If you’re 55 or older, the Community Center at Christwood is a valuable resource for maintaining your health and well-being. Plus, you can enjoy its benefits whether you’re a resident of Christwood or not.
Take a look at these questions and see if any apply to you:
- Are you interested in preserving your current level of physical, mental, and emotional health and wellness?
- Have you been less active in the past year and are now looking to get back into a more active lifestyle?
- Are you ready to start connecting again socially and want a safe way to do so?
- Do you have diabetes, heart disease, or other chronic conditions and know that you would benefit from getting more exercise?
- Would you like to have more fun?
If you said yes to any of these, we encourage you to check out the Community Center at Christwood. From customized fitness programs and social activities to the Forever Fit Kitchen and Lotus Spa, the 23,000-square-foot Christwood Community Center offers so many ways to pursue a happy, healthy lifestyle.
Our well-educated, highly experienced staff can work with you to develop a personalized exercise and wellness plan centered on your specific goals. You’ll also find a welcoming environment where you’ll feel comfortable, whether you’re there to enjoy Trivia Night or an exercise class in the heated pool.
The Christwood Approach To Wellness
One of the keys to enjoying life most fully is feeling your best. When you feel good, everything else is easier, or better. With that in mind, we take a whole-person approach to wellness. Our approach encompasses physical health and aspects of well-being that people don’t always think about, like social and environmental health.
“Everybody always thinks that to have wellness, it means working out, physical wellness. Well, no, it’s not just physical wellness. Social wellness is also very important,” said Randy Becnel, the wellness director at the Community Center.
We are finally able to resume some of the social wellness activities that have been so popular at the Community Center in the past, starting with Trivia Night. And, as of late April, the Forever Fit Kitchen is open again, now with even more choices on the menu, as is the Lotus Spa.
Randy also noted some of the other ways that he and his staff help residents and members stay healthy overall. For example, incorporating breathing exercises into some of the stretch classes helps keep the mind and body in sync. Meditation becomes part of the process as well. Gradually, people who take these classes can learn to control their heart rate.
If you prefer something more active, you might want to take a spin on one of the CyberCycles. They’re designed specifically to promote physical, cognitive, emotional and social wellness in older adults. The staff has other creative ways to engage the mind while you’re exercising, too. Randy referred to a recent study that found that if the mind is working while the body is working out, the brain is getting fresh oxygen just like other parts of the body. This can help to ward off or slow down the progression of dementia.
Enjoy Wellness With Peers
A topic that is often overlooked in discussions of holistic health is environmental wellness. As Randy said, it’s “not just about breathing clean air.” Environmental wellness also focuses on who is part of your environment and how you feel when you’re around them.
As an example, older adults may not feel as inclined to work out at a gym with 20- and 30-year-olds. But when the people around you are within approximately the same age group, you’re probably going to feel a lot more comfortable putting on that swimsuit or those swim trunks to get into the pool. Plus, the camaraderie at the Christwood Community Center is far more appealing than the competitiveness that’s common in fitness facilities that cater to a younger crowd.
“We’re not the health club down the street,” Randy remarked. “We’re a little bit different. There’s nothing else like the Community Center in this area.”
“Christwood is not just a retirement community,” he added. “We have more to offer. That’s what the Community Center is all about, reaching out to the community. Everything we offer here at the Center is available to people in the Covington area who are at least 55.
“We’re very conscious of everyone’s health and well-being. Our dedicated staff uses their scientific background to help people take appropriate steps for whatever level they’re at, including those who might be experiencing an illness like diabetes.”
Experience An Active, Social Lifestyle As A Member
As mentioned earlier, you don’t have to be a resident to take advantage of the Community Center. Memberships are available for a fee.
“[Membership] really is an investment in your health,” Randy said. “It’s like buying life insurance or putting money into investments for your future. Well, a membership at the Community Center is an investment in your quality of life.”
Of course, if you were to become a resident of the independent living community at Christwood, you’d have access to all of the Community Center’s amenities and an abundance of other opportunities and perks to enjoy as part of the comfortable, secure, convenient lifestyle at Christwood.
It’s A Great Time To Explore The Christwood Community Center
If the past year has taken its toll and you’re ready to ease back into a wellness routine that’s just right for you, contact us. We’ll set up a time for you to come see what’s going on at the Community Center. Plus, we can give you a tour of the rest of the community if you’re interested.
The Community Center is back to being open during normal business hours:
- Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Community Center still requires masks (unless you’re exercising), and we’re continuing to take the same precautions to ensure everyone’s safety. This includes cleaning the locker rooms, exercise areas, bathrooms and hallways with a sanitizing fog machine at the end of each day and ongoing cleaning throughout the day.
“We’re all a little bit different than we were a year ago,” Randy said, “and I try to remind people that it’s important they don’t try to start up again where they left off. Now more than ever, though, people need to be more active as we’re coming out of isolation, especially for those in this age group.
The knowledgeable staff at the Christwood Community Center can help you gradually increase your level of activity. This can ensure so that you don’t get discouraged or wind up with an injury.
“The Community Center is moving forward. It’s a fun, happening place to be and a safe place to be,” Randy said.
Why not come see for yourself?