Since November, Versa Fitness has been home to an exercise class for seniors (55+) through Age On led by Solon native Corrigan “Corri” Goldsmith, an occupational therapist by trade with a master’s degree from St. Ambrose University. Goldsmith is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist, has a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and is taking classes through the Institute of Clinical Excellence for a specialty in movement for older adults.
“I work fulltime as an OT with the Visiting Nurses Association of Johnson County,” she said. “I started in in-patient rehab as a therapist and helped open the Iowa Rehab Hospital (in Coralville), and then I transitioned to home health. That has allowed me to pursue the fitness classes with Age On.”
Age On was founded by Jake Raecker, Doctor of Physical Therapy and started with a location in Coralville. When Goldsmith joined Raecker last year, plans were made to expand to Solon.
“I just saw such a deep need in the community for aging population resources, seeing my friends from growing up and family aging and not having anywhere to go to do that.
Collaboration with Versa Fitness
Age On’s Solon classes are held at Versa Fitness located at 100 Windflower Ln., formerly Empire.
“Jake and I have a long-standing relationship with Versa and Versa gave Jake the opportunity to start running his classes out of the Coralville location last year, so we’ve just evolved that relationship, they’re allowing us to use the space here as well. It’s a great partnership to bring in this type of community.”
The classes began in November with educational presentations covering bone health and the importance of weight training and resistance training for bone health.
“It was amazing, we had around 40 people and it was very humbling. The next week we invited people back for an educational session on muscle and building muscle, and why that’s important as we age. We then offered a six-week trial, and that just ended, so now people are starting a membership, which is exciting for me, it’s exciting that people want to do this, it’s actually happening.
The sessions
“We host three days a week, two classes a day at 7 and 10:30 a.m., Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. A lot of the people will go every day, some just drop in once a week, we have all sorts of different options for membership. It’s fun to see the community start to be built with those members. A lot of them didn’t know each other before, so that’s really the secret behind this – it’s really about the people and the community. The strength, the aging, and the longevity are what the purpose is, but we always find that in these types of situations, the community is what keeps you going. Building that here has really been fun to see.”
Age On welcomes anybody 55 and up with an average age of 65 among the 25 or so currently enrolled.
“A lot of people are newly retired, but we also have people that are still working, so it’s really cool to see.”
For many people the perception of a ‘gym membership’ is one of loud music with intense workouts and equally intense trainers. For Age On members, the experience is less intimidating.
“What we’re doing, is not that. We still have intensity, we’re choosing music that people are into, which makes the work out go quicker, but you’re going to be looking at a bit lower pace than that. Jake and I are passionate about being led by an OT and a PT (Physical Therapist) to make sure that we are addressing the whole person and making sure that everything is at a higher caliber and that we can guide people in their work out safely.”
The sessions start with a six-minute warm-up period with some agility and/or balance work followed by roughly a half hour of exercise.
“We always are following the research so a lot of our exercise is strength training based – dead lifts, barbell work, kettlebells; the goal is to do some weight training, period. On Wednesdays we’ll do more high intensity work to get the cardiovascular system involved a little more and working on that resilience to recover from those heartrate zones. We do a lot of balance work as well, that’s one of the easiest things to go as we age – our balance, so we are always adding that in.”
Falls are a leading cause of injury and disability in older populations, making fall prevention through focusing on balance an important part of the exercise program in addition to learning self-care.
“We do specific things in the class to train them for real life. We’ll have them get down on the floor and get back up; that’s an exercise and a very real, true thing to be able to do their daily life with more ease. So, we’re teaching those more functional tasks – to be able to travel and put their carry-on in the overhead bin by themselves, or to be able to carry in bags of water softener salt (instead of relying on a neighbor), even being able to put on their underwear without having to sit down. These are little things that you just don’t think about on a day-to-day basis, but it makes a huge difference in your everyday life. We just watch these abilities dwindle and we just say, oh, that’s aging, but it doesn’t have to be how aging looks. We’re trying to redefine what aging is and can be.”
People are able to start at any time and free trial sessions are available.
“I would say come as you are, put on some comfortable clothes (such as sweats), grab a water bottle, and step in. You can expect to feel better after moving. Just stepping in the door the first time is the win and saying yes to making yourself better. Generally, people walking into Age On haven’t exercised in a while, years maybe. The community is so welcoming, you step your foot into the door, somebody is going to say, ‘Hey, let me help you with that.’ It’s not just me coaching, its everyone else there that will make you feel like you’re at home.”
Passion with a purpose
For Goldsmith, helping others thrive as they age is a passion driven by personal experience
“I’m 31 and the youngest of six kids and my parents are in their early 70s, but I’ve always grown up knowing I’m the youngest of some really older folks and I’ve always been mindful of aging and knowing that I want my parents to be here longer. It puts into perspective, for me, the possibilities that I can achieve, and from what I’ve seen in my work gives me more of a broader picture of the real life implications. It definitely makes me want to train to be stronger as I age.”
‘Senior,’ to some, has a stigma as does ‘older American,’ and ‘aging, with negative connotations of infirmities and inactivity. However, Corri hopes to normalize the idea “that we can still move as we age. Ageing is a privilege, not a condition.”
“It’s been a super fun experience, it’s been a dream of mine for a long time to have this here so, having it all come to fruition has been amazing. I’m honored to be doing this, especially here in Solon.”
For more information
Email Corri at [email protected]
Website – www.ageoniowa.com