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SALT LAKE CITY — If you don’t make New Year’s resolutions, there’s one healthy change you should consider in 2025. Today’s Positively 50+ looks at some ways you can get moving at your own pace. Martha Autrey-Collins wants to ease back into fitness. “Over the years, I used to run. I used to be more athletic, playing tennis,” Autrey-Collins said. She spends a lot of her time volunteering for AARP with friends. “We’re out there throwing cans, doing all kinds of work in the pantry,” she said. But now, she’s making time for daily walks. A trip from her house to the mailbox and back, slowly building to a mile or two. “I understand that if you do it for 30 days or more it becomes habitual,” Autrey-Collins said.
Find something you enjoy
Whether you’re walking, dancing or swimming, Afton January with Salt Lake County Aging and Adult Services said it's important to find an activity you enjoy. “Exercise for older adults is very important, especially as we get to be the age of 60 and older,” January said. At the 10th East Senior Center in Salt Lake, they offer an enhanced fitness class. “We do a lot of exercise with older people who have a lot of various different levels of physical strength, physical mobility,” January said. “A lot of these exercises can be done seated. They can be done with different types of adaptations.” January said these classes help older adults strengthen their physical and social muscles. “A group exercise class is one of the really great ways to follow through, maintain that resolution that you made and be able to really be proud of yourself at the end of this year when you can say, 'Hey I did it!'” So, whether you’re in a group or going solo, do your best to be consistent. “When you wake up in the morning, think of certain words,” Autrey-Collins said. “Mine is 'movement, motivation, health.' If you can do just one of those a day, you’ve accomplished something.” If you’d like to check out some of the fitness classes offered by Salt Lake County Aging and Adult services, click here.
