Senior Fitness Testing Aims to Improve Well-Being

There is no age limit on fitness, and a new opportunity in Highland County is offering seniors a chance for testing, evaluation and community involvement.  The Recreation Director of the Highland County Recreation Commission, Catie King, has more on these upcoming events.

Ms. King says, “We have Senior Fitness Testing comin’ up for free.  It is for anyone ages sixty-five and older to be tested for their strength, endurance, flexibility and balance.  The appointments include a thirty-minute testing and evaluation session.  The testing only takes about fifteen to twenty minutes, and then I go over your results with you, and each person’s results is specific to their age group, their height, and their weight, so your results aren’t necessarily compared to the average person, somebody older or younger than you or taller or shorter than you.  These are results that are specific for your needs, and they tell you where you can improve, or where you’re excelling.

“Some of the testing for flexibility and strength are done while you’re seated and some of it is done standing, and if you need any modifications on that, then that is available.  We also do the balance testing.  Most of it is standing, but modifications are available for anyone who needs that.

“So we hope that after finding out your results, that you would like to attend one of the community classes that are offered.  There are many, many offered in the community, yoga, exercise.  There’s therapy, as well, that can help work on balance.  There’s individual exercising with a personal trainer, all sorts of things that I would have references for you after going over those results if you’re interested in continuing with your fitness goals.”

Just one example of such a class is the Senior Exercise Class that will soon have a change in meeting times from Tuesdays and Thursdays to Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at The Highland Medical Center throughout the pool season.  As far as moving forward with Senior Fitness Testing, Ms. King provides the times and place.  She continues, “The free Senior Fitness Testing Days are May 23, 2018 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and May 24, 2018 from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m., and they’re being held in the Library Meeting Room.  The sign-up sheet for those time slots is actually located on the Yoga Room door down on the first floor of the Highland Medical Center, so you can go, find a time slot that’s available, sign up your name and then show up at the Library for your day and time of testing.  This is the first time of offering Senior Fitness Testing with the Highland County Recreation Commission, but we are looking forward to offering this at least twice a year, if not, three to four times a year, so if you can’t make it for this first one, be on the look out for another fitness testing in the future.”

To learn more, folks can contact Catie King at 540-468-2978 or by email at catiek@highlandcountyrecreation.org .