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Elderday Adult Day Health Care Lift Line Senior Center Without Limits Learn more at / Obtenga más información en www.CommunityBridges.org or call/ o llame (831) 688-8840 Day services for adults with complex medical conditions Servicios de dia para adultos con condiciones médicas complejas Transportation to medical appointments Transporte a citas médicas Online classes and workshops Clases y talleres virtuales March 2021 edition Special Advertising Supplement to the Santa Cruz Sentinel Fighting back against aging one health class at a time By Melissa Murphy Santa Cruz Sentinel The odds are stacked against us as we grow older. How does the adage go? Father time remains undefeated. Don't tell that to a group in Santa Cruz County. The adults in a class geared for 65 and older have found fun, camaraderie and fitness in a health class at West Fitness. Twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, a group of about a dozen adults meets outside for a socially dis- tanced health class at West Fitness, which first got its start as a CrossFit gym. The class, promoting resistance training and physical activity, was cre- ated after a similar class in Santa Cruz County was discontinued. That's when West and a couple of other local gyms picked up the class. The goal, according to gym co-owner Daniel Ja- hangard is increasing qual- ity of life, bone density, muscle mass and life span. "We've created a safe atmosphere for socially distanced fitness," Jahan- gard said. The programming for West Health is the same programming Jahangard creates for the regular West classes, however, it's modified appropriately for the older demographic. That programming in- volves load management, exercise variation and modifications appropriate for individual participants. "This older demographic is more capable than oth- ers give them credit for," Jahangard said. "What we do here translates to everyday life. We want them to be able to live life to the fullest." "Others think they're fragile," Jahangard continued. "Some people believe resistance training is a young people's game, but everyone benefits from resistance training." Coached by Natalie Tal- bert, each participant re- ceives individual attention in a group setting. "Natalie does a phenom- enal job of creating that relationship," Jahangard said. "She's super present and is skilled to tailor each workout for each person." A recent workout involved five rounds of deadlifting a barbell and a 200-meter walk, jog or run and then adding a little bit more weight to the deadlift before starting the next round. During the workout, par- ticipants were encouraging each other and there was a sense of accomplishment after each round with a mix of friendly competi- tion between the walkers and the runners. "I think of this as a community," said Tom McKoy, 70, who rides his bike to the gym -- 10 miles round trip. An avid runner for years, McKoy explained that during a skiing trip he fell down in the snow and had a hard time getting up. "That's when I thought, 'I need to do more than running,' " he recalled. He's been to other CrossFit-type gyms before including CrossFit Longevity, West and now West Health. "Natalie is a contentious, thorough, caring coach," McKoy said and added that staying fit is im- portant for his sleep and emotional well-being. "You've got to keep moving," he tells the older crowd. McKoy admitted he didn't start having a more active lifestyle until after retiring. "It has to be part of a routine, make it part of your life. "I don't run as much, stuff wears out," he joked. "I do recover from the skiing more easily. The things I want to do I can M o v e t o D o m i n i c a n O a k s a n d e x p e r i e n c e l i f e w i t h o u t c o n c e r n f o r l i f e ' s d a i l y c h o r e s . W e p r o v i d e y o u 3 h o m e c o o k e d m e a l s a d a y , w e e k l y h o u s e k e e p i n g , a c c e s s t o a c t i v i t i e s a n d e x e r c i s e c l a s s e s a n d l o c a l t r a n s p o r t a t i o n . S p e n d y o u r t i m e d o i n g w h a t y o u w a n t t o d o a n d n o t w h a t y o u h a v e t o . MORE TIME FOR FUN! Lic# 440708773 A part of Dignity Health and Dominican Hospital N O W A C C E P T I N G N E W R E S I D E N T S ! C A L L U S A T 8 3 1 . 4 6 2 . 6 2 5 7 F O R A S A F E G U I D E D T O U R Give yourself Young at Heart Young at Heart In Santa Cruz County Continue on page 2 Natalie Talbert, who is seven months pregnant, stands in front of the West Health participants to explain the day's workout. (Daniel Jahangard -- Contributed)

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