At 85 years old, Ruth still heads off to the pool nearly every morning. Ironically, Ruth never swam a day in her life until middle age. When she took her own children to the local pool for their swimming lessons, she decided to learn as well. "From that point on I´ve been a swimmer,” says Ruth. At ACAC, Ruth can swim year around in the indoor 50 meter pool or choose to swim outdoors April through October in the heated 25 meter pool. Ruth is convinced her swimming at ACAC has kept her healthy as she aged. "I love swimming, it keeps me young!”

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Your next step is surgery is what Peggy had been told by her doctor. He had had injected and drained her knees as many times as he could. The arthritis in them kept them swollen and Peggy taking Aleve twice a day. She wanted to exercise but everything hurt her knees. "I signed up for a small group training session for core and strength, not really knowing what it was but praying it was something I could do," says Peggy. "The first week all we did was breath. I was astonished at how sore my abdomen was from breathing!"
Peggy was astonished when she started feeling some benefit for her knees too. "The swelling was no longer, and after two months I was able to stop the Aleve." Now a year later, Peggy can keep up in group exercise classes.
"I'm even doing Spin classes as well as Pilates, which I never thought I'd be able to do," says Peggy. But she still trains with her small group once a week. "It changed my life, I no longer worry about surgery being my next step."

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Bob Everton has always enjoyed exercise. But in the summer of 2005, he was having hip pain that just wouldn´t go away. It was making exercise uncomfortable. Bob was referred to Camille, an ACAC personal trainer. When Bob first spoke to Camille about his pain; he didn´t like what she recommended. "She wanted me to start stretching,” says Bob. "But I always thought stretching wasn´t a ‘man´s workout.´ However, I was in a lot of pain, so I gave it a shot.” Camille remembers the first time she worked with Bob as well, "He couldn´t bend down far enough to even touch his knees," she recalls. Camille showed Bob a variety of stretching techniques, and they continued to work together as Bob began to see steady improvement. By Labor Day, Bob not only decreased his hip pain, but he could bend over and easily touch his toes. "I incorporate stretching into my daily workout now," says Bob. "In fact, I just took my first yoga class, and I loved it! You´ll see me there more often.”

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Rob and Rachel Penczak have belonged to fitness clubs before, but since moving to Midlothian, neither of them had set foot inside a fitness club for almost 2 years. Rob had looked at several area clubs for himself, but he wasn´t convinced to join. When their oldest child, Brian, 7, needed a place to spend the summer, Rob and Rachel came to know ACAC. They signed Brian up for summer camp and soon saw that ACAC was a place that the entire family could enjoy. The Penczak´s credit ACAC for helping their family get up off the couch and enjoy family fitness. "We never thought about a fitness club for the whole family before, but ACAC offers something for all of us,” says Rachel. Rob and Rachel work out using cardio and strength training as well as taking Pilates. "I can actually pick up my kids now without it being a chore," exclaims Rachel! "I want to be healthier for my kids, to set an example for them,” sums up Rachel. The Penczak´s are now a happier, healthier and stronger family.