advantages of zumba

( ♪♪♪ ) welcome tothe time of your life with the baltimore countydepartment of aging. i'm your host, ethel rasmussen. today's show shines a spotlighton the many fitness options that are available inbaltimore county's 20 senior centers. if you're interested in learning moreabout being active, fit, and engaged, stay tunedfor an exciting show. our guests today include julia huggins,president of cigna mid-atlantic,

who will share information aboutcigna's commitment to physical activities as well as the baltimore countydepartment of aging's annual get ready! get set! get fit!5k run-walk 1 mile walk. our show continueswith manny eisner, who is a member of thepikesville senior center. manny is going to share hisexperience of being a participant at bcda's run-walkas well as discuss the competitive sportof race walking. today's show concludeswith debbie orlove,

community business liaisonat the department of aging. debbie will share informationabout senior center travel, senior box office,as well as what's happening at your local senior center. it's been said that exercise is the keyto successful aging and independence. in fact, research supports that themany benefits derived from exercise can provide health advantagesfor every age group. with that said, thebaltimore county department of aging is gearing up for get ready! get set!get fit! 5k run-walk 1 mile walk,

an annual intergenerational eventto raise funds to support senior fitness programsin baltimore county's 20 senior centers. today's show demonstrates howthis fun day supports the run-walk as well as gathering to stay fit,raise funds for senior fitness while participating in the inspiringoutdoor event with family and friends. here to fill us in onthe importance of exercise as well as the many options availableat baltimore county's senior centers is karlayne parker,wellness specialist at the baltimore countydepartment of aging.

karlayne, welcome to the show. - thank you forhaving me, ethel. - the centers for disease controland prevention, known as the cdc, say that regular physical activityis one of the most important things you can do for your health. can you discuss why exerciseat any age continues to be the prescription for good healthand longevity? - i'm glad you asked, ethel. exercise helps ourcardiovascular, our muscle

skeleton system. it improves our mood. it helps us sleep better. it helps us to functionand go through life much easier. without it, i just can't imaginehow anybody couldn't exercise. - excellent! given the importanceof exercise, can you tell our viewers about ourdifferent fitness studios and centers in our 20 senior centersthroughout baltimore county? - like you said,we have 20 senior centers.

we have 13 studiosand fitness centers. with those studios and fitness centers,we have a large variety of equipment -- from treadmills to ellipticalsto weight bearing machines. and to join the fitness centersor studios, it's really simple. if you join a studio, it's $60. and if you joina fitness center, it's $100. and we do have payment plans. - sounds like a bargain,for sure. - oh, it definitely is.

- baltimore county'ssenior centers offer an exciting yet diverse selectionof classes each day. can you go aheadand provide some information about some of the classescurrently being offered? - well, we have a broad rangeof classes for adaptive aquatics,advanced body fit. we have fun classes, such asballroom dancing, bowling, chair exercise, chair yoga,easy does it exercise. and evidence-based typeexercises,

such as enhancefitness. and if you play golf, why notcome out to the senior center? we also have group fitnessclasses, head to toe exercise, hip hop, mind and body, yoga. and the fun thing wealso have is line dancing. that's very popular these days. and low impact aerobics. and again, mat yoga. and then we also havemove with balance --

that's a class thatwe're just getting started. it is an evidence-based class. pickleball -- now that's a group exerciseand/or team-type sport. senior rhythms, we haveshakers and movers, square dancing. so we have somethingfor everyone. urban line dancing --oh, that's really fun! we have table tennis, and again,tai chi for all levels, tai chi for better balance; we have water aerobics,

and we have games such aswii bowling, and wii exercise. and, you know, one of thebiggest trends is zumba gold, we also have that, too. - and let's switch gears nowand talk about an upcoming intergenerational eventthat's celebrating its 10th anniversary. that is of coursethe department of aging's can you bring us up to dateon this fun and rewarding event? - yes. the run is on september 18th. it starts at 8:00am.

registration has started already and you can go togetreadygetsetgetfit5k.com. the race day registrationis at 6:30 and we have prizesfor every age group as well as the top threemen and women. we also have anintergenerational activity for kids, a one-mile walk. we have door prizes. $500 grand prize!come and get it!

follow us on facebookand then also on-- throughout the day we'll alsohave other activities such as balance screenings, fall prevention,agility games, things like that. we have something for everyone. - wonderful. karlayne,you know that the run-walk is a fundraiser for the department. can you explain to our viewerswhere the run-walk proceeds go and how they directly benefitour senior fitness programs? - well, as you know, maintaining afitness center can be rather expensive,

so some of the proceedsdoes go to paying for maintenance of the fitness centerequipment. and then we also have seniorswho, if they qualify, can get scholarships, because noteveryone can afford the cost but we try to make sure thateveryone that applies gets accepted. - the generosity of our run-walksponsorship allows this event to be huge and a largemagnitude of impact. can you share the namesof the many sponsors who contribute tothe overall run-walk?

- i sure can! all right,our presenting sponsor is cigna. our gold sponsor is thewhiting-turner contracting company. and of course, the eventis being hosted at ccbc and we really want to thank themfor hosting the event in essex. our bronze sponsors are thebaltimore coffee and tea, brick bodies fitness services,geresbeck's food market, giant,thb bagels & deli. our fitness pays sponsoris van dyke & bacon shoes.

and then the sponsor that's providingthe water is crystal springs. our mile marker sponsoris kaiser permanente. and the entertainment sponsoris timing is everything. and of course, we wantto thank our media sponsors, comcast and senior digest. - wonderful! thank you, karlayne,for being on the show today and i will look forward to seeing youon september the 18th at ccbc essex. - i look forwardto seeing you as well.

- thank you. remember to join bcdawith family and friends at the get ready! get set! get fit!5k run-walk 1 mile walk on sunday, september the 18that ccbc essex. for more information,please call 410-887-2040. we're going to take a short breakand when we return we'll talk with run-walk'spresenting sponsor, cigna mid-atlantic.