Silver Sneakers

After going to physical therapy following my knee replacement surgery, I found myself dismissed by the therapist but not feeling completely back to normal so decided to comply with my pimary care physician's recommendatiion that I begin a regimen of exercise at a gym. I had lost my last excuse -- that it was too expensive -- when my insurance company notified me that their new policy was to pay for gym menbership at Lifestyle gyms. I went for my introductory three hours with a trainer after which I was advised to continue doing any exercises that I felt were helpful. I began to build up time on the treadmill but had a fear that I might trip as my father had developed something called drop foot which had caused him to stumble occasionally. I eventually learned that I could get the same knee workout on the bike with less stress on the knee so gravitated to that equipment. I still felt though that I needed some aerobic exercises so was interested when I heard about Silver Sneakers, an exercise program for people over 55. The first day I went to Silver Sneakers, I was completely lost, almost embarrassing myself with my inability to keep up with the class. After the class, I learned that there were Silver Sneakers I classes and Silver Sneakers II classes. I had been in a II class. When I changed over, it was like Goldilocks -- it was just right -- and I attended two Silver Sneakers I classes per week for about six months. The classes met at different times, one at 8:45 and the other at 9:45. One day, I somehow mixed up the times and showed up an hour early and ended up in a Silver Sneakers II class again. My first impulse was to leave, but fortunately I decided to stay and found that my stamina had grown to the II level. Since then I have been doing the more challenging class and feel so very healthy as an exercising senior citizen. draft 6:02