Published Sunday, January 12, 2003
lift weights
to keep fit
Herald Staff Writer
Keeping active is more than just keeping healthy for many local senior citizens. It keeps their attitudes good and outlook young, according to oldsters that participate in physical activities in the county's three senior centers.
"I keep tap dancing to keep one step ahead of the undertaker," said Alice Mae Kukol, 79, of Sharon, who takes part in the Shenango Valley Senior Community Center's tap and belly dancing classes.
Mrs. Kukol claims her late mother's healthy attitude about fitness is what keeps her going.
"It was her attitude that kept her mentally and physically healthy at 100 percent," she said. "She lived to one month shy of 100. The day she died we had gone swimming together."
Bill Buckley, 70, of Hartstown makes the short drive to the Greenville Senior Service Center because keeping active is an important way for him to keep healthy.
"I got a bad heart and I've got to stay active to keep it pumping good," Buckley said. "I play shuffleboard and walk around the lot and I had my flu shot and my eyes checked here. I feel better after I settle down. It's what keeps me going."
Keeping going is one of the main reasons seniors get involved in physical exercise. Janet Hunt, 78, of Sandy Lake teaches a weight-lifting class for seniors at McQuiston Center by the Lake in Sandy Lake and has walked 2è miles a day for 33 years.
"I have friends not as old as I am who can't climb up my hill, and younger friends with arthritis that can't get around as well as I do," said the longtime senior center participant. "Once you get started, it's like washing your face and brushing your teeth; you just fit it in."
Mrs. Hunt also said years of making healthy choices has kept her strong. "I've been a health nut since the third grade. I was the only one who liked health class," she said with a laugh. "A lot of things I learned in the third grade they still tell you today, like drink eight glasses of water and eat fresh fruit and vegetables."
She also described a lady who takes the senior exercise class with her who just passed the 102 mark. "She does the exercises that we do.
Everyone that we do, she does," Mrs. Hunt said, adding that an aide sits with the centenarian.
"She does some of the legwork better than some of the younger ones," she said.
But it's never too late too start for seniors who haven't made exercise a lifelong habit. "I just thought I needed it. It's something we don't think about doing and I enjoy it a lot," said Carrie Yuhoss, 87, of Sharon who takes Tai Chi and a balancing class at the Shenango Valley center in Hermitage. "It peps you up a bit."
Mrs. Kukol said exercise is what keeps her brain active and her quality of life good. "I'm a total believer in it. It's almost like a religion to me. I just keep constantly agile. I still run up steps two at a time though my husband tells me it's not a good idea," she said.
Mrs. Hunt added there's always a way to find time for exercise. "I read somewhere that if you really want to exercise, you just carve out an hour in the day to do it. And that's what I do. Oh yes, its No. 1," she said.
For more information about exercise offered at the local centers, call the Shenango Valley Senior Community Center at (724) 981-7950; Greenville Senior Service Center at (724) 588-3155; McQuiston Center by the Park at (724) 376-3608.