Lynn Penko remembers a Dutch woman who dragged her oxygen tank to aerobics classes.
The woman was 90 when Penko, who is a registered fitness instructor, first started teaching her. She drove her vehicle to Penko’s classes, worked a part-time job, and enjoyed life. She even told Penko that she was going to live to be 100.
At 99, Penko told the woman, “You were in your mother’s tummy for nine months, so we’re giving you 100. You got to be 100.”
Unfortunately, the woman passed away three months before her 100th birthday.
“It was so inspiring to see her,” Penko says. “She wanted to try.”
However, despite her client’s enthusiasm, fitness and physical activity is declining for elderly people.
A 2013 study conducted by the journal Clinical Interventions in Aging found that elderly people have a reduction of muscle strength in the upper and lower limbs. Elderly people also have changes in body-fat percentage, flexibility, agility and endurance, which affects their day-to-day life. Accessibility poses another struggle for elderly Calgarians who search for help to remain fit and independent.
In 2021, Calgary alone had a total of 221,795 residents over the age of 65, making up 13.5 per cent of the city’s population. Only 230 of those residents reached the age of 100 and older.
Successes and challenges
Penko has been in the fitness industry for 25 years, and most of those years have been spent working with elderly people in Calgary. She taught group fitness classes at seven locations in the city before she caught COVID-19, which has stopped her from teaching bigger groups.
During her time teaching fitness classes, Penko has met many people who left her with fond memories.
One person she taught was a man around the age of 85 who couldn’t get out of his bed. Penko visited him in the hospital and showed him exercises to do while in bed to regain his strength. Three weeks after her visit, he called her to tell her she saved his life.
Someone else Penko taught was an elderly woman who broke her leg.
“When you’re well into your 80s and you break your leg, often it is assumed that it is a very slippery slope,” Penko says.
However, the daughter of the woman had called Penko to ask her to show her mother some exercises. Penko visited her in the hospital to give her exercises.
“She did those exercises laying in that hospital bed because she wanted to get out,” Penko said. “She wasn’t done yet. And it’s just so inspiring to see them not give up.”
It’s not easy for elderly people to stay fit. Penko would travel to clients who were unable to leave their homes so she could help them, but many elderly Calgarians cannot attend classes due to barriers such as transportation.
CTV News reports that the province with the largest number of seniors in Canada is Newfoundland and Labrador, with 24.6 per cent of its population over the age of 65 in 2023. Alberta and Yukon have an equal number of residents over the age of 65, standing at 15.2 per cent in 2023.
Statistics Canada found that 48.1 per cent of Albertans over the age of 65 were physically active for 150 minutes in 2021. That is an 8.5 per cent increase compared to 2015, in which only 39.6 per cent of Albertans over the age of 65 reported being physically active for 150 minutes.
One issue for the lack of physical activity in elderly Calgarians lies with transit, which many elderly people rely on to travel around Calgary as they aren’t able to drive a car themselves anymore.
Programs such as the Calgary Transit Access provide additional accessibility aids to eligible Calgarians. However, these programs are often overbooked. Furthermore, City News Calgary reports that public transit access isn’t easy in new communities, with bus stops often being far away from communities, and elderly people may not be able to walk 15 to 20 minutes to the nearest bus stop.
Another barrier is finances. Elderly people may not be able to afford a gym membership, and they may struggle with at-home exercises.
Aegis Living also identifies fear of injury as a big roadblock for elderly people, along with cognitive decline and isolation. Other times, people can be intimidated and don’t want to attend exercise classes, according to Penko.
In many cases, a lack of resources prevents elderly people from remaining fit and active, which can lower the quality of life. Lack of positivity also causes elderly people to oppose going out and remaining active.
“A lot of people don’t know that you can have a very good quality of life as you age,” says Penko.
Penko has found that the people she has taught have a visible improvement in their happiness and health.
The domino effect
Pat Blair, 88, started attending Penko’s exercise classes in 2000. According to Penko, she has become a “poster child for active living.”
Blair also became involved in teaching fitness classes after attending Penko’s sessions. She spends her time volunteering at her church, where she helps out with senior fitness classes.
“I’m volunteering for the community to keep [exercise classes] going by collecting money from everybody, keeping in touch with all the exercisers, and making sure we have good instructors,” Blair says. “It’s a win-win for me because [that opportunity] just crossed streets.”
One of the bigger benefits Blair has seen while remaining active throughout her later years in life is that the brain remains active, which allows her and others around her to keep muscle strength. This can be particularly helpful when driving.
“Because I’ve kept strong and healthy and don’t have any trouble with balance, I can live in my own home,” says Blair.
Staying fit for elderly residents
Senior residents in Calgary can still find ways to stay fit.
Some of the exercises Penko teaches her clients at home are balance exercises. One way to help improve balance for elderly people is to stand in the corner of a kitchen counter and put a chair in front of them. This exercise helps elderly people reduce their risk of falling while they work on balance-improving exercises, like standing on one foot.
The City of Calgary also offers drop-in gentle fitness programs, which are divided into three levels based on fitness needs. These classes are catered to people with limited mobility or who are rehabilitating after injury or illness.
Elderly residents who want to explore options to stay active can check with their community hall for group exercises. They can also call the City of Calgary’s Citizen Information & Services at 311 to request specific information about exercise programs.