Enjoying My Senior Center
Getting in shape, trying new things
I’m 72 years old, but after 40 years of living with multiple sclerosis (MS), I probably have a 90-year-old body. I do seated exercises, but it’s been years since I’ve done anything you’d call a workout. Lately, I have really been getting out of shape, and also kind of lonely. Staying home at a desk, writing, and eating is not the most entertaining life, and you don’t get to meet many people. I’ve been feeling as if I’m going downhill too fast.
A few months ago, my 78-year-old neighbor Bill started going to a local senior center for lunch. He lives alone and doesn’t cook. He went for the food, and he found a whole new world. He invited me to come along.
The center’s about six blocks away, easy enough to get to on a scooter, so I figured why not give it a try? I still don’t think of myself as a senior citizen, but Bill was enthusiastic, and it’s not like I had better things to do.
Most, though not all, of the seniors there are older than me. Most are women, and most speak Cantonese, but they’re largely bilingual or multilingual. l can communicate basic things with them.
The food didn’t interest me. It’s mostly frozen dinners served on plastic trays like Meals on Wheels distributes. Unlike my friend Bill, I cook, and my wife cooks, so I didn’t want or need precooked frozen meals.
But I was interested in the exercise classes. They have a 1-hour program called Always Active three times a week at 10:30 AM, and I started going a few weeks ago.
I like it. It’s a mix of standing and seated exercises, and it’s pretty vigorous. Because of my disability, I couldn’t do a lot of the moves, but I adapted some, substituted for others, and sat a few out because I just couldn’t. I try to do as much as I can, and it’s amazing what some of these seniors can do.
People were running in place, standing on one leg, dancing, doing all kinds of stretches. There are a few 90-year-olds in the group who keep up, which I found inspiring and hopeful.
The teacher gave us exercises I had never heard of or thought of before. We use stretch bands, mini-weights, and squeeze balls in interesting ways, but most of it is leg and arm, shoulder, and neck movement. I can’t do a lot of the leg stuff, so I try doing stand-ups from my chair for some of them. She also teaches various rotations and stretches, and really all kinds of moves.
Some of it is nerve training, which I think might make a big difference for me. Instructions such as “touch your right ear with your left hand, while flexing your right foot toward your body.” It seems there are things my body could still do, but I’ve forgotten how. Maybe I can relearn. Things like moving arms up and down while kicking in and out are challenging but fun.
The little squeeze ball may be helping me not drop things. The instructor has us throw the ball up and catch it, and sometimes clap while it’s in the air before catching it. At first, I couldn’t catch the ball at all, but now I can clap and catch it sometimes. We squeeze the ball between our thumb and one finger at a time, or all at once. She also teaches new uses for the stretch bands, like hanging it down your back, reaching behind to grab the lower end, and stretching it up over your head. It’s hard.
The class definitely becomes aerobic at times, which I didn’t know seated exercise could be. If I work my arms hard enough, I find myself panting, feeling like an actual workout Maybe it’s only because of being so out of shape before, but my energy level seems higher than it was a month ago.
What I found out about my body
This class is more strenuous than anything I’ve done in years. Sometimes I get tired and have to rest and focus on breathing.. Sometimes I’m going slower than most students. But it all seems to make me feel better.
Some challenges: I find I am more disabled than I realized. We’re doing moves I haven’t done in years, so I hadn’t realized I couldn’t do them.
I think I will see a physical therapist about difficulties with raising my left arm or lifting weights with it, but I’m more concerned with how much weaker my core muscles are than I had realized. I keep almost tipping over with the weights. Maybe a PT can help with that.
I notice that some days I can do much more than others, but even on my weak days, I feel better at the end. I haven’t had a nap yet today.
Learning new things
Now I want to learn to fit into the group better. I see two things to learn: some basic Cantonese, and how to play Mah Jong. They play a lot of that Chinese tile game, and it’s tricky for both mind and hands. They like to play very fast; you have to be ready to play when it’s your turn. I’m so impressed with how these 88-year-old ladies can pick up and move stacks of tiles, where I would just knock them over.
I would also like to learn some basic Cantonese. There are videos for Cantonese and Mah Jong on YouTube, and if I stick with it, I’m sure they will help my brain function. Maybe some of the other seniors will be able to talk more with me.
My attempts to participate seem to please them. When I come into the center, some sexy 80-year-old will run over and ask me to join the Mah Jong game. They also have painting, karaoke, a chorus, and some other programs I may or may not ever try. I’m having a good time.
Always Active is more strenuous than the MS Society classes I’ve taken, or than Sit and Be Fit classes I’ve done online. Some of the seniors tell me it’s harder than the classes they take at the YMCA.
So, I encourage folks to join a senior exercise class if one is available to you. The teachers don’t focus on a disabled participant, as I have unhappily experienced in other classes. Most people at the Center are just like, ‘We all have problems, so you do your thing and I’ll do mine.’ They will help me by bringing my bands and weights, and picking up my squeeze ball if I drop it, but otherwise, they give me my space.
You can go to the Always Active website to learn more. I’m getting in shape, at least a little. I would say give it a try, go at your own speed, and have a good time!
— —
Thanks for reading! Please comment, share, or repost, with or without attribution. Follow me on Twitter, on Facebook , my Substack community Make Earth Sacred Again, or my blog The Inn by the Healing Path. Hire me for freelancing, editing, or tutoring on Linked In
