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“It’s important because when you get older, you get more tired,” said event coordinator and wellness specialist Jessica Scheib. “Fitness can change your whole outlook on life.”

Scheib kicked off the morning with a speech to welcome the participants, and a healthy, complimentary breakfast was provided.

“It helps you realize you need to get up, get moving and stay involved,” she said of the seniors.

A morning stretch routine was demonstrated by Wellness Specialist Chelsea Linenberger, which motivated seniors to lean from side to side, reach above their heads and test their limits using resistance bands.

“I thought it would be beneficial for the older generation to learn stretches they can do first thing in the morning,” Linenberger said. “It’s important for functional reasons. They can learn better movements, ways not to fall, and how to help with balance and strength.”

Physical therapist Carol Montgomery educated participants during her lecture, “More than Moving to Improve: It is all about how you move that impacts how you improve.”

“If you don’t use it, you lose it,” Montgomery said as she focused on the importance of physical activities that help stimulate the brain.

Approximately 50 seniors attended the event — taking part in a poker walk with trivia questions on the HaysMed fitness trail and a health fair with booths promoting senior services and activities in the community. The Sterling House, Access Transportation, Hays Public Library and Hays Recreation Commission were a few of the participating businesses.

“I want to stay as healthy, mobile and active as possible,” said participant Evelyn Zellmer, Hays. “I really think this will help me.”

Zellmer said she is a member at the center and believes fitness is an important and crucial part of life.

“I know I’ve become stronger,” she said. “I just want to stay as young as I can for as long as I can.”