Having a field day
A new fitness class promises to keep city seniors moving, motivated and agile on their feet
THERE was volleyball, mini-tennis and a jubilant dance competition at the Upper East Side’s Asphalt Green on Friday, where 250 people turned out for a field day.
This being the fourth annual Senior Field Day, all the ballplayers and dancers were 60 and older.
“This year we had more talent,” Yorkville resident Iris Burroughs, 69, tells The Post. “We had some tappers — they were fantastic.”
The limber Burroughs competed in a freestyle dance event. She ended with a split and nabbed an impressive third-place finish.
“I just have to say to myself that I can’t win every time,” says Burroughs, who also participated in the past two field days. “I have to be big about it.”
Friday’s daylong event previewed the nonprofit Asphalt Green’s fall-prevention fitness class. Aimed at baby boomers, it’s called Skills in Motion.
Although the field day comes but once a year, the hour-long Skills in Motion classes will be available around the city at seven locations including Goddard Riverside Senior Center and the Bronx Mosholu Senior Center. It will meet once weekly for 20 weeks, and though the price varies depending on location, it’s free for members at Asphalt Green’s Upper East Side location. (Nonmembers pay $200 for the 20 weeks.)
“Our class is a mixture of strength and agility,” says David Ludwig, Asphalt Green’s senior director of community programs. “We challenge their balance. We do a variety of games where they need to react to different things like hitting a balloon, or catching a ball or [weaving] through cones.”
The class also uses stretchy bands to increase strength without the pounding of traditional workouts. Whatever the equipment, the movements center on building confidence and balance.
“If you can keep your balance, then that will keep you from falling,” says Burroughs, who tried the class at Friday’s field day. “It’s not a guarantee, but it certainly helps.”
The program also teaches participants how to fall safely, lessening the chance of injury during the icy winter months ahead. Ludwig warns against landing on just your hands to break your fall, which increases the risk of a wrist injury.
“If you’re falling, you want to spread out the impact,” he says. Another tip: “If you fall backwards, you want to protect the back of your head, so tuck your chin.”
One of the best side benefits of the classes, Ludwig says, is empowerment. “We’ve seen people in our programs ditch their canes, ditch their walkers, and start doing all the stuff that they were doing when they were younger.”
Burroughs agrees. After attending classes in body sculpting and Zumba at Asphalt Green five days a week, she feels like part of a motivated fitness community. “When I leave a class, I feel like I got a good workout,” she says. “I feel very strong and youthful.”
Asphalt Green, 555 E. 90th St.; 212-369-8890, AsphaltGreen.org