bown.

According to representatives of the SilverSneakers National Program, “SilverSneakers is the only national wellness program for older adults with 6,000 instructors (including Bown) specifically trained in older-adult fitness and certified by nationally accredited organizations.”

The representatives said that SilverSneakers is good for getting back on track after rehabbing from an injury, battling things like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Osteoporosis, and combating depression through physical activity.

Bown, who has been teaching the program since the fall of 2009, said that the program is for all types of individuals, no matter their age or strength level.

“It is appropriate for individuals who are fit and active, as well as those who are sedentary, intimidated, unfamiliar with exercise, or entering post-rehabilitation programs, and/or those who enjoy a positive social environment,” said the instructor.

The program’s motto is “Get fit, have fun and make friends,” said Bown.

When attending the class, Bown said that participants will need to bring water, wear comfortable clothes and wear shoes with good support – hence the name of the fitness program.

Also before attending, the instructor said that it is a good idea to get checked out by a doctor and receive their okay to participate.

“As with all exercise programs, it is a good idea to be cleared for exercise with your physician,” she said.

Bown said that the participants will use various equipment during their workout.

“The tools used during class are a straight-back steel gauge chair to insure proper posture and stability, hand-held weights ranging from one to eight pounds, color-coded elastic tubing that offer variable resistance options and a six-to-nine inch semi-soft SilverSneakers ball,” explained the instructor.

A Perceived Exertion Chart is also given to participants, and they follow it during the exercise program, she said.

“The chart ranges from one to 10. One is ‘Okay to go!’ and 10 is ‘Maximum intensity.’ During class I’ll ask you to call out a number so I know the level of intensity in which you are working.

“The level of the workout is totally up to the participant,” she said. “If you want to stand for most of the workout you may, and if you feel more comfortable staying seated, that’s perfectly fine because the exercises are designed to work either way.”

The class starts out with a warm-up and moves into conditioning and then ends with a cool-down.

“We have our warm-up and range of movement stretching, muscular strength and endurance conditioning (which is where we use the elastic tubing, weights and ball if you choose to), and then we cool down and have a final stretch and relaxation,” she said.

The hour-long class is free to members of the community center and $5 per class for nonmembers.