Independent living program delivers phys-ed skills to apartment dwellers


Betty Brand


t their recent monthly health and welfare meet- ings, several guest speakers counselled build- ing residents on the important link between physical activity and good health for older adults. For Gabriel Terenko it was a signal that he needed to work with the people in the Point Douglas residence to get a physical program started in their building. Gabriel is the manager and program co-ordinator of St. Mary the Protectress Villa, on Burrows Avenue, a 72-unit, age 55-plus,independent living complex. He sought advice from Monica Grocholski, seniors resource co-ordinator in Point Douglas, who sug- gested a program called “Stepping Up with Confi- dence”, offered by the Active Living Coalition for Older Adults in Manitoba. “Stepping Up” is a peer-led exercise and walking program for older adults seeking to achieve an active lifestyle through movement. Initiated in 2003 by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, the programs are free and held close to participants’ homes or in their apartment complexes. Instructor training is pro- vided free by the Active Living Coalition for Older Adults in Manitoba.


A Jim Evanchuk, executive director of ALCOA-MB,


says the two-day Train the Trainer course is available to any seniors group who have a group member or community resident wanting to volunteer for train- ing. After training, that person would then lead their own physical activity program in their community. Gabriel’s next step was to find a volunteer. He ap- proached building resident Gerry Holunga, who was known for her long service as a volunteer and had a 20-year career in a nursing home. Gerry, ac- knowledging it was important to remain active as you age, agreed to take the training: Monica and Gabriel signed up too, so they could take turns helping out in the classes.


Participants in the hour-long weekly class at the


Villa range in age from 77 to 96. The first class was held in March, and 12 to 18 people have attended every week. The class has six components: warm-up, cardiovascular activity, cardiovascular cool-down, muscular strength and endurance, balance and flex- ibility. And the music! The day I was there it had a sixties theme, with groups like the Chiffons, the Mar- velettes and singer Lesley Gore.


Exercise sessions are held in a large common room; people can stand or sit on a chair to do the exercises. The Villa’s board of directors set aside funds to pro- vide hand weights and bottled water for class partici- pants.


A "Stepping Up with Confidence" exercise class at St. Mary the Protectress Villa


Class member Zenovia Solomon says one reason she comes weekly is because she realizes you need to keep moving and this is one way to do that. She was healing from surgery last year and realized then how big a role physical activity plays in getting back on your feet.


Some people might hesitate to start a class like this, thinking they’d be unable to keep up. Gerry, in re- sponse, points out that the program’s planners ad- dressed that issue by going ahead slowly and limiting repetition of an exercise until participants are com- fortable in performing it. A special effort is made, too, to accommodate people with hearing loss and those whose first language is not English. Gerry, Zenovia and Monica cite several other ben-


efits of a class like this. For starters, the class gives people a reason to get up and dressed in the morning: they have a place to go and something to do. And as most people would agree, it’s more fun to join oth-


ers to exercise, compared with trying to go it alone, exercising in one’s apartment.


Then, there’s the focus on using weights in one part


of the program to gain upper body strength. Every- one loses upper body strength as they age, and every- one wants to live as independently as possible. So the point of the exercise is pretty clear.


A Stepping Up program is not limited to exercise classes. Gabriel underlined this point when he pur- chased pedometers for residents – at a bargain price – and showed them how to use them to keep track of their steps each day. Almost half the building residents are taking part in this routine exercise. This fall there will be an outdoor walking program in the area close to the building.


Betty Brand recently retired from the Manitoba govern- ment, where she worked in program and policy develop- ment on issues affecting the lives of seniors, women and persons with disabilities.


Fun facts about fruit and vegetables F


ruit and vegetables have been in our diet for all of human his- tory. We eat them raw, cooked, chilled and frozen – in ever-more-cre- ative combinations. We drink them in juices, and in the case of things like orange zest, we even use them as sea- soning for other foods. As with every- thing that's been around that long, we know a lot of things about fruit and vegetables. So let's take a look at some of the more interesting facts about our age old friends!


Peppers are actually a fruit. Sur- prised? Scientists define fruit as the part of a plant that develops from a flower and has seeds. So that means peppers – along with squash, cucum- bers and pumpkins – are fruits. It's up to you whether or not to include any of those items in your next fruit salad! Bananas are berries. A true berry


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is a fruit that develops from a single flower and a single ovary (the female part of the flower). That means grapes, kiwis and even bananas are berries. It may be best to steam broccoli. If you're trying to cut your cholesterol, steam your broccoli – as that helps it lower your cholesterol levels more. In a part-by-part breakdown, the flo- rets have a few more nutrients than the stalks. And the leaves, which most people throw out, have some nutrients not found in the other two. Potatoes are top bananas in the potassium stakes. We need potassium to help strengthen our muscles and control our blood pressure. Bananas are high in it, but they aren't the best source. How about trying a spud in- stead? Potatoes have more potassium, they don't have any fat and are a good


source of vitamins and iron too. To discover more interesting facts


about avocados, tomatoes, figs, black- berries, kiwis, apples and carrots click on this link: http://www.webmd.com/ food-recipes/ss/slideshow-fun-facts- fruits-vegetables


Courtesy, Reh-Fit Centre. August 2016


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