A free exercise class at City Hall in Dunes City runs through mid-November

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Written and photographed by Will Yurman

For Louise Biggs, it was the knee and hip replacement. Russell Wymore lost a hundred pounds, and his strength. And Bertie Moore’s doctor suggested a class in Eugene, but going there twice a week wasn’t going to happen.

That’s what brought all three to the kickoff of the Oregon State University Extension Service’s StrongPeople class at city hall in Dunes City on this last Tuesday in August. The twice-a-week class will run for twelve weeks, and it’s not too late to sign up for the free class. 

StrongPeople is a nationally known exercise program created in 2003 at Tufts University. “It’s a community-based strength training program, and it is aimed at midlife and older individuals. But, you know, any adult can definitely come and participate,” Sandi Anderson said. Anderson runs the Extension’s Lane County Florence office and is teaching the class.

During the one-hour class, Anderson led the three through a series of exercises targeting flexibility, balance, and strength. She started the class by making the case for why exercise is so important as we grow older.  

Sarcopenia is the name for the fact that we lose muscle mass and strength as we age. It is inevitable. And it can make simple activities like walking and climbing stairs more difficult, and increase the risk of falls and fractures. StrongPeople is designed to slow that loss of muscle. “It also reduces the risk for diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, depression and obesity,” Anderson said. 

Russell Wymore, 53, wants to restore the strength he’s lost. “I used to fish a lot and go out on the jetty a lot, and I would have no problem doing that even as much as a year ago. And now it really wipes me out if I go out there just because I’ve lost so much muscle mass and strength. 

Bertie Moore loves to walk and hike. She lives close enough that she walked to the city hall for this class. And she doesn’t want to lose that as she gets older. “And it’s supposed to be good for memory,” she said, maybe half joking. 

This is the first time the extension office has offered StrongPeople on the coast. The class is held in the community meeting room at City Hall in Dunes City. The program has been designed with specific goals in mind, Sandi Anderson said. “They’ve been chosen specifically for helping us get out of a chair, helping us get off of the commode, the toilet. Or in and out of a vehicle.”

It is about maintaining independence as you age, Anderson said. It is, the extension website says, “an exercise program that helps older adults improve their physical and mental health through strength training, social interaction and community support, reducing the risk of chronic diseases and enhancing overall well-being.”

Moore was surprised by the impact. “It was a good workout. And I walk a lot,” she said. “That balancing that core leg is like, oh my gosh, that’s the one that’s going to kill me here,” she said with a laugh after class. 

And it’s free, Biggs pointed out. “You don’t have to go join the gym. You don’t have to go buy weights.” For someone on a fixed income, that could mean a lot, she said.