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Home > Archive > Jul 19, 2007

City Offers Forever Fit Program
By Stephen Vincent
The St. George City Recreation Center has been trying to find ways to help senior citizens and others to begin exercising.
And the people who run the recreation center believe they have created a program that does just that with the Forever Fit program now being offered.
“Margaret Gibson and myself were talking about ways to build fitness and get people exercising and to be better fit physically,” Kirt Guerisoli, the recreation center's director, said. “And she had the idea for the Forever Fit program.”
The Forever Fit program essentially functions to help individuals become acquainted with exercising. And while the prime target is for senior citizens, Gibson, who instructs the Forever Fit class, warns the program is not just limited to senior citizens. The program is also for people who are unfit or who may be recovering from surgery.
Gibson has talked to local hospitals about using the program as a way to help heart patients recover from surgery. The class is really a beginning step for people, who can go onto more advanced classes when they feel ready.
“It's to provide exercise for people who can't do your regular aerobics, or who are limited in their physical abilities,” Gibson said. “It's to help them get moving and to improve their quality of life.”
To that end, Gibson said building class members' confidence in exercising is a key aim of the class.
Gibson said she also has some regulars who could be in more advanced classes, but they choose to remain in the Forever Fit programs because they feel more comfortable there.
Gibson, who has been working in the training industry for 16 years, designed the program. While working in a health gym, she certified as a Silver Sneaker trainer, a program similar to Forever Fit.
The class is divided into three parts: strengthening, balance and cardio workouts.
In the strengthening portion, class members work with weight equipment and free weights at the center.
During the cardio section, attendees get experience using exercise machines, such as the exercise bike.
And in the balance part, they do exercises meant to increase their flexibility and equilibrium. In this section, they do exercises with folding chairs that help them practice balance exercises safely.
The class runs Monday through Thursday,10:30 to 11:30 a.m., and costs $3 per session. The class meets two days a week in the fitness room, and the other two days in the auxiliary gym.
In addition to the classes, the center includes a lecture series every other month that can help the class participants with their health and physical fitness issues, Guerisoli said.
In June, for example, Josh Engelbreit of IHC spoke on understanding how to lose weight without losing muscle mass.
Gibson said she has had positive feedback from her class members. They talk about being able to get out of bed more easily and being able to move around more readily, she said.
The class started in February, and attendance is still slow, but Gibson hopes the enrollment will pick up when the snowbirds move back this fall.
“The idea behind the Forever Fit program is really good,” Guerisoli said. “We're trying to deal with older adults and work on helping them regain their balance.”

The St. George Recreation Center is located at 285 S. 400 East and can be contacted at 634-5860.

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