At Any Age, It’s Fun to Be Fit!

by Roxanne Atkinson

CENTRAL — From Senior citizens to children, it is fun to be fit at any age!  “It’s never too late (or too early) to look and feel great!”  has been the working motto of Aerobics by Roxanne for nearly 30 years now.

Children are working out with their parents and parents are bringing their own parents and grandparents to class.  In this non-threatening environment, we have all learned how to work out at our own level and to have fun doing it!

Senior citizens are vital, energetic, supportive, and experienced individuals who seek not only to reach greater heights of wellness, but also encourage the younger generation!  They realize that it is their activity level that keeps them active and healthier.

Many of these have been in my program since the early years and are living testimonies of the benefits of regular exercise.  Doris Jolibois will be 81 in September.  She is faithful to work out two or three times per week and has been coming for over 20 years.  Rita McKee is in her 70’s and has never missed a session of aerobics since she began in 1984.  She also takes yoga regularly and is very involved in her community.

Young people have also found their way to aerobics.  Taylor Beth Lloyd began coming to class two years ago.  She uses the class as Physical Education for her home schooling program.  She has brought friends along with her at times.  Melanie Way loves to work out with her two daughters, Emma and Alice.

Sometimes they have the whole family there when Brad and Jack come as well. The young people like helping with the music that is chosen for the class and in that way, they keep us all up to date with new moves and music.

This spring, I taught a class of aerobics at Central High School.  This first-hour class by Mrs. Donna Worsham was so much fun that we plan on doing it again this coming school year.

The Cental High class wants to plan a field trip to our morning class, and the Msfits can’t wait to meet them.  I wrote a program just for them.  Dara Bliss and her daughter Angela helped pick out the music which makes the workouts fun!

Age doesn’t matter in our classes — in fact, we love the variety!  The older members encourage the younger members and vice versa. There is no competition and no generation gap in our classes.  Laughter and sweat —   oh, pardon me — laughter and glistening bodies are found in our classes.

We work out together, laugh together, and become fit together!  We work it, and the work strengthens us and makes the quality of our lives so much better!

Aerobics is good for your heart and so much more no matter what the age!