MARSHFIELD – Lauralee Banda, 76, takes three exercise classes a week and would tell her husband, Jack, 79, when she was headed to one. He would often say something like, “That’s good.”
“I don’t think he believed we really did much,” he said.
But now, he is working hard by her side.
In January, he joined a new lifelong learning class at Marshfield Senior Center called “senior boxing fitness,” which teaches hand and foot movements and the rhythms of boxing.
“Do you want to register?” she asked her husband.
Half jokingly, he said he would.
“It’s really amazing,” Jack Banda said last week of the class. “It’s good physically and it also improves balance. Just getting the rhythm and timing is a challenge. And the teacher is really, really good. You can see by watching her that she puts all her strength and effort into it.”
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The teacher, Janet Enos, 70, of Plymouth, said she hopes to offer boxing as a regular class at Marshfield and other area senior centers. As a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor, she loves what she does and has become very popular as a strong advocate for seniors.
The elders follow Enos through choreographed boxing moves set to upbeat music. They do sweeping punches like crosses and hooks; smaller punches called jabs; and short, quick steps back and forth.
“Cardiovascular exercise alone is phenomenal for people over 55,” Enos said. “This class also increases your flexibility, your hand-eye coordination, your peripheral awareness.”
If you stop by the class on Tuesdays at 9am, you’ll see over a dozen people making energetic moves with big smiles on their faces.
“Everyone has loved it,” said Lauralee Banda. “It even helps your memory. There are so many moves and she’s so fast that you really have to focus, which is good. And it’s a really good activity for couples.”
Gloria Pittman, 75, and Patsy Carey, 77, have taken classes with Enos for 10 years. They say his balance has improved.
“She’s a great instructor and she keeps an eye on everyone. If someone has a problem with their shoulder, she knows about it,” Carey said.
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“Janet is so much fun and makes us go side by side,” Pittman said. “You keep your mind occupied with what you’re doing and you certainly know you’re exercising.”
Pittman is also inspired by others in the class.
“When you see how people older than you are trying so hard too, it’s great,” he said.
One of those older members is Martine Anderson, 88, an adventurous traveler who considers herself very fit after years of aerobics. She has found the class “exhilarating, not too hard to do” and says it has improved her balance.
“Janet has taught me to make sure I stand on both legs, balance my weight and fully extend my limbs,” Anderson said. “I do this now when I reach for things at home.”
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And if a move like lifting a leg or kicking forward feels risky, Enos teaches alternatives, like simply lifting an ankle or sliding a foot.
“This is not for people who want to lift weights, but for people who want to stay strong to walk, lift barrels at home, dance without falling,” he said.
Five years ago, after a family friend died of Parkinson’s disease, Enos decided to learn more about the disease and how boxing could help preserve movement. He is certified in Rock Steady Boxing in Rockland and Pedaling for Parkinson’s. She is also certified by the National Arthritis Foundation and teaches Parkinson’s speech and movement and weightlifting for people 60+.
In class, Enos keeps a steady pace and comments, “Jab and cross, keep those elbows up, now add footwork,” with light-hearted and humorous comments like “nothing’s supposed to look like ballet here” and “no tight underwear.” in this class” to reassure his students.
She wants the class to have fun and relate what they learn to their lives. An “inward push” with the arms is “like a grandchild coming toward you” and an outward thrust is like “someone is in your space.”
And always, “Remember balance. I don’t want plants in the face.”
Contact Sue Scheible at [email protected].
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