How Active Older Adults Can Stay Healthy and Connected at the Family YMCA

This fall, the Westport Weston Family YMCA is adding some great new opportunities to our current programs for Senior YMCA members. Join your fellow active older adults for fitness, fun, social activities and educational seminars at the Bedford Family Center at 14 Allen Raymond Lane in Westport.

Starting Sept. 4, Fridays are for seniors at the Family YMCA! We’ll start each Friday morning with organized games of Pickleball, from 9 to 10:30 am in our gymnasium on the main level. You’re also welcome to join other active adult adults in an A.O.A. Fitness class, also held in our gymnasium, from 10:45 to 11:30 am each Friday.

Among the A.O.A. Fitness offerings will be a variety of “chair optional” classes, from chair yoga to chair ROM (range of motion) to chair aerobics. If needed, participants will be able to use a chair to sit on while you exercise, hold onto the back for support or just know that a seat is nearby for a brief break.

Our new Senior Social hour follows each Friday, from 11:30 am to 1 pm in the Schine Meeting Room on the main level. Senior Socials will give you a chance to visit with friends, or make new ones, as you enjoy a brown-bag lunch or a light meal from the Member Cafe.

Most Senior Socials on Friday at lunchtime will also feature a free Active Older Adult Wellness Seminar on a topics of interest to Senior YMCA members. Here are two such hands-on presentations scheduled for September:

Healthier Habits for a Healthier You; Sept. 4, 11:45 am – In this interactive educational talk by Tania Paparazzo, Southwest Regional Director of the Connecticut Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, you’ll learn about research in the areas of diet and nutrition, exercise, cognitive activity and social engagement, and use hands-on tools to help you incorporate these recommendations into a plan for healthy aging.

The Basics – Memory Loss, Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease;
Sept. 18, 11:45 am — Tania follows up her Sept. 4 presentation to provide information on detection, cause and risk factors, stages of the disease, treatment and much more.

For dates, times and topics of upcoming Wellness Seminars on Fridays — or to suggest a new subject of interest to you — please contact Alexei Bachuretz, Health and Wellness Director, at 203-226-8981 x 109 or ywellnesscoaching@gmail.com.

Active Older Adult Programming

In addition to our new Senior Fridays, the Family YMCA offers a variety of programs that the active older adult can enjoy day in day out, from aquatic and group fitness to recreational opportunities. Here’s a sampling:

• Aqua Fitness
• V.I.P. Water Physical Fitness
• Arthritis Aquatic Program
• Essentrics
• Light & Low Align
• Light & Low Intervals
• Light & Low Senior Strength
• Light & Low Pilates
• Light & Low Yoga

What’s more, there’s organized games of Pickleball each Wednesday, 6-7:30 pm; Friday, 9-10:30 am; and Sunday, 9:30-11 am.

There’s also our Walking Club for active older adults: Meet up with friends for a group walk around our Mahackeno campus, local neighborhoods or plan a road trip to a fun destination to meet up and walk. Also look out for new Senior Men’s Fitness Programs and Outdoor Activities this fall.

For descriptions and current schedules of all our group fitness classes, visit this web page at westporty.org, or stop by our Welcome Center for a printed copy.

Live life to the fullest every single day at our Family YMCA – especially on Fridays!

For more information on Senior Member Engagement, please contact Brian Marazzi, Director of Member Engagement, 203-226-8981 x104; bmarazzi@westporty.org.