FitLot Installation at Seymour Center is One for the Ages

RECREATION & LEISURE

By Randy B. Young
Correspondent

Dr. Kenneth Cooper, the unofficial “Father of Aerobics,” once said, “Exercise is a journey, not a destination. It must be continued for the rest of your life. We do not stop exercising because we grow old—we grow old because we stop exercising.”

The author of a new book at age 94, “Grow Healthier as you Grow Older,” Cooper is the living embodiment of his advice, and local fitness experts are taking pages out of his book. The Orange County Department on Aging officially opened its “FitLot” outdoor exercise facility at the Seymour Center on Homestead Road in Chapel Hill on Friday, August 8, with a well-attended ribbon-cutting ceremony.

FitLot is a state-of-the-art outdoor fitness station featuring strength and cardio equipment. It provides a flexible, open-air fitness approach that boosts mobility and stability, all in an inviting outdoor setting, according to an Orange County press release. The FitLot was installed by Carolina Parks and Play.

The event featured speakers, demonstrations, live music, and snacks, and drew hundreds of seniors and senior fitness advocates, including Director of the Orange County Department on Aging Janice Tyler; Vice Chair of Orange County’s Board of County Commissioners Jean Hamilton; County Department on Aging Senior Centers Administrator Cydnee Sims, Orange County Department on Aging Wellness Coordinator Latonya Brown; and FitLot instructor Eric Ziegler.

Sims also invited to the podium Seymour Center supporter Ye Qian, fitness instructor and high-energy advocate Alicia Reid, and fitness expert Kevin Kirk. Also on hand were NC Representatives Renee Price and Alan Burnsy, and Orange County Commissioner Amy Fowler.

“This project has been a long time in the making,” Tyler said. “It was first talked about in 2021 when the 2022/2027 Master Aging Plan was being created (when) we were still in a pandemic. We recognized the importance of keeping active and wanted to find a way to offer an activity in an outside environment. Here we are four years later, and the dream is finally a reality.”

“We are proud of this accomplishment,” said Sims. “We call this a huge win, but we also have a lot of other huge wins, from our instructors and contractors to our volunteers who help us each day to fulfill our mission.”

Vice Chair of Orange County’s Board of County Commissioners Jean Hamilton noted that
the FitLot addition was made possible thanks to American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 funding from the Central Pines Area Agency on Aging. Photo by Randy B. Young.

“Old” money

Tyler was appreciative of American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funding through Jenisha Pennington at the Central Pines Area Agency on Aging and the support from community partners Carol Woods and the Charitable Giving Fund.

“These were (ARPA) funds and legislation to address the negative impact of the COVID pandemic on all individuals, government agencies, businesses, organizations,” Hamilton added, “and I think it’s important to recall how our federal government invested in people and our economy rather than divesting.”

“We sleep better when we’re active; our cognitive function is better, and this FitLot can help us provide that social connection that we know is a key to successful aging,” Tyler said. “We and Orange County are redefining aging and working to create an inclusive, age-friendly community.”

A great fit

Exercise and health specialists at the ceremony were quick to point out how crucial regular activity is for healthy seniors, healthy brains, and a healthy community.

“When we force our muscles to work hard and we make our brain connect with those muscles, we build new brain connections as well as new muscle,” Kevin Kirk said.

“Staying active is not just to benefit an individual—we know it does in terms of better physical and mental health,” Hamilton said, “but it really benefits our whole society with lower costs for healthcare and long-term care and higher productivity when we are fit and healthy.”

Kirk stressed that strength training is an undervalued contributor to overall health for seniors.

“There are three pillars of fitness that we are all probably aware of,” Kirk said. “First is flexibility…and another is aerobics: those was what folks once considered exercise. But the third pillar is resistance exercise: strength training. (Engage in) resistance exercise twice a week…to do something to push those muscles.”

Ziegler, a trainer, educator, and 37-year wellness instructor, agreed with Kirk: “You need to exercise: you need to be a participant. You need to listen to your children when they say they want you to do things because they love you. You need to listen to individuals who provide opportunities so that you don’t have any more excuses.”

Seniors immediately took to the equipment at the newly installed FitLot station on the grounds of the Seymour Center on Homestead Road in Chapel Hill. Photo by Randy B. Young.

“A senior playground”

“The addition of this outdoor fitness facility is great,” said frequent Seymour Center visitor Ye Qian. “Sometimes I jokingly called this one a senior playground. I’ve been here for more than two years…coming to Seymour Center every day, and this has been a life-changing experience for me.”

Ye Qian said the FitLot installation was right in step with the Seymour Center’s commitment to healthy aging.

“I love the friendly environment and also the sense of community here,” he said. “This is actually a place where I feel I’m connected and supported.”

Alicia Reid agreed: “Orange County is great, because this is not happening everywhere: we’ve got some stuff going on here.”

Reid said the facility is perfect for that segment of the population she calls the N.O.P.: “new old people.”

“We’re active, we’re strong, and we’re proving that life over 55 is not the end of the story, it’s just starting again,” she said. “We can start over and over and over…and this is just a new chapter.”

Now more than ever

Hamilton said that the new addition at the Seymour Center was a reminder of what the federal government can do when its focus is on citizens.

“Not to dampen this celebration, but our times have changed,” Hamilton lamented. “I think this again is a representation of what the benefits of federal government investments in people. But because that’s changed, I hope we all are aware that we may need to review some of our goals and objectives of our Master Aging Plan, and we really think about all our priorities so that we make sure that we are meeting the (community’s) highest needs.”

“The mission of our Department (on Aging) is to keep all of us engaged and active in our community for as long as possible,” Tyler said. “We often talk about lifespan, but we really should be talking about health span, and keeping active helps us maintain our strength over time.”

“This is a place to keep our muscles strong—remember muscles?—and our minds sharp,” Reid said, citing the Seymour Center as an invaluable resource for Orange County’s senior residents to commune for exercise, arts, and camaraderie.

“We want to get our friendships thriving,” Reid said, “which is what we do when we all come together.”

Scores of seniors and senior fitness advocates were on hand for the ribbon-cutting of Orange County’s new FitLot outdoor exercise facility. The event also featured live entertainment and snacks. Photo by Randy B. Young.

A Dartmouth College graduate, Randy B. Young first worked as an award-winning advertising copywriter in New Hampshire, then in communications at UNC for over 30 years. He maintained an award-winning newspaper feature covering Recreation and Exercise in the Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Orange County. Retired and living in Chapel Hill, Randy continues to write for regional publications both locally and in New England, and his book, And the Stars Flew With Us, is available through Amazon and at independent bookstores. He coaches track at Chapel Hill High and has a photography business, Pierless (sic) Photography. This reporter can be reached at: Information@TheLocalReporter.press