Ortho-Kinetics® Professional Trainer and Massage Therapist Carol O’Neill has worked for Island Fitness for 22 years. She now resides in Killen, Alabama, but considers herself fortunate to be able to continue working for Island Fitness. She trains clients virtually, helps with marketing and the newsletter and manages the massage department remotely. She returns to the Island quarterly to do massage and catch up with her Island Fitness Family.
It is important as we get older to challenge ourselves by learning new things. Having turned 60, I am embracing this idea. I have recently begun working at a plant nursery plant part-time as seasonal help. I am not a plant person by nature, but I am learning new things and connecting with my community and that is the goal!
Working at the garden center has me thinking about people and plants, and about annuals and perennials. As you most likely are aware, perennials are plants that will come back year after year, while annuals die off as the season changes and require you to plant anew the following spring.
So my question to you is do you want to be an annual? or a perennial?
The women I work with at the nursery are definitely perennials, they come back every year. They work hard, often in the heat, unloading, hauling, restocking, arranging and watering. This means squatting lifting, pushing, pulling. Some are my age or older, they are enjoying being parents of grown children, they cheer on grandkids in their respective sports and ‘babysit’ so their kids can have a night out. They are retired and work at the nursery because they love what they do, and they CAN work at the nursery because they have put in the time and effort to retain their fitness. They, like many of the Island Fitness Trainers, have honed their knowledge over their lifetime, building skills to share with their clients. I am grateful that they have worked to stay healthy and well and that they are able to share their wealth of knowledge. They are ‘human perennials’.
Don’t get me wrong, annuals are pretty. Who doesn’t like a well put together planter for Spring and Summer? But in humans, this equates to starting a fitness/health regimen and then letting it wither and die at the end of the season. Just dressing up what we’ve got with flowers instead of putting in the work for something that will grow year to year. Instead, getting that disappointing feeling when everything is fading and we end up right back where we were.
I want to be a perennial, to establish strong roots by connecting with my community. I want to grow every year, increasing my skills and reaching for the light. I want to be like the ‘perennials’ that inspire me: Members Mike P., Lee S., Jody P., Terry C., Edna and Jack L., Pat and Don S., Charlotte P., Daphne and Roger S., Jan S., Carol B., Carol T., Sue S., Deborah M., Dorothy B., Gail S. (and so so many others) – and featured in this newsletter Wendy D. who turned 93 and actively trains 2x/week! These are the ‘perennials’ that inspire me to get up and move, to lift and squat and push and pull, to take days off to rest and recover and then get back to it.
Island Fitness owners Alexa and Michael Rosenthal are very aware both of the value of creating a fitness habit early in life and continuing to expand and grow, and to challenge ourselves as we age. They have made it their life’s work to create a welcoming and non-intimidating, community-centered gym for you to do the work of aging well.
If you are not one who was able to establish a fitness routine earlier in life, guess what? You still can! See information below on the benefits of weight work for seniors, try a mid-day class or schedule your assessment with one of our Professional Trainers! (contact Gavin D). If you are looking for virtual training, I specialize in working with seniors, let’s get started!
– And remember, everyone needs water and sunlight to grow! Take yourself out for a walk with some of your favorite ‘perennials’ that you are growing next to in your life. ~ Carol O’Neill
Ortho-Kinetics® Professional Trainer and Massage Therapist
NASM CPT, LMT
- Virtual Training Only
- Functional Movement Techniques
- Deep relaxation Techniques
- Swedish Massage
- Pin and Stretch
This and all of our articles are written by our team of professionals and published in the Island Fitness Weekly Newsletter.
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