By Cynthia Robertson | SDUN Reporter

When Lois Schenker, a Hillcrest resident, used to teach dance to young children and teens in Palm Springs, the only example she had of an elderly person keeping in shape was TV fitness guru Jack LaLanne. It never crossed Schenker’s mind that she would one day teach senior citizens how to lift free weights, much less any kind of aerobic movement.

But now Schenker, 67, is a revered exercise teacher sought after by people over the age of 50. Her typical week involves teaching several classes, including Silver Sneakers at 24Hour Fitness, Arthritis Aquatic lasses at the Y at Paradise Village, Fitness for All and Gentle Yoga at Paradise Valley Hospital, and Chair Yoga at several different libraries. She also substitute teaches for a Zumba Gold class at the Mission Valley library.

The chance to teach exercise to seniors first came for Schenker in Palm Springs when a ballet dancer she knew had to leave her job teaching a “Fitness After 40” class. Schecker jumped at the opportunity.

“Back then, the qualifications to teach were not as stringent so I spent some time watching her classes and taking notes and just jumped in,” Schenker said.

About a year later, she became fully certified with the American Council on Exercise as both a group fitness instructor and personal trainer.

When Schenker and her husband moved to San Diego in the mid-90s, she looked for work teaching exercise classes. The insurance company Secure Horizons hired Schenker to teach “Seniorfit” at various 24Hour Fitness facilities throughout San Diego.

“They figured their members would spend less time in the doctors’ office if they got involved with a regular exercise program,” she said.

Schenker and her 24Hour Fitness class in Mission Valley have been going strong ever since. The class has about 40 members, ranging in age from mid-50s to 90s. Just this past year, the name of the class changed to Silver Sneakers, a new program under the Healthways Insurance plan.

“I think many people would be shocked to see some of the seniors in my class who are in their 80s and 90s and are in better physical shape than those in their 20s who don’t exercise,” Schenker said. “They are also young at heart, dating, going to parties and traveling all over the world. They act as role models to the younger ones who come to class and see that age is just a number.”

In her Silver Sneakers class, one of the regular members is Grace, who is 91 years of age.

“We call her ‘Amazing Grace.’ She gets to the gym at 9 a.m. to work out on the machines. After three hours of that, she takes a little lunch break and then attends my 1 p.m. class,” Schenker said.

The popular notion just a decade or two ago was that seniors could not attempt an exercise class unless they had been a jock or a dancer. They thought if they had any aches and pains, they were better off resting as much as they could, Schenker explained.

Research and scientific studies have repeatedly proven the benefit of exercise for older adults. Some of the benefits include lowered blood pressure and resting heart rate, increased muscles mass, stronger bones, more flexibility, better balance, relief from depression and better cognitive skills, Schenker said.

Bonnie Bekken, 72, joined 24Hour Fitness after retiring. She wanted to maintain an exercise program, one that her husband would join in with her.

“Good fortune led us to Lois’s class,” she said.

Diagnosed with an arthritic condition, so-called “trigger finger,” her doctor had said either surgery or cortisone would help.

“I rejected both. Coincidentally, Lois [Schenker] began including new hand exercises that completely cleared the condition,” Bekken said.

Her husband Larry Bekken, 78, was a high school track star in his Wisconsin hometown, but he had not exercised for many years before finding Lois’s class about seven years ago.

“What I most appreciate about Lois’s class is the aerobics, her uninterrupted and steady pace, the good cardiovascular exercise,” he said.

One more benefit that Bekken pointed out was a given in Schenker’s Silver Sneakers class. “We have made forever friends,” she said.

Breathe in, breathe out, Schenker reminds her students in class. She takes her own advice. At the end of a long day teaching, she likes to take a walk at sunset, watching the way the clouds and light change.

“Exercise is good for the mind, too. It relieves stress,” she said.