DeeAnna Wilkerson/Sun City Community Association Sun City residents practice an arm exercise in the new Delay the Disease class at Purrysburg fitness center.
Sun City’s newest health and wellness class is attracting participants interested in learning how to improve their brain health and possibly delay the onset of Parkinson’s disease.
Nearly 30 people attended the second Delay the Disease class, which teaches participants how to use physical activity to counteract the progression of Parkinson’s.
Delay the Disease is cost-free and held every Tuesday and Thursday at Purrysburg fitness center. It is open to Sun City residents only.
The class is taught by assistant director of health and wellness Ryan Jensen and wellness coordinator Keegan Hudson, who were certified in Parkinson’s disease instruction through the Delay the Disease program.
“We were really pleased with the amazing turnout for the second class, and we’re excited to continue offering the No. 1 exercise program for Parkinson’s disease to Sun City residents,” Hudson said.
Each class begins with a head-to-toe warmup that helps to “create an awareness of your body,” Hudson said during the second class.
Even the warmup incorporates exercises for the body and mind. For example, while sitting, participants were asked to lift one heel off the ground while keeping the toes up on the alternate foot, and then switching.
Other exercises focused on balance, requiring the class to stand heel-to-toe with their arms out to their sides and looking up, down and in either direction.
A short cardio circuit gets the participants’ heart rates up with exercises like moving from sitting to standing or taking five large steps forward while counting aloud.
“It’s all about big functional movement patterns that, if practiced on a regular basis, can help delay the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease,” Hudson said.
The class is slightly different each week, teaching residents easy exercises they can memorize and do at home, he said.
http://www.blufftontoday.com/sun-city/2018-01-17/sun-city-residents-exercise-combat-parkinson-s-disease
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