Every morning Nancy Koshmider performs a set of exercises in her downtown apartment. First, she does 10 standard pushups and another 10 with her knees on the floor. Then some abdominal crunches and stretches.
“I never would have imagined doing pushups five years ago,” she said.
What changed is that the 66-year-old Koshmider started taking exercise classes at the city’s Cultural Center at Michigan Avenue and Randolph Street. She volunteered at the center and attended events there. She didn’t see herself as the “exercise type” until her doctor said physical activity such as dancing or walking would help ease the pain and degeneration of the osteoporosis in her back.
“I made up my mind to start taking the exercise classes to help my back,” recalled Koshmider. “Now I do it because I like it.”
Koshmider especially likes her instructors, including Ali Andarcia.
“He’s funny and makes the class enjoyable,” said Koshmider.
Andarcia is a top coordinator for the Chicago Fitness Plus program operated by the city’s Department on Aging. He isn’t on the city department payroll, but is one of 15 fitness professional contracted through the Fitness Formula company. Andarcia has been with the Fitness Plus program for the six years since it began in 1995.
“I went to college at University of Illinois-Chicago in physical therapy,” said Andarcia, 33. “I switched my major to exercise science because I thought it would be depressing to work with older folks,” who make up the majority of physical therapy clients.
“I found out just the opposite,” said Andarcia. “Seniors who exercise are in high spirits. I can see the energy I put into classes reflected in their faces.”
What’s more, Andarcia said most seniors don’t exercise “for the looks.”
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“They want to feel more energetic and be independent,” said Andarcia.
Studies continue to indicate regular exercise, especially strength or resistance training, can deter what was once thought to be inevitable decline of muscle mass. In fact, a three-year study published just this month in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed older and younger healthy men create new muscle proteins at similar rates. This is an important finding because scientists have long believed degeneration of muscle tissue and an accompanying loss of strength and function occur because muscle proteins break down faster as we age than those proteins can be created and restored.
The city’s Department on Aging operates four senior centers with fully equipped workout rooms. Another senior center offers exercise classes, while more than 70 other locations (such as the downtown Cultural Center) provide regularly scheduled classes. Commissioner Anna L. Willis said classes are held in such diverse places as senior housing and church basements. All services are free.
“We market the fitness program at other events,” said Willis. “It allows us to talk about senior centers as something more than a place people play cards or eat a meal. We are persuading people who have never exercised to get involved.”
At the four equipped senior centers, interested participants are screened for health problems (some people might require a permission form signed by a physician) and exercise preferences. Then they have two private training sessions with a personal trainer to learn about the strength training and cardiovascular equipment. Each senior receives a customized program.
“Whenever my back is hurting, and it’s not often anymore, I just do my exercises,” said Koshmider.
The program is an unqualified success, attracting some 7,000 seniors each year. One indicator is the seniors who are always waiting for the fitness center to open at 8:30 on weekday mornings and 9 on weekends. Moreover, 30 to 50 individuals attend each of the classes, which now include yoga.
Another measure is the recent announcement that the Chicago Fitness Plus program has been named one of 15 finalists for an Innovations in American Government award from Harvard University. The program is already guaranteed a $20,000 grant. Becoming one of five winners named in mid-October would translate to $100,000 total in a budget that gets its funding from federal and corporate sources.
Even so, the best sign of success would be the seniors themselves.
“You can see the vitality in the seniors who exercise,” said Andarcia. “There are others at the senior centers who sit around watching TV or eating lunch. They walk slower. The seniors are all the same ages but biologically there is a huge difference.
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For more information about the Chicago Fitness Plus program, including locations, call 312-744-4016.