Article Highlights:
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When Irene Grenfell goes golfing with her gal pals, she opts to walk from hole to hole instead of riding along in the cart.
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After more than a century of living, Grenfell credits health -- both physical and mental -- to a long life well lived.
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Grenfell was one of many senior citizens who embraced their active lifestyles Wednesday at Summerfield Senior Living.
By Ashley Gebb, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
When Irene Grenfell goes golfing with her gal pals, she opts to walk from hole to hole instead of riding along in the cart.
She often beats them to the tee. And at 101 years old, that's no easy feat.
After more than a century of living, Grenfell credits health -- both physical and mental -- to a long life well lived. In addition to golfing, the Yuba City resident also loves to play bridge and dance.
"It gives me something to do," she said, her blue eyes sparkling with delight. "I'm always going someplace and doing something."
Grenfell was one of many senior citizens who embraced their active lifestyles Wednesday at Summerfield Senior Living. They celebrated the 17th annual National Senior Health & Fitness Day -- held the last Wednesday in May during Older Americans Month -- with health screenings, mini-massages, a health fair and a 30-minute workout designed just for senior citizens.
During the workout, led by physical trainer Lance Gee, the residents sat in a circle lifting their arms, rotating their ankles and dipping shoulders toward their knees. Later, they clamped a florescent green band under one heel as they grasped the other end tightly to stretch the elastic and their muscles toward the ceiling.
Nearby, vendors handed out fliers on proper diet, pharmaceutical deliveries and insurance companies.
"Right here in the community you have all these resources," said Lillian Edick, Summerfield's director of marketing and community outreach director. "You just have to let them know."
Arthur J. Klomhaus has attended Gee's twice-weekly workouts ever since moving to Summerfield two years ago.
"It makes me feel good and gets the circulation going," he said.
At 83, it can be difficult to stay active, he said. But he does what he can, including daily guided walks from his room to the dining hall. At night Klomhaus will lie in bed doing foot and leg exercises.
Diagnosed with Parkinson's 30 years ago, he cannot control when his shakes start, but he thinks his small interludes of fitness minimize their frequency, he said.
Al Free, 90, tries to do just enough exercise to keep himself going, he said.
"I just get feeble-minded and lame-brained if I don't," he said.
And he enjoyed the exercises he tried with Gee on Wednesday, he said.
"It'd be good for an old man like me," he said. "A person needs to loosen up."
Gee's simple exercises are a great way to feel more fit, said Summerfield resident Barbara Anderson, 85. She used to attend his classes regularly and wants to get back in the cycle.
"Sometimes I want to reach out or move and I think, 'I better have something to hang on to,'" she said.
Gee told Anderson that leg exercises will really help with her balance. He's been teaching physical fitness to senior citizens for more than 25 years and hosts a TV program Mondays through Fridays on Channel 19.
Leg exercises should be seniors' No. 1 priority because they keep the muscles strong and help prevent balance issue, he said. The second most important workout should be stretching, which maintains circulation and range of motion.
"It improves your state of mind, the way you feel, your energy level, and your strength," Gee said.
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