When she first started as a member of the Wellness Center back when it first opened, Mary Beth Stanek used the fitness machines on the fitness floor for her strength and cardio workouts. However, she started having trouble with her knee, and then came down with shingles, which affected her sciatic nerve and lower back. One of the staff here suggested she use the Center’s pool and try running against the jets. (Many members swim against the jets, which can be turned on as needed in the exercise pool.)
“I just loved it and it felt like a really good workout,” Mary Beth says about running in the pool. After a while, she decided to join the deep-water aerobics class that was offered at 7 a.m. then. (That class is now called Aquacise and Energize.) She’s been faithfully attending class every Monday, Wednesday and Friday ever since.
“It’s a good core workout and the water offers resistance as well. It’s so good for you and it’s fun. What’s not to like?” she said. “I hadn’t stepped foot inside a fitness gym before this place and I was not an athletic person at all.”
Today is a different story. In addition to her water aerobics classes, she usually arrives at the center about 5:30 every morning and does resistance and cardio work using the fitness machines and free weights. She’ll also work out on her own in the pool on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
She still struggles with lower back pain but is convinced it would be a whole lot worse if she had not been getting all this exercise.
Mary Beth has lived in Peterborough 25 years and she works at the family construction business, John Stanek Custom Builders, where she does the books.
Back when she first became a member, she lost a few pounds, but more importantly, she says, she could really tell that she lost body fat and gained muscle. Her blood pressure had been borderline high and now it is good. She has the very beginnings of bone loss, but knows that what she is doing is helpful in keeping it from getting worse, and may even generate some improvement.
In addition to the physical benefits, Mary Beth notes that she has made some great friends through more than 9 years of classes. “You’re standing next to somebody and pretty soon you start chatting,” she says. “Often that progresses to meeting for lunch and becoming friends outside of the Wellness Center.”
That camaraderie is currently extending to helping a classmate get to her treatments for breast cancer. The members are helping her out by sharing driving duties.
“I love that there are a variety of ages here and that we’re all so comfortable,” she says. “There is none of that big macho stuff here and people are just not snobby here. It feels like everyone supports everyone else.”
Some tips for frequent swimmers? She keeps a few bathing suits at a time, using them in rotation to be sure she’s always got a good one ready. (Chlorine often can do a number on swimsuits.) She also makes sure to wet down her hair thoroughly before getting into the pool. This seems to keep the damaging effects of the chlorine at bay. And she liberally uses an after-workout moisturizer to keep her skin from drying out.
“No matter how much I don’t want to go out of the house at 5:30 in the morning, I always end up feeling so good at the end of class.”
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