“Everybody looks fantastic. How was your long weekend?” Chris Hansen said as she led a group of a dozen senior citizens in warmups during a Strong Seniors class at Peterborough Community Center Oct. 11.
The Peterborough Recreation Department class began Sept. 27 and is offered from 11 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and Thursdays. After starting with eight students before dipping to six for the second class, attendance increased to 11 for a pair of classes before hitting 12 Oct. 11.
“It’s amazing,” said Hansen, who spent more than 20 years as a physical therapist assistant and certified occupational therapy assistant at Monadnock Community Hospital, local assisted living centers and home health. “Every single week, we’ve had more participants.”
Strong Seniors classes include warmups, stretching, strength exercises with small weights for the arms and legs, as well as balance exercises. Participants sit in chairs for some of the exercises. Toward the end of Thursday’s class, Hansen had participants try to walk along the lines of one of the pickleball courts, which she said was harder than it seems.
“I’m looking down at it,” she said as she tried to walk a straight line.
Hansen also had participants do wall push-ups, explaining that they could do them at home against a wall or a counter.
“So many exercises, you do on the floor, but then you have to get back up,” she said.
Hansen has taught group and senior exercise classes throughout the Monadnock region, and said the pandemic and the loss of fitness programs at MCH’s Bond Wellness Center left a void that Strong Seniors is working to fill.
“There isn’t anything like this in the area,” she said.
Recreation Department Program Coordinator Julia Chidester said the hospital came to the department with a proposal for the class, as lots of seniors were looking for something. Word has spread through the department’s Facebook page, monthly newsletter and flyer, and Chidester said the partnership with the hospital has helped, but doctors and physical therapy offices have also recommended the class.
As of now, the class is scheduled to end Nov. 3, but Chidester said conversations are ongoing about continuing it beyond that date.
“I think people like it,” she said. “Chris is great. Between her instruction and the way word has gotten out, it’s helping people.”
Paul Waterman, 78, of Peterborough, was attending his fourth class. He said he wishes the Bond Wellness Center would reopen, but enjoys Strong Seniors.
“It’s pushing me hard, particularly to get my balance,” he said.
Susan and Charles Oropallo of Peterborough – 76 and 70, respectively – were attending the class prior to going to the Grand Canyon in a couple weeks. They’re planning on doing a 6-mile hike, which is less than some of their previous visits.
“We’ve walked all the way down and stayed in tents,” Charles said.
Susan said Strong Seniors is a way for her to resume physical activity after COVID.
“It’s a good, basic, bring-you-back with some fitness,” she said.
For Charles, the class is a good way to continue rehabbing from rotator cuff surgery in May, having recently finished physical therapy.
“’Use it or lose it’ is really true,” he said.
Anita Crowell of Dublin, 81, said she’s active during the summer, and the class is a good way to continue doing so later in the year.
“I used to go to the wellness center at the hospital. I miss it terribly,” she said. “It’s fun to see people and be around.”
Along with Strong Seniors, the Recreation Department offers tabletop games, lunches and events for seniors Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The pickleball program, which is offered every day but Saturday and moves indoors to the community center Oct. 23, and the indoor walks at the community center Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are not exclusively for seniors, but Chidester said most of the participants are senior citizens.
The mix, she said, appeals to all different kinds of interests.
“They’re just kind of different in their own way,” she said.
For information on Peterborough Recreation Department programs, go to peterboroughnh.myrec.com/info/activities.