First-Ever Active Aging Week" Celebrated at Cedar Crest Residents Usher in a New Era of Wellness by Jazzercising

First-Ever Active Aging Week" was Celebrated at Cedar Crest, a campus for people aged 62 or better, in Pompton Plains, NJ. Residents Ushered in a New Era of Wellness by Jazzercising at the event.

First-Ever Active Aging Week" Celebrated at Cedar Crest

Residents Usher in a New Era of Wellness by Jazzercising

Jazz music blasted from the speakers as residents at Cedar Crest excitedly took their seats for a Jazzercise class in honor of the first-ever Active Aging Week, which officially ran from Sept. 29th until Oct. 5th.

Designed to boost awareness of the importance of physical activity among older adults, Active Aging Week is now being sponsored on a yearly basis by the International Council on Active Aging and the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. This post-celebration at Cedar Crest, a campus in Pompton Plains, NJ, for middle income people over 62 years of age, complemented similar celebrations at hundreds of fitness and wellness facilities across the United States and in Canada, Norway and Mexico.

Residents at Cedar Crest ushered in a new era of wellness by exercising from their chairs and/or standing up and dancing to the beat, at an hour-long class of Jazzercise-Simply Lite, a low-impact version of the original Jazzercise program, which pairs moderate aerobics with exercises designed to improve muscle tone, flexibility, balance, strength and endurance.

This was my first Jazzercise class," says Cedar Crest resident, Helen Szarawarski. I definitely got a good workout, but between using the Cedar Crests health club, swimming in the pool, dancing and taking so many exercise classes, I dont know if I will be able to fit Jazzercise into my schedule, too, but I will try."

Jazzercise is not an activity usually practiced by retirees as part of their wellness regimen," says Peter Cataldi, Wellness Manager, Cedar Crest. "However, it is very important to get residents up and moving and judging from the number of attendees at the class and their enthusiasm, they really liked Jazzercising," says Cataldi.

Cataldi also says that Cedar Crest already offers a number of physical fitness classes including Tai Chi, Aerobics, Stretch & Tone, and Water Exercise, and that he is considering adding Jazzercise-Simply Lite to the list of activities offered at the campus.

CUT LINE: Cedar Crest residents (front row, from left) Betty Flanagan , Helen Szarawarski, Gertrude Chamberlain and Esther Moskowitz, Jazzercise from their seats, during Active Aging Week at Cedar Crest, a campus for people aged 62 or better in Pompton Plains, NJ.