Seniors stretch legs, health with aerobics

SANDY — Don't be fooled by the name "chair aerobics" or by the fact that most participants show up dressed in slacks and blouses, a few toting oxygen tanks and canes.

The enthusiastic manner in which Sophia Arambula, 85, leads her class through a series of exercises and stretches is much more reminiscent of a Jack LeLanne or Richard Simmons workout than a picture of seniors sitting in chairs twiddling their thumbs.

During the 45-minute workout, some of the Sandy Senior Center's oldest members raise their legs and touch their toes to the tune of an overplayed workout tape.

The class averages 16 students — some who attend only sporadically and others who have been with Arambula for nearly a decade. Women dominate the group, but a few men also participate.

"It keeps you young," said Audrey Lunnen, who has faithfully attended the class three times a week for nine years. "If I don't go, then the weather bothers me and I can't do anything — I can't lift anything, it hurts to walk — (the class) just keeps you so limber."

Lunnen, who is nearly 89, said she's convinced that exercise prolongs life. This is the first formal exercise class she's enrolled in, but she pointed out that she naturally used to be more active when she was younger, caring for her children, her home and the family farm.

"When you get older, you need something like this," she said. "If you want to live long, you better exercise."

Though a few "younger" people in their 60s attend the aerobics class, most are decades older, she said. Regardless of age or physical condition, the class benefits all who participate, Arambula said. A few individuals who started attending the class while on oxygen, no longer need to use an oxygen tank.

Arambula said she's seen the difference exercise has made in her own life. She fell down the stairs into her basement last year and only broke two ribs and a bone in her foot — a blessing she said her doctor attributes to her physical activity.

Arambula has been advocating physical fitness among seniors for a long time, said John Warnke, programs director at the Sandy Senior Center, 9310 S. 1300 East. Her class has helped a number of older seniors improve their balance and minimize falls.

Chair aerobics is one of several exercise classes, including yoga and tai chi, offered at the senior center. In addition, seniors who want to work out individually can use the center's physical fitness room, where students from the University of Utah are regularly on hand to help seniors with the proper use of equipment.