TROUT CREEK — Some people stay in or move to lesser populated areas like Trout Creek for solitude and quiet.
However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says too much isolation can increase a person's risk for heart disease, stroke, and other health effects. That's where the Rural Life Initiative comes in; to bring togetherness to distanced communities.
On any given day, Trout Creek's Whitepine Grange can be a polling place, dance hall, and meeting site. But on Monday mornings, it's a workout center.
"This is my first exercise [class] that I've done in at my age seventy-two," said participant Stephanie Wortley.
Trout Creek instructor Jan Manning hosts a workout class thanks to a partnership between the National Grange and Pfizer which created the Rural Life Initiative.
“The purpose of that is to help fund programs that will bring rural people together for, better health, better mental and physical health," Manning shared.
Too much solitude can impact one's mental and physical health.
“We get the oxygen flowing. We get the muscles limbered up, the joints limbered up. And it's like a fountain of youth," Manning said.
Anyone can join, however, the program targets seniors looking to build fitness and community.
“The rule in here is, if you can't do it all it doesn't matter as long as you're moving. That's the name of the game," detailed participant Dianne Hanna.
The class gives attendees like Wortley and Hanna the ability to move freely. Wortley shared that the strength she's built working out heals her old injuries and allows her to enjoy activities like gardening and pickleball.
“My arm, my left arm was bothering me. But after I started coming to exercise, it doesn't bother me anymore,” she said.
They also move to reclaim and change their lives as Hanna did after being in a full-body cast.
“I came back from a pretty bad accident. My left side now still is partially paralyzed. So you'll catch me looking to make sure this foot is still under me and that's part of the balance I'm trying to bring back. This class has helped me do that," explained Hanna.
Plus, after the workout participants stay to chat and socialize. "It's like a family," Wortley stated.
Anyone interested in getting moving, whether you're 30 or 85, can find the calendar here.
