Drumming Away to Fitness

She's on a mission and she's pretty relentless. Shannon Denny, fitness specialist for Monarch Landing estimates that 150 of the senior living community's residents are involved in regular fitness routines. "I'm going for more," she said, adding that she combines equal parts "marketing, advertising and stalking" to recruit new devotees. "There's absolutely no time, even when I'm walking in the hall, that I would be idle in my quest. If I see four people in the hallway, that's four chances for me to encourage more people."

Denny's reasoning is sound. "If we can keep people moving, the potential for metabolic disease goes down. Joints hurt less and there's a decrease in depression and anxiety," she said. The more movement, the greater health benefits and thus, a finer quality of life.

Fitness for this generation, she added, is often a tough sell. Many of the people moving into the retirement community have never exercised and so they're often leery of fitness. This often translate into a lack of self-confidence in being able to work out.

Denny entices fitness followers by providing a lot of choices, for all fitness levels and abilities. "I break classes down into beginner, intermediate and advanced, with several options for each group," she said. "What I've learned is that when I start offering half-hour classes, those are the most popular. Everyone feels like they can exercise for half an hour." Building on their success, Denny encourages them to move up to 45 and even 60 minute classes. "I often have people tell me that this is the most they've exercised in many years, if ever," she said. "My whole objective is to get them to move in a functional pattern that will help them gain confidence and will inspire more movement and so it begets itself."

Limited mobility is not an excuse for not working out. Denny recently introduced a new Walker Fit program for residents using walkers. "It targets what is a deconditioned group of people who have little if any motivation," she said. Denny also offers exercise programs that can be done while seated including yoga.

A newer and very popular offering is Denny's Drum Fit program. "I saw a picture in an active aging magazine and then Googled it. I saw videos of people doing cool exercises incorporating drumming," she said. "I went to Menards and bought big buckets, and rounded up all of the big rubber exercise balls we had, to set on the buckets as drums. I ordered drumsticks online and the class has taken off." Participants stand at their personal 'drums' and beat on them in different rhythms, while also twisting and lunging to beat on other peoples' drums. "Drumming is therapeutic and this class adds a lot of movement, vibration, cognitive work…there are many benefits and the participants love it," said Denny.

While Denny will keep introducing and changing exercise offerings to recruit more fitness buffs, she consistently recommends that people participate in regularly scheduled, group programs. "The body loves a schedule. It's a fallacy that you don't need a schedule or routine," she said. "And group fitness is important because you're more likely to maintain fitness if you have fitness friends. There's a huge motivational factor."

In honor of February being Heart Health Month, Denny will present Happy Healthy Heart to a group from the Lisle Park District.

Monarch Landing is a Life Plan Community located on a scenic campus in Naperville, Illinois-named "one of America's best places to live and retire" by Modern Maturity, and "the best city for early retirement" by Kiplinger. Monarch Landing offers independent living, promoting a vibrant life style for active seniors. The Springs at Monarch Landing offers assisted living memory support, enriched living, respite, rehabilitation and skilled nursing services, thus providing complete continuing care for seniors. Monarch Landing is owned by Senior Care Development and managed by Life Care Services. For additional information visit www.WelcomeToMonarchLanding.com or www.TheSprings