Staying active, staying healthy

Although Judy Aprile is years away from senior citizenship herself,

she is physically and mentally equipped for the aging process.

Aprile, a 51-year-old Santa Ana resident, teaches exercise classes

at the Oasis Senior Center through a Coastline Community College and

Saddleback College program.

After working for many years as a marketing and communications

professional in the computer industry, Aprile discovered her true

calling in life was working with seniors and leading exercise

classes. She left her professional career and has been teaching

exercise full-time since 1999.

“I can’t imagine doing anything else right now,” she said.

“Exercise is just as important, if not more important, for older

adults.”

Kathleen Brennan, 76, of Newport Beach takes part in a Swingin’

Seniors class at the Shape Up Fitness Center three times a week.

“It’s a very important part of my life,” Brennan said, adding that

she has made a lot of friends and met some interesting people in her

classes.

The workout varies -- they start off with some chair activities,

they do stretching, balance exercises and even some dancing.

“The best part of it is they use the music from our era,” Brennan

said.

Brennan said exercise is important because the brain is a muscle

as well. She added that when you concentrate on physical activity, it

can also improve mental activity and clarity.

Aprile teaches two classes -- an aerobics class and a chair

exercise class. She said the chair classes range from gentle to

rigorous, but are usually better for people who are new to exercise,

recovering from an illness or surgery, or who suffer from any kind of

chronic illness that affects their joints and muscles.

“The importance of staying active is so they can continue to

function independently,” she said. “If you don’t use your body, it

won’t continue to serve you.”

Costa Mesa’s Hiba Shublak, founder of Active Learning -- an

organization that provides comprehensive education through physical

activities, dance and nutrition -- teaches classes for all ages,

infants up to seniors.

For seniors, she does a chair exercise class, balance and mobility

exercises, stretching, and a class called Silver Sneakers -- a

jazzercise dance class.

“It can be something very simple as long as they’re getting the

blood circulating throughout the body and exercising the joints,”

Shublak said.

She added that aquatic exercise is very popular and is one of the

most beneficial and therapeutic workouts for people because it’s

low-impact and an excellent cardiovascular workout.

Shublak said the No. 1 cause of falls for people over the age of

50 is loss of balance, which is why all of her senior programs

incorporate balance and mobility exercises.

Aprile, who is also a master instructor for Cal State Fullerton’s

Center for Aging, specializes in balance and mobility. She said

movement is important, especially for seniors who don’t have a

history of physical activity.

“My perception of age has changed drastically,” she said of

working with seniors on a daily basis. “It gives me a glimpse into

what I might expect and what I may be able to prevent. Perhaps I

won’t get old -- I’ll age, but I won’t get old.”

For more information on Active Learning, visit

o7www.activelearn.netf7.

For more information on the Swingin’ Seniors class at Shape Up

Fitness Center, call (949) 760-9335.

* LINDSAY SANDHAM is the news assistant. She can be reached at

(714) 966-4625 or [email protected].