Muscles in Motion

In Indianapolis, Indiana, Marquette Manor residents participate in "Muscles In Motion" program

We are proud to highlight Marquette Manor’s executive director, Jonathan Cook for his commitment to wellness! Mr. Cook explains his program for us, and elaborates on how the resident participation continues to exceed expectations.

“It all started this Summer (2006) as we were preparing the community for a significant expansion. We wanted to really make health and wellness a cornerstone of Marquette Manor's identity. The expansion will include updated fitness facilities to compliment our already vital wellness program. We have contracted with NIFS (National Institute for Fitness and Sport) to staff and manage our wellness center. They have staffed the center with one full-time employee who orients residents, teaches fitness classes, keeps fitness records, coordinates healthy dining sessions and works with administration on the "Marquette Manor Muscles in Motion" program.

The Muscles in Motion program was designed to motivate our residents toget their friends and peers involved in the fitness program. It has beena huge success so far. We measure resident visits as follows: one visit constitutes a 20 minute session in the center, exercise class or mind stimulation game or puzzle. We are only five months into the program and we have gone from 647 fitness visits in July to 1008 visits in October.

To generate interest we have started a very basic incentive program. The three residents with the highest point totals in a month receive a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prize each month. First place is a very nice Land'sEnd jacket with a MM Muscles in Motion logo. The second and third place are two Land's End shirts with the same logo. Additionally, the winners are recognized each month at the resident association meeting and the first place winner is presented with two plaques. One for them to keep personally. The second goes on the wall of fame outside the wellness center. Lastly, residents may only win once in the six month time frame as to give others opportunities to win. All winners will be eligible for a grand prize at the end of six months before we start the program all over again. It is our goal to tweak the program every six months and present new challenges and keep the program fresh. As of right now we 28% of our residents participating in the program.

Our next steps....... We will be evaluating software to make it much easier to track resident progress and involvement. We have been given three types of software that may meet our needs. I will update the site with any progress in this area. As we tweak the program we are going to offer better incentives for getting residents to not only participate but bring their friends. If anyone has specific questions please do not hesitate to give me a ring.”

Jonathan Cook

Executive Director

Marquette Manor

8140 Township Line Rd.

Indianapolis, Indiana 46260

317.875.9700 ext. 6530 (work)

Residents at Still Hopes in W. Columbia, SC enjoy a "Cross Country" Walking Conquest!

- The Wellness Director of Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community in West Columbia, South Carolina has been busy! Denise Heimlich, a charter member of Vitalife has created a walking program that is different from anything we have seen before, and the residents are more active than ever! Denise created a "Cross Country Walk." Denise elaborates:

"I used MapQuest to find out mileage from Columbia to each of the milestone cities. I multiplied the mileage by 100 to determine a relative number of steps required. Those counting steps are using THW pedometers. For those who do not wish to mess with a pedometer or who do not take very many steps, minutes walking are used to calculate distance traveled. I used actual mileage figures for the required minutes. Using Life Trail equipment is a bonus. Each participant gets extra steps or minutes for each station used. If he or she uses all the stations in one day, he or she gets an additional bonus, ie. 1000 steps instead of 900 or 30 minutes instead of 27.We chart weekly progress on a giant poster that is placed outside the Bistro so that all can see it. Small surprise Shreveport, Pecos, and Yuma. LifeTrail donated 8 shirts and we awarded these shirts (again a surprise) to the first 8 people who reached Abilene, which is halfway through to San Diego. I am having T shirts printed for those who make it all the way to San Diego."

Way to go Denise! We celebrate you and thank you for your program contribution!