Sarah Pledge Dickson, LJI Journalist

Calumet Island’s Golden Age Club was bumping with music and movement on Saturday afternoon as it welcomed members to try out new exercise equipment acquired with funds from Loisir Sport Outaouais.

The money received was used to purchase exercise balls, resistance bands, weights, a stationary bike, elliptical trainers, a parachute, and a television and DVD player to play exercise videos approved by the Viactive program.

The open house also featured a demonstration of the Viactive program, an exercise program for people over the age of 50. Approximately 25 members and friends of the club turned up to try out the new equipment.

Bernadette Maheral participated in some of the exercises Saturday.

“I had a fracture in my back,” Maheral said. “I can’t do many of the exercises yet but they help keep me active.”

Colleen Griffin, president of the club, took part in the Viactive training session to learn how to teach exercise classes to the club’s members.

“It’s a one-day course where they run through the whole gauntlet of exercises and get us to do them,” Griffin said. “They tell us all the different things we can do and how it’s geared to this age group.”

The funding used to purchase the equipment was applied for by the Municipality of L’Île-du-Grand-Calumet on behalf of the Golden Age Club.

“We have a lot of people over the age of 50 and we don’t have much on the island for them,” said municipal councillor Louise Grenier. Also the citizen representative for the municipality, she did the work of applying for the funding. “With this activity there’s a chance to meet people and after, they bring their lunch and eat together.”

Griffin echoed this point.

“The Golden Age Club is vital because it gets seniors out of isolation,” she said. “It improves morale, and the exercises are also good for your physical well-being.”