Seniors learn to ‘sit and be fit’ at the North Merrick library

Every Thursday at 2 p.m., something special happens in the large community room at the North Merrick Public Library: Participants in the senior fitness class, Sit and Be Fit, meet for their weekly session.

This isn’t an exercise-once-in-a-blue-moon type of class. Many of the attendees have been regulars for the past eight years — through thick and thin, including the pandemic (during which the class went remote on Zoom). They show up week after week, catching up with friends and exercising their bodies and minds.

Sit and Be Fit is designed for seniors, and focuses on moves that can be done while sitting in or leaning on a chair, so they can stay fit and maintain or improved their health and wellness, all the while being supported to avoid injury. The program aims to empower its participants, and at the library, the regulars achieve that, and much more.

Moving to the beat of hits like “Mony Mony, “Chapel of Love” and “Baby, I Love You,” the seniors are encouraged to use light weights and resistance bands, and they power through an hour of exercises ranging from stretching to weight lifting to a series of standing cardio moves. 

Cindi Wiener, the instructor of the class, teaches three fitness classes in the area throughout the week — at other local libraries, like North Merrick — and many of her Sit and Be Fit devotees follow her to every one. The students, some of whom still dial in on Zoom, are as dedicated as they are passionate about staying fit.

“This place is amazing,” Weiner said of the library. “And a lot of these people go to my classes, they follow, they’ve been with me for years. And we have a good time. We do crazy things. For me, it’s all about mental and physical health.”

The exercisers avoid discussions of politics or religion, but they do talk about their homework, which includes watching a new episode of a variety of TV shows, including — what else? — the ABC reality show “The Golden Bachelor,” Weiner said.

“They are a dedicated group of seniors that meet here for our exercise class on most Thursdays,” Kelly Rechsteiner, who oversees community relations at the North Merrick library, said. “Even during the pandemic, they were steadfast, and met over Zoom. They’re all really just wonderful — they celebrate each other’s milestones and birthdays.”

The class’s oldest member is 98, and the group welcomes everyone from younger folks recovering from injuries to those fighting cancer. Wiener takes an interest in their lives, and is passionate about maintaining, or improving, their health.

“We’re staying healthy and alive,” she said simply, “and we’re having fun.

Now, Weiner is taking on a new endeavor — a handbook. She was inspired during the pandemic to create an exercise handbook for seniors, to help them remember how to do the exercises properly. When the book is ready for release, it will include descriptions as well as images of the correct positions and moves.

The library hosts a variety of fitness classes for those at all levels. Total Body Workout students do a strength-training workout with Weiner on Mondays at 7 p.m. Gentle Yoga meets at 10 a.m. on Saturdays and tai chi, a form of Chinese exercise that reduces tension and improve balance, takes place on Fridays at 10 a.m.

To learn more, go to NMerrickLibrary.org.