Niagara County YWCA Pushes Fitness in Rural Areas ; Program Engages Residents Who Lack Exercise Centers
By Miguel Rodriguez
Bill and Teresa Perry are active retirees.
Sure, they retired from their jobs to relax and enjoy the rest of their lives together. But that’s no excuse for not finding the time for a little exercise.
Which is why the former Delphi employee and former teacher were among the five seniors doing some lunges, squats and other aerobic exercises for 45 minutes Monday at the Covenant United Church of Christ.
They are among the Niagara County residents taking part in the YWCA of Niagara’s Get Fit Where You Live program, an initiative started as a means of bringing health and wellness to communities that are lacking fitness centers where residents can get some exercise.
“I think as you get older you just want to stay active,” Teresa Perry said prior to her workout in the basement of the church.
“It’s not just the fitness. It’s just the wellness and everything together,” said Liz Koepsell, director of the Lockport YWCA. “It’s just having a healthy lifestyle, especially with the numbers increasing and cardiac disease.
“Anything to increase your heart strength is very important, especially in America with the [obesity problem] and the level of those numbers rising. I find that it’s not only fitness but diet that does a lot of it. It’s everything together. It’s just a whole wellness.”
Koepsell said she believes exercise is the “medicine of the future.”
Beverly McDonough, vice president of communications and development for YWCA of Niagara, said about 65 percent to 70 percent of the county is rural, which means not everyone has access to a neighborhood gym. The Perrys, along with Burniece and Nathan Herendeen, are among the Gasport residents who are taking advantage of this twice-a-week program that lasts 10 weeks.
“A lot of people wouldn’t drive to a fitness center in Lockport, North Tonawanda or somewhere else,” said McDonough of why the YWCA is offering this program. “The statistics about incidence of heart disease in the county [are] seriously out of whack compared to other like populations in the country.”
Niagara County has among the highest levels of heart disease in the state.
The YWCA tried to offer this program at four sites but is only offering it in Gasport and Middleport because there weren’t enough people in Wilson or Newfane to sign up for it. At least eight people must sign up for the class, which costs $110 in advance, in order for the Y to send a fitness instructor to a location.
The program is for males and females ages 12 and over, and ends June 9.
It is still accepting applicants. To register, call 438-5534.
While only five attended last Monday’s session at Gasport, eight already had signed up for it and paid in advance. About a dozen people attend the Tuesday and Thursday night classes at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Middleport, according to Gasport site instructor Tracie Scott.
“We’re building it up [here at Gasport],” she said. “A few people [who signed up] have been on vacation. Once we do [the workouts] we have fun. We have a good time, but it’s just getting people to sign up and commit. Especially in the mornings, it’s a little tougher.”
The Herendeens have been committed to the program. Burniece is a retired business office manager, while Nathan recently retired from his job at the Cornell Cooperative Extension.
“We both decided this was a good thing to do,” Burniece said. “Help extend his retirement a bit . . . get [me] some physical exercise and get rid of the winter flab.”
The 10-week program begins its third week on Monday.
After it ends, it’ll return in mid-September with hopes of adding more locations.
Between sessions, the YWCA of Niagara will offer a Biggest Loser workout program in June at its Lockport headquarters, 80 W. Main St. The program is limited to women only. For information, call Koepsell at 438-5534.
e-mail: mrodriguez@buffnews.com
Originally published by NIAGARA CORRESPONDENT.
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