By Cindy Mullet
Ranger-Review Staff Writer
The exercises may look easy, but following the Richard Simmons “Silver Foxes” exercise tape, has made a big difference for participants in the Dawson County Senior Citizen Center’s exercise time.
A core group of eight to 10 seniors gather at 9 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the center to follow the half hour exercise routine. Bernice Rudnick generally gets things organized and starts the tape while the others take their places around the dining room of the center.
“We have room for a lot more,” Teena Siegle noted.
The Richard Simmons tape has been the focal point of the exercise program since it started in the old senior center in 1989 but the exercisers have no desire to change it, long time participant Martha McCloy noted, explaining, “It’s wonderful for gray haired people.”
McCloy, who turned 94 last week, doesn’t make it to the exercise sessions quite as regularly as she used to, but comes as often as she can. She has to put a chair in front of her for balance when she starts a session but as the exercises progress, it gets a little easier, she said.
The exercise group was larger when she started attending it, she noted, recalling that her husband used to come to the center to play cards while she exercised. He always made fun of the exercisers, telling her they weren’t doing much. She tried to get him to join and see how good the exercises really were, but he never did, she noted.
Stella Bakken, another longtime participant said she started coming to the exercise sessions after she retired. She needed something to do to get her out of the house and the exercise program really worked for her. She likes the Simmons tape because the exercises don’t involve getting down on the floor but are very effective.
“I would be in a wheelchair without these exercises,” another group member, Arlene Forberg, noted. Forberg credits McCloy with getting her started in the program after she had surgery and was having a really tough time getting around.
“Martha told me I’d better come and she was right,” Forberg said, adding, “God bless Martha McCloy.”
Helen Granmoe also started going to the exercise program when it was held in the old center and agrees that it is wonderful. She can definitely feel it when she misses a few sessions, she said.
Doing the exercises as a group makes it easier and more enjoyable, Betty Diede noted adding that if she had to do the exercises by herself at home she wouldn’t do them. “We exercise and then socialize,” she said.
Forberg agreed that exercising as a group has value. She has the same Simmons tape at home but has rarely used it, she said.
While the exercises aren’t strenuous they do work the whole body, Diede noted. They start with exercises for the arms and shoulders and end with the hands and feet. By the time the half hour is over, they definitely feel ready to tackle the day.
“It’s a great program,” Forberg said. “It’s not for kids, but for people our age it’s perfect.”
Rudnick, who is one of the newer members of the group, said she started coming after an invitation from one of the exercisers and is very glad she did. While she and the others recognize the value of the program, they wish more people would take advantage of it.
“It’s a healthy and fun workout for seniors,” Bakken concluded.