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Misericirdia students use simulation activity at Commonwealth Medical College and Scranton University

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Robert Vaughn, ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,’ dead at 83

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; When Carol Dobbs, 72, of Hanover Township, admits she doesn&#8217;t like exercise, she means she doesn&#8217;t enjoy a treadmill.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s so boring,&#8221; she said.</p><p>But put her in a Water Fitness class at the Wilkes-Barre YMCA and she&#8217;ll gladly join more than a dozen other seniors as they jump up and down with the carefree abandon of children and spend about 45 minutes following trainer John Suda&#8217;s other directions to move as if they were cross-country skiing, jogging, throwing punches or paddling a canoe.</p><p>&#8220;If I would do on the land what they do in the water,&#8221; 28-year-old Suda said, &#8220;I&#8217;d never be able to keep up.&#8221;</p><p>When you&#8217;re in water, its buoyant force will bear about 90 percent of your weight, which eliminates much of the stress that can take a toll on knees, ankles and hips when you exercise on land. Working out in a pool also allows the resistance of the water to help tone your muscles and increase flexibility.</p><p>Those are good reasons for anyone, but especially older folks, to exercise in the water, YMCA aquatics director Tammy Como said.</p><p>&#8220;I knew it was beneficial,&#8221; said Carol Macheska, 78, of Wilkes-Barre, whose doctor approved of her plan to return to the pool &#8220;as soon as possible&#8221; after she broke her arm and leg about two years ago.</p><p>&#8220;I fell backward down the cellar steps and smashed my whole left side,&#8221; Macheska said. &#8220;Now I have a plate in my arm and a rod in my leg. I spent a solid two months at John Heinz (Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine.)&#8221;</p><p>Despite her injuries, Macheska said, she&#8217;s in no pain and walks smoothly &#8212; both factors she attributes to exercising in the pool.</p><p>Similarly, Josephine Parker, 80, of Mountain Top, said participating in Water Fitness class soothes her arthritis pain and Kay Kriner, 76, of Wilkes-Barre, said it improved her range of motion and flexibility after she broke her leg.</p><p>Thanks to sponsorship from the Area Agency on Aging Prime Time Health Program, the YMCA offers Water Fitness free of charge to area residents who are 50 and older.</p><p>Classes are held three days a week, both mornings and afternoons, with the 8:15 a.m. classes being the most popular.</p><p>&#8220;You work up a sweat,&#8221; said participant Carol Baron, 71, of Nanticoke. &#8220;But you don&#8217;t notice because you&#8217;re in the water.&#8221;</p><p>After class, participants needn&#8217;t leave the pool immediately. Vicki Staub, 65, of Lehman Township, for one, stayed to swim some laps on a recent morning</p><p>&#8220;I always loved the water,&#8221; Staub said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Josephine Parker, 80 of Mt Top laughs while doing water aerobics in the YMCA pool. 11/9/2016 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_TTL111016WaterAerobics1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Josephine Parker, 80 of Mt Top laughs while doing water aerobics in the YMCA pool. 11/9/2016 Aimee Dilger|Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_TTL111016WaterAerobics2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Carol Macheska, 78, of Wilkes-Barre, does jumping jacks in the YMCA pool during a morning Water Fitness class. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_TTL111016WaterAerobics2-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Carol Macheska, 78, of Wilkes-Barre, does jumping jacks in the YMCA pool during a morning Water Fitness class. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_TTL111016WaterAerobics3-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Vicki Staub, 65, of Lehman, is framed by a set of water weights during a Water Fitness class at the YMCA in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_TTL111016WaterAerobics3-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Vicki Staub, 65, of Lehman, is framed by a set of water weights during a Water Fitness class at the YMCA in Wilkes-Barre. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_TTL111016WaterAerobics4-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Instructor John Suda leads a Water Fitness class at the YMCA on a recent Wednesday morning. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_TTL111016WaterAerobics4-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Instructor John Suda leads a Water Fitness class at the YMCA on a recent Wednesday morning. </caption3><photoCredit3>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_TTL111016WaterAerobics5-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Exercising in a pool, as participants in the Water Fitness class at the Wilkes-Barre YMCA do, is a low-impact way to build strength and muscle tone without putting stress on your joints. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_TTL111016WaterAerobics5-1.jpg</photo4><caption4>Exercising in a pool, as participants in the Water Fitness class at the Wilkes-Barre YMCA do, is a low-impact way to build strength and muscle tone without putting stress on your joints. </caption4><photoCredit4>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Seniors enjoy classes in Wilkes-Barre YMCA pool</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>MORE INFO</strong></p><p>For more information on fitness programs at the Wilkes-Barre YMCA, call 570-823-2191.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

YMCA’s Water Fitness class offers low-impact workout