55 and over communities – Retirement Media: Active Adult Living

Nice To Have A Fitness Center In Our 55 and Over Community

Fitness Center in Our Community

It is so nice to have a fitness center right here in our 55 and over community.

It’s after Thanksgiving and everyone agrees something needs to be done to keep the holiday pounds in check.

On Site Fitness Center

Our fitness center is in our clubhouse here at Village at Deaton Creek. right in the middle of our community at the clubhouse or activities center as some may call it. It is one mile from my home. Many people just walk down to the fitness center, but I usually drive the 3 minutes to get to our clubhouse without getting out on any public highway.

Today there were people coming in to the gym to start their post Thanksgiving workouts today. One lady said “I have got to quit eating so much!”. A gentleman heard that and said, “I enjoyed every bite of food!”. Another commented that it was hard to start coming back after being off for a few days.

I suppose after the first of the year, the gym will be crowded, but I have never had a problem getting to the exercise machines, as there is an adequate number of them to handle the demand.

We have a long line of treadmills and a couple of rows of recumbent bikes. Then we have a free weights section, a punching bag, a stretching pad and a bar/mirror area with bands and balls for more stretching. I like that our equipment is keep in good repair and replaced with newer models often.

The clubhouse operating hours are Monday to Saturday 6am to 10pm and Sunday from 10am until 8pm. Open just about anytime you want to visit.

Personal Trainer Available

Here at our Del Webb Community, we have a personal trainer in our gym 3 days a weeks. She works as an independent contractor but also gives free instructions of how to use the fitness equipment. This is a real benefit. The following is from our community newsletter and covers some benefits of working out and using a personal trainer for us age 55 and better.

Newsletter article: If you’ve ever been to the Clubhouse Fitness Center, you’ve probably seen Debi Henderson. She provides free instruction to residents on how to use the fitness equipment in a program known as “Fitness with Debi.” All residents are allowed one session. Despite being a fixture at VDC with a longevity surpassing that of most residents and staff members, Debi is an independent certified personal trainer with nearly 25 years of physical therapy training. In addition, Debi is certified to perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and certified by the Nautilus Company to train on their equipment.

Despite having a well equipped gym, the equipment provides limited benefits if not used properly. That includes following proper form and knowing what equipment to use and when to use it.

Most important, many people past 50 have a condition called sarcopenia, a decline in skeletal muscle that begins as early as age 40 and becomes increasingly worse with age. Without resistance training, it is not uncommon for people to lose half their muscle mass by age 70. Sarcopenia is to muscle as osteoporosis is to bone. It has been associated with chronic diseases and has been known to increase the risk of falls.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that a well-planned exercise regime and regulated diet can reverse the effects of sarcopenia.

Even better, you don’t have to leave VDC to get started. The equipment is here, and Debi can get you started on a plan suited for your current fitness level and goals. If you’re already in shape and want to pass a plateau, Debi can develop a plan to reach your goal. If you haven’t exercised in decades, she has the credentials to get you started on the path to better fitness.

Debi says, “As people age, they lose balance, strength, bone and muscle. It is important to do both weight training and cardio to reverse these effects of aging.”

Her prior rehabilitation experience makes her well qualified to also work with residents that suffer from disabilities.

As she told me “Even though they may have lost some mobility it is important to keep them moving and from losing anymore. It is also good for their mind and spirit.”

Starting a structured training program designed for your personal needs may be one of the best decisions you make in your entire life.

Aerobics: Cardio and Floor Exercise Room

Another great area for exercise is the hardwood floor aerobics exercise room on the lower level of our clubhouse. As you can see from these photos, it is well equipped with all kinds of resistance equipment and a couple of free weight racks.

This room is used for organized exercise classes like the Cardio Scupt class which I take and others like Cardio Strength & Tone, Zumba Gold, and several dance classes as well.

Fitness at the Indoor and Outdoor Pools

Many people like to exercise at the indoor pool this time of year. A couple of lap lanes are set up for those really dedicated swimmers and interesting classes are offered like the popular Water Weights and Water Aerobics. Then there is the fun Water Polo matches and the artful Water Synchronized swimming.

If all this leaves you sore, then there is the bubbling hot spa to relieve your pain!

These are wonderful indoor fitness facilities to have right here in our community. These amenities are another good reason to live in a 55+ Active Adult Community.

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Thanksgiving at the Clubhouse

We have enjoyed Thanksgiving at our clubhouse 2 or 3 times since moving here and always had a good time. What a nice benefit from living at our Over 55 Community! Here is our post from a previous Thanksgiving.

Our Thanksgiving at the clubhouse was enjoyable. We sat at a table with our friends Larry and Dottie, Wayne and Linda, and some new residents from Connecticut. We had such a good time talking, we were the last ones to leave.

As you can see by the top photo, there was plenty of food and the turkey was great.

Petty good crowd on hand, but since it was residents only this year, there were some empty spaces where more tables could have gone if they had allowed family members like last year. Maybe next year they will.

Sure was nice to come back home and not to worry about washing dishes! Since I started my race walking training for the National Senior Games, I didn’t care for second helpings anyway. Mary Ann prepared a white chicken chili for a late dinner and that was great. By the way, Mary Ann shared 5 things we were thankful for and living here at VDC was on both our lists! How about that.

On the way out I spotted the great Christmas tree in the clubhouse lobby.

Up next will be the Holiday Parties. There is one for our street, one for our section, and one for the community.

Also I spotted this on “The Daily” section of our web site.
Adult Gingerbread House Decorating Night – Free
Bring your neighbors and turn up the holiday magic with a fun-filled evening of Gingerbread House Decorating. Bring your own gingerbread house and decorating supplies (icing, candies, gumdrops, etc.). RSVP at the front desk.

Well this sounds like a photo opportunity in the making! I will have to pop in and see what is going on.

I am trying to get Mary Ann to take this class at the clubhouse so we can get a discount on our auto insurance, but haven’t convinced her yet. AARP DRIVER SAFETY CLASS – THURSDAY

Another photo op is:
Breakfast With Santa, Saturday

The Austins and It’s Showtime do such a good job lining up talent for us. I bet this is going to be good. I need to talk with my ticket agent (Mary Ann) about getting us tickets to this.
It’s Showtime Presents On Saturday, Lindy and Greg will perform. The Austin’s saw this couple on a cruise and were so impressed, they wanted to bring them to VDC.

We already got our tickets to the New Year’s Eve party. We saw Butch and the Buckheads a few months ago and then were good!
New Year’s Eve Celebration! December 31, – 9pm – 12:30am
DANCE PARTY: This event will be upstairs only, the ballroom will feature Butch and the Buckheads, returning to VDC for another amazing performance! If you love a great dance party, THIS is the place for you! Dance, Dance, Dance!

Mary Ann says she heard The Everly Brothers tribute show is coming soon and she wants tickets! We will have to track this show down and get her some tickets.

Plenty of Activities going on this Holiday season here at Village at Deaton Creek.

PS: this morning I thought this was a red bird (cardinal) on my neighbor patio railing but when I zoomed in, I see it is lovely rose.

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