Exercising hope New fitness center gives seniors place to socialize, improve health

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Theresa Albert finished up on the leg press, got up, wiped down the weight machine and hurried across the room.

“My knee feels better already,” she called out to Kathryn Bernier, manager of the Hammond Street Senior Center’s new fitness facility at Norumbega Hall in Bangor, as she walked by. “Boy, this is working.”

Albert didn’t stop to talk, though. She had to finish her workout, and nothing was going to slow her down.

The Brewer woman was one of 60 senior citizens who showed up on the fitness center’s opening day last Wednesday to try out the state-of-the-art treadmills, stair climbers, bikes and weight-resistance machines. With clipboards in hand, the seniors made their way through the room, writing down how much weight they lifted, how many repetitions they completed, or how long they spent riding the bike.

Over the past two months, Bernier has met with each of the center’s 100-plus members, demonstrating how to use the equipment and developing personalized routines so they get the most out of their workouts. On Wednesday, the seniors were able to start exercising on their own.

“I am very excited,” Perry Amsden of Brewer said. “I know I’m losing a lot of flexibility and I need the discipline to work on the machines to build back some of the flexibility I’ve lost.”

The center is doing more than building flexibility, though. Along with the Hammond Street Senior Center’s other programs, it’s building a sense of community for the area’s senior citizens.

“For many of us, myself included, it’s a good way to increase our longevity, make our bodies more healthy, but it also gets us out of the house so we’re not couch potatoes,” Amsden said. “Many people spend money on treadmills or bikes to have in their house. Here, they’re available and you can watch the people outside, talk to people here, all kinds of things. It takes your mind off the fact that you’re working on the treadmill or bike because those can be really boring by yourself.”

And while seniors do have to pay a fee to use the fitness center, $18 a month ($30 for couples), it is inexpensive compared with other facilities in the area.

“Regular gyms cost too much,” Nancy Glidden of Bangor said after a stint on the treadmill. “People on a fixed income can really afford this.”

That was the goal when the nonprofit Couri Foundation opened the Hammond Street Senior Center’s original facility in the former Merrill Trust Co. building in 1999. Connecticut-based philanthropists John and Elaine Couri wanted the center to be a “clubhouse” for area seniors, where they could come together, play cards, exercise, watch movies, sew, or just sit and talk.

“Bangor had a real need,” John Couri said at the fitness center’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.

He didn’t realize how big that need was, though. When the center first opened, Couri figured it would serve about 300 senior citizens, who could use the facility free of charge, except for the occasional course fee. Within three months of its opening, membership grew to 600. Today, members number more than 1,500.

It quickly became clear that the center needed to expand, so the Couri Foundation bought Norumbega Hall last year. The exercise program at the original facility was so popular that a fitness center, with room for weight machines and cardiovascular equipment, seemed like the perfect fit for the building’s second floor.

After renovations, equipment donations and training for members, the fitness center was finally ready to open last week.

“Mr. Couri must be an angel and Kathy [Bernier] is super,” said Jay Hayes of Bangor, who just joined so he and his wife, Ann, could add weight training to their daily walking routine.

“It’s so unusual to have someone be so philanthropic,” Ann Hayes added. “It’s a wonderful use of the building, between this and the museum. It’s a marvelous addition to downtown.”

Frank McGarry, who has been a member of the senior center since it opened, said the fitness center is just what Bangor needed.

“I think this whole exercise program, as well as the senior center, is drawing more and more people downtown,” McGarry said. “Before retiring I used to work downtown and it was pretty quiet.”

On Wednesday morning, it was anything but quiet at the fitness center. Seniors and fitness trainers bustled around, flexing and stretching and sweating. In a mirrored exercise room at the back of the new facility, senior center administrator Courtney Sanders led a group of 13 women in stretches.

“Lean to the right, and up,” Sanders called out cheerfully. “Open your arms wide.”

A man peeked through the exercise room window and stuck his tongue out at one of the women, causing a few to giggle. It didn’t stop them, though, as they quickly turned their eyes back to Sanders and followed her lead.

Outside, in the weight room, volunteer Reggie Nadeau had his hands full at the front desk, logging in each of the members as they filed through the door.

“It’s crazy here,” he said. “I’m still looking for some time to get out there and do some of this stuff.”

Nadeau has been doing a cardiac rehabilitation program at another area gym, but now that the fitness center is open, he’s going to try his exercises there.

“I’m excited about it,” he said. “At first I was a little bit leery but I can’t wait to get started.”

Though the fitness center doesn’t have a formal cardiac care program, Bernier tailors each member’s workout to his or her needs. If a member has a health condition such as osteoporosis, high blood pressure or heart problems, she takes that into consideration in her assessment so members can get the most from their workouts.

“Senior citizens can have a lot of things wrong with them,” said Bernier’s mother, Ella Thomas, who recently joined the senior center. “I have osteoporosis, I have arthritis and it’s really helped a lot.”

But the health benefits are only part of the fitness center’s appeal. Many members praised the cooperative atmosphere, the social aspect, and the individual attention.

“It’s a lot more than just muscles,” Nadeau said.