It’s never too late for fitness

There may be no fountain of youth or wondrous anti-aging elixir available in the marketplace today, but it’s been conclusively demonstrated that regular physical activity is the next best thing to possessing a “silver bullet.”

Studies show that daily exercise can decrease all the biomarkers of aging by reducing chronic disease and improving general health and quality of life -- particularly in adults older than 50.

Regular exercise decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and many other chronic illnesses, improves posture and balance, increases energy and stamina, improves lean muscle, normalizes blood pressure, improves bone density, helps with weight control, promotes better sleep, increases brain function, improves self-confidence, and decreases depression.

Orange Coast College’s Physical Education and Athletics Division will launch a new program this spring for adults older than 50, titled “The Second Half -- Adult Fitness.”

Initially, the program will consist of two classes, Strength and Balance and Cardio and Stretch. Additional classes will be added in later semesters.

Strength and Balance will be offered during the spring semester, which begins on Monday, Jan. 30. The class will meet Tuesday and Thursday mornings, from 9:35 to 11 a.m. It’s open to seniors from throughout the area.

“The program is designed both for persons who are already physically active, as well as for those who are sedentary but who’d like to become more physically active,” said course instructor Laura Behr, who coaches OCC’s women’s rowing team.

“The goal of the program is to help students improve their quality of life in the second half of their life through a holistic/wellness approach that integrates physical, mental and social aspects.”

OCC’s classes will be offered in such state-of-the-art campus fitness facilities as the all-weather campus track, the cardio lab, the strength lab and in several aerobics rooms.

Students will have an opportunity to access those facilities at a fraction of the cost of a program they’d likely encounter at a gym or health club.

Strength and Balance will assist senior adults in addressing mobility issues that are frequently experienced by persons 50 years of age and older.

Mobility problems commonly occur as a result of poor muscular strength and endurance.

The program’s second course, Cardio and Stretch, will help seniors to improve cardiovascular endurance and flexibility. That class will be offered for the first time in the fall of 2006.

“I assure you, this will not be just another fitness program for seniors,” says Barbara Bond, OCC’s dean of physical education and athletics. “[It] will help participants to integrate physical activity and a healthy lifestyle into the best time of their lives.”

Bond says professors and instructors who possess years of experience and expertise in the health and fitness field will teach the classes.

For information about the new adult fitness program, call (714) 432-5766.

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OCC will close its campus for the holidays, beginning Dec. 20. Registration for spring classes resumes on Tuesday, Jan. 3.

Spring semester classes get underway on Jan. 30.

Registration for spring classes by telephone will run Jan. 3 to 26. Applications are available online at orangecoastcollege.edu. Applications may be picked up through Dec. 19 -- and after Jan. 2 -- in the admissions office.

Except during the holiday break, the office is open Mondays through Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Spring class schedules are available free of charge in the admissions office. The spring schedule is also posted on the college’s website. OCC’s spring enrollment fees are $26 per unit.

For application or registration information, call (714) 432-5072.

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Orange Coast College students who feel they may be eligible to receive an associate’s degree at the college’s commencement ceremony next spring may submit a petition for graduation.

Graduation petitions will be accepted through March 15.

OCC’s 58th commencement is scheduled for May 25, 2006, at the Pacific Amphitheater in Costa Mesa. The ceremony will begin at 5:30 p.m.

To qualify for a degree, a student must complete 60 units with a grade-point average of 2.0 or higher.

Students must also complete general education requirements as outlined online (orangecoastcollege.edu) and in the college’s catalog.

Graduation petitions are available online or in the admissions office. Petitions may be submitted electronically or at the student records counter in the admissions office. For information, call (714) 432-5581.

* JIM CARNETT is senior director of community relations at Orange Coast College. Reach him at jcarnett@occ.cccd.edu.