For those of you still unconvinced that regular exercise is the key to staying healthy in body, mind, and spirit, this should make you reconsider. Residents of Inverness Village, a continuing care retirement community, have found that the community’s HealthAbility program is the key to improved fitness, feeling younger and staying active.

Doreen Sigle, age 84, who thought her life was over after she lost her husband, says that she now rides a bike and goes fishing—things she never did before—thanks to this wellness program that is designed for the unique needs of seniors to improve energy, flexibility and endurance. Louis Reeder, age 88, shoots pool, goes to the movies and enjoys lunches out with his wife after participation in HealthAbility helped him overcome stiffness following surgery.

Inverness Village’s HealthAbility program focuses on six dimensions of wellness that can lead to a more active, vibrant and happier life for residents. By focusing on physical wellness, the program strives to enable seniors to enjoy the other five types of wellness: spiritual, intellectual, emotional, social and vocational. Through fitness assessments and regularly scheduled fitness classes, Inverness Village residents can track their progress and work with staff to improve upper and lower body strength and flexibility, as well as endurance.

The results speak for themselves. Over the past year, 77 percent of Inverness Village residents in residential living participated in HealthAbility. Participants achieved a 14 percent improvement in upper body strength, a 22 percent improvement in upper body flexibility and a 55 percent improvement in lower body flexibility. In the two-minute step test, which measures aerobic capacity and endurance, participants showed a 30 percent improvement.

According to Jana Headrick, wellness director at Inverness Village, “Every day, we see the remarkable benefits of the HealthAbility program for participants. With greater aerobic capacity and endurance, they walk without getting winded, and with more flexibility, their balance is improved, making daily activities easier to perform and reducing the risk of falling. These benefits keep people active longer.” The HealthAbility program is supported in conjunction with Sodexo.

Residents have high praise for the program, which they say has changed their outlook on life, along with their overall health. For Mrs. Sigle, who is a “regular” at the three-time weekly “Fit for Life” classes, the program has reduced her need for medications and eliminated aches and pains associated with moving around. “When your body feels good, you feel alive. Being fit has given me a new outlook. I’m ready to go and do things, to take advantage of the many wonderful activities here,” she says. “The last time I had my yearly physical, my doctor told me, ‘Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.’ ”

Mr. Reeder credits the HealthAbility program with restoring his mobility and improving flexibility in his leg after undergoing hip surgery in 2007. These days, Mr. Reeder is the only man to participate in a water exercise class three times a week, and he also goes to a yoga class twice a week. “I won’t be kicking a soccer ball or running cross country,” he says. “But I’ve progressed from a walker to a cane, and now I mostly use the cane for ‘show.’ “

“We are delighted the HealthAbility program is making a difference for our residents,” says Scott Bushong, executive director of Inverness Village. “Everything we do here, including the recent expansion of our fitness center, is designed to improve the overall wellness of our residents so they can live their lives their way. Our staff is committed to the wellness of each and every resident.”

Inverness Village is a Life Care retirement community located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that is part of Asbury Communities, Inc., which provides management and support services for a system of continuing care retirement communities for older adults. Asbury Communities is ranked by American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) and Ziegler Capital Markets Group’s AZ 100 as the 12^th largest not-for-profit multi-site senior living organization in the country.