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Library offers fitness classes
AUSTINTOWN
For the first time, a branch of the Mahoning County public library system is the site of regularly scheduled fitness classes.
The one-hour classes begin at 9:30 a.m. Mondays at the Austintown library, 600 S. Raccoon Road. The classes, intended for adults of all ages, promote strength and cardiovascular fitness.
The gentle exercise classes set to music are intended for those who are at beginning or intermediate fitness levels. They are sponsored by the Friends of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County.
The class fee is $5, but Friends of the Library members may attend free this month.
“I hope they get increased strength and increased range of motion, and we’re going to work on balance,” said Ericka Williams, who instructs the library classes.
Williams, an American College of Sports Medicine-certified group fitness instructor, also is a fitness instructor at retirement communities and commercial fitness centers.
Participants use stretch bands and balls for grip-strength improvement exercises; and they are encouraged to bring their own 3- to-5-pound hand weights.
She acknowledged that using the library meeting room sets limits on the music volume and the types of exercise equipment that can be used and she said those seeking a more-vigorous and intense workout can obtain that at a YMCA, YWCA or commercial gym.
A recent library fitness class began with the participants sitting in chairs and performing warm-up exercises with their feet, legs and arms. They then stood up and marched in place as they performed arm-stretching exercises.
“Do what you’re comfortable doing,” Williams told the participants during toe-touching exercises designed to promote flexibility.
“It’s an easy class for anybody of all ages, especially for beginners and people coming back to exercising,” observed Patrice Orwell of Boardman, who participated in Monday’s library fitness class.
“I was very interested in learning stretch exercising with the stretch bands,” Orwell said.
The library is a convenient and accessible fitness class location, she said.
“I do a lot of exercise. I walk. I do yoga,” said another participant, Lucille Santangelo of Canfield.
“Stretching is what’s so good when you’re older,” Santangelo said, adding that she hopes to gain agility from the class and is enthusiastic about working with weights.
“We keep it simple,” in the library fitness class, she said. “I like the simpler way of doing things,” she added.
“The library is in the business of providing people with information, and, in this class, we’re combining activity with the information that they will receive from the instructor,” said Janet Loew, communications and public relations director for the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County.
“Some things you have to learn by doing,” Loew said.
The fitness classes offer hands-on learning in a manner similar to the library system’s popular crafts programs, said Josephine Nolfi, the library system’s programming director.
“In addition to giving patrons books to check out, now we offer a demonstration,” Nolfi explained.
Having active learning programs at libraries also gives participants “a chance to interact with people who have the same interests” and thereby enrich their lives, she observed.