The H-F Racquet & Fitness Club in Homewood, Ill. was the official host site this Wednesday for National Senior Health and Fitness Day, a day that promotes the importance of regular physical activity amongst older community members. Held the last Wednesday in May, this was the event’s 19th anniversary, and the fourth year that H-F Racquet & Fitness Club has hosted the event.
The club partnered with various health organizations to offer free memory screening, blood sugar testing and digital foot scanning. Open to all senior members and non-members, health seminars were given throughout the day on topics concerning general health. Seniors were encouraged to use the club’s facilities to swim, exercise and take Group X classes.
According to Sandi Bingham, the group fitness and aquatics coordinator for the H-F Racquet & Fitness Club, she thought the event was the perfect opportunity to target the club’s large senior population. “Most of the people who come in, we want them to bring in their friends and family and turn them on to fitness,” she said. “We want to stress the importance of life-long fitness to be able to function and move and live a happy senior life.”
To target the club’s senior members, H-F Racquet & Fitness offers fitness classes targeted towards older groups every week, such as the Silver Sneakers® program, aqua aerobics and Silver Splash®. In conjunction with the club’s regular programs and the National Senior Health and Fitness Day event, Bingham hopes to promote a healthier lifestyle for her older members. “It is so important to stay active and move throughout your whole life,” she said.
Along with promoting life-long movement, according to Bingham the club fulfills a social aspect for seniors. “That’s something clubs should keep in mind,” she said. “It’s not just about getting fit, it has this large social aspect to it. Make it fun for seniors. A lot of them are here for quite a while, interacting with members and staff. We become friends.”
National Senior Health and Fitness Day is part of Older Americans Month, and over 100,000 seniors were expected to have participated in the event nationwide.
By Rachel Zabonick
