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Senior Living: staying healthy and active through exercise

(Photo Courtesy/Mike Beiermeister) Seniors participated in various exercises on national senior health and fitness day.

Alpena, Mich. — Thursday is National Senior Health and Fitness Day.

This day encourages seniors to stay active and healthy. Seniors participated in different exercises for a few hours. Over one hundred  seniors packed into the Alpena Senior Center.
“Some people need more leg strength, some need more arm strength, so it just depends on their situation,” said Cindy Josey. “We try to cover it all.”

Josey is the in–home service coordinator at the center. She designs simple exercises to help seniors continue leading active lives each week, whether that’s through curls, raises, or utilizing bands.

“Our group keeps growing and growing… it’s just really good to see, and during the exercises, I mentioned that we had more men than we’ve had in as long as I’ve been doing this,” said Josey.

The exercises and stretches help build balance, strength, and flexibility. Not only are seniors growing in all of these physical aspects, they grow socially as well.

“A lot of them do have a great social life, but some don’t, so this is a great place for them to come and meet new people and do fun things,” said Josey.

These little exercises, tips, and friends can help them age gracefully in life.

The seniors also had the chance to ask questions and learn different tips to staying safe while being active. Andrew Doubek from Thunder Bay Therapy answered these questions and provided advice for the group. Both before and after exercise, the center offered healthy food options for the seniors to enjoy.