Look and feel younger and healthier with exercise!
                                                                                                                        It appears that regular exercise benefits everything from the head to the toe and from the inside out.  Research has well documented that regular exercise will keep us more healthy and youthful.

There are two exercise groups that meet every week at the Senior Center and both groups welcome new members. Remember, check with your doctor before joining any exercise group or health club.  

Arthritis Foundation Exercise Class, sponsored by Senior Services Associates, Inc., works out from 8:15 to 8:45 am every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Instructor, Shirley Koch, a certified therapist, uses gentle activities to help increase joint flexibility, range of motion, and muscle strength, and is not limited to people with arthritis. There is minimal fee of $12 per month; call Senior Services Associates at 1.815.344.3555.

The Guys-n-Gals Exercise Group has no participation fee and the group meets from 9 to 9:45 am every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  The resistance exercises, stretching and low impact aerobics are done on a "do as much as you can" basis. The group includes individuals that are stroke, pulmonary and heart patients side by side with healthy seniors who are in great physical condition.  If you can’t touch your toes no one seems to mind.  Just come to the Senior Center and join in. Their instructor is Cindy Stuffel, ACSM Certified Personal Trainer who generously donates her services as instructor every Monday and Friday.

Tai Chi is a gentle form of exercise accomplished through a series of slow and synchronized postures. Researchers have found that the long-term practice of Tai Chi has a favorable effect on the promotion of balance, mobility, flexibility and cardiovascular fitness. It reduces the risk of falls in seniors. The studies also reported reduced pain, stress and anxiety in participants.

Line Dancing has a western image, and is danced predominately to country-western music. Although nowadays a variety of music is played for line dancing—almost anything that  has a regular beat.

Bocce Ball is closely related to lawn bowling. The biggest difference is that bocce is played on a hard-surface court with a backstop at each end, while lawn bowling is played on grass with a relatively free-form "court".  There are very few Bocce courts in the U.S. and McHenry Township has a tournament certified Bocce court in the Albert A. Adams Park.

Bean Bag Toss, sometimes called Soft Horseshoes, is a game in which players take turns pitching small bags filled with beans at a raised platform with a hole at the far end of the court. A group of seniors meet every Tuesday at 10 am at the Senior Center to pitch.

Town Hall Walking is a winter program available to McHenry Township residents. The McHenry Township Hall is located at 3703 N. Richmond Road (Route 31) just north of Johnsburg Road.

Mall-walking has become a very popular activity across the United States because it provides a sheltered environment in which to exercise regardless of weather conditions.

January through March the Town Hall provides a protected environment to join other walkers in a healthy morning exercise. The program is open to all township residents, Monday through Friday, from 7 to 8:30 am before business hours.  No registration required.