News  

Newsy News for March

Greetings one and all!

It's March! How did that happen? Valentines have given way to Easter bunnies and that sense of renewal that spring can bring.

I hope 2026 is still going well for all of you! We're living in strange and stressful times. Exercise can help with that! So can doing anything immersive. If you find your brain is doing over something you don't want to deal with, exercise, movement, or any immersive activity can help you to switch gears. 

1. We're surprisingly light on class news this month. Parks & Rec classes are still going strong. If anyone wants to do Zumba Gold at 9am or Interval Strength Training at 10am on Mondays at Ala Wai Park, that's still possible. Want to try them out? Show up next Monday, March 9th. That's the deadline. The park director will be at the park and can assist you at that time. If you talked with me about this today, come next Monday please!

2. The Zoom class schedule remains unchanged. Want different classes at different times? Just let me know. As usual, I'm copying the Zoom link and schedule at the end of this email. 

3. For those of you who subscribe to recordings, this will go out later today. The newsletter is a day late because I had a Meniere's attack. All weekend I was laying on the floor with the room spinning. As you can see, I'm playing catch up. If you see me walking a little strangely, I broke my pinky toe last week. Luckily everything is improving. 

4. This month's featured fitness articles:

Stronger muscles, longer lives? Study highlights benefit for older females

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/stronger-muscles-longer-lives-study-benefit-older-females-aging

This Everyday Indulgence Is Associated With Signs of Slower Aging, Scientists Say
Spoiler Alert: It’s Chocolate! 

https://www.foodandwine.com/theobromine-in-dark-chocolate-linked-to-slower-aging-11887830

Researches find Intense psychological differences in people who exercise

https://futurism.com/health-medicine/exercise-cardio-stress-research

Aging Makes the Brain Leaky but Exercise Fights Back
https://scitechdaily.com/aging-makes-the-brain-leaky-but-exercise-fights-back/

This Simple Exercise Habit May Keep Your Brain Younger

https://scitechdaily.com/this-simple-exercise-habit-may-keep-your-brain-younger/

5. One Fun Thing

This is a bit controversial. I wanted to tell those of you who are AARP members about a feature I've come to love. I'm not endorsing AARP or trying to sell memberships. This is just fun and cool.

AARP makes it possible to attend live Theater performances from all over the world. 

https://watch.aarp.org/aarptheater

My favorite so far was the Ballet Romeo and Juliet from La Scala in Italy.

Currently they offer two performances by the London Symphony Orchestra Hairspray the Musical, and Legendary Ladies of Broadway. You just register online. They send you a reminder and you watch the event. You can watch it on your computer or tablet or you may be able to broadcast it to your TV. Due to the time difference, most performances happen in the mid afternoon for us.

As usual, if you want off this mail list, hit reply and type "Unsubscribe". If there are other topics you'd like me to cover, feel free to suggest them. In fact, if there's anything I could be doing for you in any of my classes, don't hesitate to reach out! 

Thanks to all of you for being a part of my happy little fitness life! A day doesn't go by that I don't think about how lucky I am to get to do all of this!

Aloha, Robin :)

____________________________

Schedule of Zoom Classes Spring 2026

If you've never taken a class with me, please email me before attending. You can reach me at FitnessIsForever@mail.com <-- Please note, mail.com not gmail.com.

Zoom link for all classes:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85902131700?pwd=Z3Zha1UzSVBFazQ1QVowS2lhenQxZz09

If you don't want to use the link, here are the details:

Meeting ID 859 0213 1700

Passcode: pc-robin <-- all lowercase, dash in between.

Mondays
Zumba Gold Toning at 12pm (Noon)

Tuesdays
Zumba Gold at 10am
Osteo-cize Bone Fitness at 11am  

Thursdays 

Zumba Gold at 10am

Tabata for Active Older Adults at 11am  

Fridays 
Zumba Gold at 12pm (Noon)

Sundays  

Senior Strong at 11:00am
Lift (new) at 12:00pm (30 Minute Class)

Class Descriptions:

Zumba Gold is a low-impact version of Zumba dance fitness that keeps all of the fun. Plan to dance, sweat, and have a ton of fun. Zumba Gold is geared to active older adults but everyone is welcome. You can expect a variety of music including both Pop and K-Pop. The Friday Zumba Gold EZ class is a little slower, less complex and shorter (45 min).
Why try it? I do dance walk-throughs and even put up videos of some dances so that everyone can do them.

Zumba Gold Toning is similar to Zumba but we use 1lb Zumba Toning Sticks that also act as maracas. Don't have any? No problem, come anyway! Our combo class mixes regular Zumba Gold with Zumba Gold Toning. You can do the whole class or part of it with or without toning sticks.

Senior Strong Functional Fitness is a functional fitness class that will help your body do what you want it to do in your daily life. We focus on strength, toning, flexibility and balance. We use 2, 3, or 5 pound dumbbells. Don't have any? Try a water bottle (preferably full) or a few cans of soup. We do exercises sitting or standing. So a chair without wheels is recommended. You'll also want to have a hand towel and some water to drink.

Interval Strength Training for Active Older Adults is a low-impact interval training class. A movement or exercise is done for 20 seconds followed by a rest for 10 seconds. It's repeated eight times, often with optional progressions or modifications. That constitutes a tabata. We rest for 30 seconds then move to the next Tabata. This class differs from Tabata in that we focus on strength rather than cardio and we'll be different, non-Tabata types of intervals. Come and get stronger with us!

Osteo-Cise Bone Fitness is a class for anyone who has Osteoporosis or Osteopenia. It's also for anyone who wants to prevent bone loss. We will be doing deliberate, safe weight bearing exercise. We'll work out the muscles surrounding your bones to build strength using long resistance ribbon or tube bands. We'll work on posture, balance and agility to prevent falls. We'll be standing and seated. At the end of the class, we'll be doing some floor stretches. Non-floor options will be available to all. The class is for all ages and all fitness levels. We'll really get moving to strong, curated music geared toward strength and the mind-body connection. What do you need? I towel, a water bottle, and a mat. I'll do my best to supoprt anyone who won't do floor work.

Pop Music Pilates Core & Stretch is a beginner's Mat Pilates class. What makes this class different? Music! We finish the class with great stretching and myofascial massage. No experience is necessary. A mat, a towel and a bottle of water are recommended.

Pilates Chair Flow is a beginner's pilates class done standing or sitting in a chair with a fluid pace and peaceful background music.

Lift is a 30 minute class for your upper body: Arms shoulders, upper back, and wrists. The class lifts heaver weights more slowly. Want to use the same weights you use for Interval Strenth Trining or Senior Strong? No problem!

Core Strong is a 30 minute class that's similar to Senior Strong but the entire focus is on your core. Come build strong abdominal muscles so your back will be supported the way it's meant to be. This class can help cut down back aches.

Recover, Stretch, Thrive a class to recover from exercising or from life in general. We'll do some range of motion, stretching, and Myofascial release. Everything on our body has a container, a thin layer of tissue. It's called 'fascia'. It covers our organs, bones, muscles and nerves. Its purpose is to keep everything in the right place. We'll be using a tennis ball to aid in Myofascial release.