PCC News Monthly April 2017 | Page 23

NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY Iʼm getting more and more people coming into my fitness center telling me they want to start exercising but they have never exercised in a fitness center before. Now these are people who are in their 60ʼs or 70ʼs. I commend them for willing to try to do something new they never have done before in order to improve their health. The thing that is really triggering this influx is people are finding out that when they qualify for Medicare and they use an approved Medicare insurance billing company like Humana or United Healthcare, they are automatically enrolled in a program called Silversneakers. Once you are enrolled in Silversneakers you have access to any fitness center that is part of the Silversneakers network. There is no charge at the fitness center for the use and Silversneakers pays for the membership fee to the club. So people before who could never afford a fitness membership can now attend a fitness center! The reason Silversneakers people like my club is because my club is specifically designed for seniors. All the equipment is safe and easy to use. I always do an orientation with new members and I start them on an easy to follow exercise program they can do on their own. Our group exercise instructors are all over 60 years old themselves and understand the limitations that are associated with working with seniors. If you qualify for Silversneakers and you are not using it, you are missing out on one of the last great free things you can do to help improve your life. The cost of health care is going up rapidly but Silversneakers is still free. Take advantage of it while it still is. If you are not sure if you qualify, just go to silversneakers.com and click on the “check eligibility” button. Gordon Barth is the owner of Islands Fitness Center located at 3155 N Windsong Dr in Prescott Valley. He can be reached at 928-759-2271 or at [email protected]. Visit www.islandsfitness.com for more information. Expires: 4-30-17 pccnews April 2017 23