When you enter the Baptist HealthPlace building up on Colonnade you are greeted by a swirl of activity. A large portion of that is due to the very popular YMCA. And a large portion of the YMCA’s traffic is made up of Nocatee’s Seniors.
Something positive must be happening here. To unlock the secret I asked Connie Smith, who is the Senior Director of Healthy Living at the First Coast YMCA, to share her thoughts about how we Seniors can benefit from what our local Y is doing. Here is what Connie wrote.
One of the most unique aspects about senior programming at the Nocatee YMCA has been the incorporation of technology. We know that many members may be apprehensive at first about using our equipment. That’s why we’ve utilized EGYM resources, which help customize workouts and routines to your specific body type and walk you through workout circuits on our machines.
It takes the thought process out of wondering which machine to go to and when. The system remembers you and you can select if you want to focus on boosting your immunity, muscle building, general fitness, weight loss, or even rehabilitation. We try to make it as easy as possible to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
That also includes our EnhanceFitness program, which is an evidenced-based, community-delivered program proven to increase strength, boost activity levels, and elevate mood. We’re doing a pilot program in connection with it where we are testing participants’ bio ages, which is the age associated with how strong a person is. We had a member at Nocatee who, after going through the EnhanceFitness program, gained eight years of strength. In other words, when she started the program she had the strength of a 70-year-old but by the end of it, was as strong as a 62-year-old.
While it is not the Fountain of Youth…
Wow! And that is why our Seniors love their Y.
