Member Highlight
Teresa McCormack
Eighteen years ago, Teresa McCormack’s husband, Tom McCormack, a national record-breaking runner, inspired her to develop her own fitness routine by encouraging her to join The Wellness Center. Though she worked full-time as a speech and language pathologist, she took the advice of her husband and another friend to make her health a priority with regular workout sessions.
Today, at age 61, you will see her at The WC most days of the week working out with friends in classes like R.I.P.P.E.D, Power Pump, Power Surge, WERQ or Kickboxing. She also runs on the treadmill and swims in the indoor and outdoor pool as often as possible. “I try to take advantage of just about everything,” McCormack said. “I like to mix it up.”
Before she began taking weight lifting classes, she didn’t feel she knew how to lift weights. “The reason classes are so beneficial is because the instructor walks you through it, teaching you how to lift weights correctly with proper form and how each exercise benefits different muscle groups,” she said. “It’s been a great experience for me.”
The comradery of class is also a huge benefit. “I think it inspires me to workout with other people,” she said. “Just like it’s more fun to run with a friend, in classes you have people who encourage you to reach your goals.”
Instructors teach members how to reach their individual potential, and they modify exercises according to different abilities. McCormack’s instructors have advised her during and after class on stretches and techniques to build strength and endurance. “I know that I am stronger now and that I’ve been able to firm up all my muscles,” she said. “It’s really good for women to lift weights as we get older – it’s healthy on so many different levels.”
And how does she feel at the end of each week? Blessed, she said, because she is able to exercise even more regularly now than she could prior to retirement. “I was worried I would gain weight after retirement, so that’s when I started working harder,” she said.
A friend had advised her when she joined The WC nearly 20 years ago to “just keep going and make it a part of your life,” and McCormack said that friend was right. “I’ve always appreciated that advice,” she said.
So now, she encourages others to do the same. “Just try the classes,” she advises. Whether people are interested in weight lifting or cardio classes, running, swimming, meeting a personal goal, training for an event, or just getting stronger, she said the resources available at The WC are hard to beat.
“I would hate to move because I love The Wellness Center,” she said. “All the instructors care so much about you and your health. I now look forward to working out; I never dread going to exercise. I just feel blessed that at 61, I can still do this.”
