Working out gets easier

The Freshwater Community Centre (FCC) has become a place of interest when it comes to fitness in the Placentia area.

The organization, which, along with other partners, was responsible for the installation of the 'Green Gym,' an outdoor gym near the playground in Freshwater, has moved to the indoors with lots of new exercise equipment and a fitness instructor to help assist seniors and the general public in how to use it.

FCC president Ed Traverse is thrilled with the equipment at the centre and with how many people, both seniors and the general public, have come to use the new equipment.

"We've been getting 25 or 30 each day, which is a lot. We are getting a good response," he said.

Traverse explained the FCC applied for funding in June when they realized there was a program, New Horizons, that could provide them with enough to outfit their centre with fitness equipment.

The amount, $24,125, was enough to purchase a number of items, including a couple of treadmills, rowing machines, a gazelle, two T-Zone machines, three bikes and two steppers, as well as some other equipment and a fitness instructor, Dorothy Bishop, who is there most days to help newcomers learn to use the equipment and work out a program of sorts for themselves, if needed.

Traverse explained the equipment is free to use for seniors who are part of any seniors' club in the area. The general public has to become a member of the FCC, a $5 yearly fee, to join and then must pay one dollar each time they use the fitness centre.

"(This new equipment) was just something we decided on ourselves because we got the 'Green Gym' outside and the seniors expressed interest in using that during the summer and the fall and they requested the use of the centre for walking. They do their walking club there during the winter," said Traverse. "So, we saw the money was available and it was a good thing to apply for, especially since they are using the centre anyway, so if we get this equipment then they can further their exercise throughout the year. We are getting a good many to use it. People are using it and coming back."

Traverse said they are hoping to hire a student in the summer after their fitness instructor finishes up. That student will also provide information into nutrition and other topics for better health, he said.

Bishop has worked as a fitness instructor over the years and said things have been busy so far at the centre since the new equipment was installed in January.

She is well-versed in the equipment and how it works and can help people get comfortable with the machines, she said.

"I've been doing fitness classes for 20 years and am trying to promote getting active. This fitness centre simply provides more choices to people to do what they like to keep fit," she said.

Bishop noted that the senior ladies have a walking program at the FCC on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and that there seems to be in increase in the general public showing up after supper.

There are televisions installed on the walls, DVDs to follow and even a Wii Fitness program to use.

"We have lots of choices. There is entertainment plus," laughed Bishop, noting, "but I am the biggest entertainment for people."

For more information on the FCC fitness program, contact the community centre.

editor@thecharter.ca