Join Us for The StrongWomen Program
A National Fitness Program for Women
Sponsored by the OSU-Linn County Extension Office
StrongWomen is a 12 week exercise program for midlife and older women who wish to increase muscle strength through the use of weights.
Participants in these classes have realized improvements in endurance, balance, flexibility and overall strength. They have fun too!
Staying physically active and being properly nourished are two of the most important things we can do to remain healthy for life. For the past twenty years, Tufts University health experts and scientists around the world have gained valuable knowledge about the aging process and about how to maintain strength, dignity and independence in the later years of life.
Staying strong and vital during older adulthood involves participation in regular strengthening exercises. These strength training programs help prevent osteoporosis and frailty by stimulating the growth of muscle and bone. Feeling physically stronger also promotes mental and emotional health. Strength training exercises are easy to learn and have been proven safe and effective through years of thorough research.
The basis for the StrongWomen training was introduced in 1997 in a book, Strong Women Stay Young, written by Dr. Miriam Nelson. Dr. Nelson is the current Director of the John Hancock Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. The success of the StrongWomen series prompted awareness of the need for easy-to-implement community exercise programs for middle-aged and older women. In the words of Dr. Nelson, “I developed these programs so that women especially and people of all ages can become stronger, feel better and maintain their independence throughout life.”
Local volunteers have been certified by Tufts University as StrongWomen program leaders and offer the on-going class series in this area. They have trained peer educators who also facilitate instruction. Classes meet three times a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 8:30-9:30 am.