Q&A with Patty Medina of the Fit to Live program at Red Bank

Gym in South Portland.

SOUTH PORTLAND – For more than 20 years Cape Elizabeth resident Patty Medina has been helping senior citizens learn how to live healthier, more active lifestyles through her senior exercise program.

In 2009 the University of Southern Maine cut Medina’s long-standing Lifeline exercise program due to budget concerns. Not wanting to end the program, Medina last year created the “Fit to Live” program, an exercise regime that is aimed at improving balance, coordination, joint mobility, flexibility and strength.

The program is offered at Redbank Gym in the Redbank section of the South Portland, where classes are offered Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10:30 to 11:25 a.m. The program is also offered in Cape Elizabeth at the Community Center Activity Room Tuesday mornings from 10:30 to 11:15.

Medina’s contributions to senior citizens and their health were noticed on a statewide level in August when she was runner-up for the 2010 Governor’s Fitness Award.

The Current caught up with Medina last week to discuss the Fit to Live program and how exercise and proper nutrition can be part of a healthy lifestyle, especially for senior citizens.

Q: Tell us a little bit about the Fit to Live program? How did it come to be?

A: In July 2009 the University of Southern Maine shut down the Lifeline program as a result of budget cuts. I wanted to continue working with the people who were loyal to me during those many years at USM. I created the “Fit to Live” concept and exercise program, and then looked for a gym that would be large enough, clean and with ample parking to hold classes for the 60-plus age group it was intended to serve. I was lucky enough to find the Redbank Gym and partner with the South Portland Parks and Recreation Department to make “Fit to Live” a reality.

Q: How does maintaining a fit and active lifestyle such as yours help an individual’s overall health?

A: Research continues to find that exercise is crucial to maintain good health. Consistency is the key. “Fit to Live” classes meet three times a week. The participants are exercising every other day, making it a routine and part of their lifestyle. This gives the body ample time to recharge and grow stronger. The balance and flexibility exercises help prevent injury while doing daily activities.

Q: Aside from encouraging wellness, how does the program help senior citizens in their lives?

A: The social network and interaction for seniors is vital to keep them involved in friendships and in the community, as well for preventing the usual illnesses that come from lack of exercise, such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, joint concerns and muscle weakness.

Q: You have had a long career in fitness. How did you first get interested and what has made you stick with it all these years later? Were you active as a child?

A: While in college at the University of Southern Maine, studying therapeutic recreation, I started to train with weights. In the early 1980s the sport was not yet part of regular fitness, as aerobics was. I entered competitions and became quite successful, winning The Old Orchard Beach Bench Press and many other similar competitions. With the introduction of the Lifeline Bodyshop, I was one of the first instructors to bring weight lifting to the general public. As Lifeline grew, it introduced cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation classes, which I taught for 20-plus years. Many of the current “Fit to Live” Participants have followed me from Lifeline.

As a child I loved to dance, and have been dancing all my life, focusing on ballroom dancing for the past 15 years.

Q: How has American diet and exercise changed since you began teaching exercise and dance lessons?

A: Quite a bit. The SAD, Standard American Diet, is highly processed, with the increasing use of microwaves and fast-paced lifestyles that encourage the consumption of packaged, convenient foods. Unfortunately this takes us away from cooking, and eating more whole foods, fruits and vegetables.

As far as exercise, there are many more options available today than there were when I began, and people are confused and uncertain as to how much and how often to exercise.

We need to get back to the core of fitness, which is involving the five components of physical fitness: cardiovascular exercise, strength training, endurance, flexibility and body composition.

“Fit to Live” has been designed to incorporate all these areas, plus balance, good posture techniques and game activities such as basketball drills, in order to enhance alertness, quickness and responsiveness.

Q: Do you have concerns with the trend of obesity in America rising?

A: Obesity in America is of great concern to me. According to some statistics, if Americans continue with the same eating and lifestyle habits, we will have 100 percent obesity by the year 2023.

Q: What is your hope for individuals when they enroll in your class?

A: My hope is that they meet new friends, build a healthy exercise routine that will help them maintain weight, control, lower blood pressure, increase endurance, keep their muscles and joints in good working condition to prevent back, neck, shoulder and knee problems, and, in turn, reduce health care costs.

Q: Outside of taking a class such as Fit to Live, what can senior citizens do in their day-to-day life to maintain their health and stay fit?

A: As we age, joint mobility becomes critical for preventing falls and muscles strains when doing strenuous activities. Therefore, putting together a 10-minute stretching routine that involves the shoulder, neck, back, hamstrings, quads and oblique muscles will help keep the body limber.

In addition, practicing standing on one leg next to a chair, for a count of 10 on each side, will improve balance and help keep the ankle and lower leg muscles strong to support the body.

Q: You have quite a list of achievements on your resume, including competing in more than 50 sprint and Olympic-distance triathlons, competing in 10 100-mile bike events, winning two competitive power lifter competitions, winning a triathlon in 2006 and receiving the runner-up 2010 Governor’s Fitness Award. Where do you find your drive to compete?

A: The drive comes from loving the activities and the friendships that are built through training. I guess I was born to move, and I truly believe in the benefits of being active and in shape. It makes life more enjoyable when we have something to work towards.

One of the greatest joys I have had was when I coached for the Leukemia Society, training women who never participated in competition. Through dedication, commitment and team spirit, they were able to finish marathons, and triathlons. To see them cross the finish line is an incredible feeling of joy for me.