About the Mature Fitness Network SFA is proud to offer a valuable FREE service for older adults and for senior fitness specialists All across North America millions of older adults are seeking to regain or maintain physical health, vitality and independence. And, they are actively seeking qualified professionals to help them achieve these goals. In recent months numerous articles extolling the benefits of exercise programs for older adults have appeared in major publications nationwide including the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and many more. Many of these stories have listed the American Senior Fitness Association (SFA) as a source readers can use to locate responsible senior exercise programs in their area. Each of these listings has generated hundreds of calls to SFA headquarters from interested older adults as well as from family members seeking exercise training for their aging loved ones. All of these callers have one question: "Where can I find responsible, safe senior exercise programs operated by qualified fitness professionals in my area?" To enable us to respond to these requests faster and more completely SFA is initiating the Mature Fitness Network. What is the Mature Fitness Network? For older adults it’s a one stop source to find quality senior exercise programs. The list will include fitness programs available from health clubs, retirement facilities, social service and civic organizations, individual practitioners working on a contract basis and more. This information will be categorized by region and posted on the internet. When seniors who don’t have internet access call SFA seeking a local exercise program, we will mail them a listing for their area. For older adult fitness specialists it’s an excellent way to announce your exercise services to the public. SFA’s Mature Fitness Network serves as a cost-free referral service for you by informing potential new clients about your exercise program.  How do I take part? To list your older adult fitness program or facility, please e-mail your information to SFA at list@seniorfitness.net. For fax or mail submissions please see the contact information shown on below. To be included, fitness programs must safely and conveniently accommodate older adult participants and be operated by qualified fitness professionals. Please limit copy to approximately 50 words (400 characters maximum). Additional notes on submitting your information and sample listings are shown below. Is there a fee for listing my exercise program on the network? No. The Mature Fitness Network is a free public service of the American Senior Fitness Association to help provide older adults with the resources they need to maintain and/or improve their personal fitness, to promote the senior fitness industry, and to help dedicated senior fitness specialists serving this growing segment of the population. Neither the organization listing the service or the individual accessing the list will be charged a fee.  Can all types of responsible older adult exercise programs be included on the Mature Fitness Network resource list? Yes. Senior exercise programs offered at large fitness facilities, community centers, health clubs, churches, retirement communities, park and recreation departments, colleges and universities, even programs offered in the client's home are all eligible for listing. The Mature Fitness Network invites corporations, non-profit and government organizations, individual contractors, everyone who offers a responsible older adult fitness program run by qualified fitness professionals to submit a listing of their services.  Do I have to be certified by or be a member of the American Senior Fitness Association to take part? No. Although the association believes that SFA certified professionals have attained the highest standard of training in the senior fitness industry, our intention is to provide older adults with access to information about all of the quality senior fitness programming options available to them. Programs conducted by SFA-trained leaders are distinguished in the listing by a gold asterisk (w). Get Involved! You, your senior fitness program, the senior fitness industry, and the older adult population have a great deal to gain by becoming involved with the Mature Fitness Network. List your service today. Notes on listing your exercise program ... Please include the following information with your listing: program contact name and information (include e-mail address if available), as well as the professional qualifications of the program coordinator(s) or leader(s) including certification(s), degree, etc. Also include your service region. For example: "Orlando, FL metropolitan area." This information does not need to be included in the listing itself. It will be used to help SFA verify the appropriateness of your listing and to contact you if questions arise. If you have questions about the eligibility of your program, call SFA at (386) 423-6634. To help SFA expedite this service, please send your information via e-mail or on disc if possible. SFA cannot be held responsible for errors that may occur during transfer of electronic information or while inputting information from hard copy sources. If errors do appear in your listing, please contact SFA and they will be corrected as soon as possible. You are responsible for the accuracy of your listing and a notice stating this fact will be posted on the site. Finally, please keep your listing current as SFA will periodically purge listings that appear obsolete or inaccurate. NOTE: SFA reserves the right to exclude any listing that it, as sole judge, deems inappropriate, objectionable or misleading. Sample Listings  Region: Mid-Atlantic, Washington D.C. area *Asbury Methodist Village, 409 Russell Ave., Gaithersburg, MD 20877. Phone: 301-987-6002, is a 1500 resident Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) in suburban Maryland serving adults over 60. The one year old James F. Rosborough Cultural Arts & Wellness Center was specifically built for  and is based upon the six components of wellness - Fitness & Nutrition, Spiritual & Ethical, Emotional, Occupational & Vocational, Intellectual, and Social. Fitness Center Director and Wellness Manager, Jerry Hart, BS. MS/PhD Candidate in Nutrition is in charge of the Wellness, Fitness, Aquatics and Control Desk Staff.  Note: Mr. Hart serves as the Senior Fitness Association's Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator. He will conduct SFA Proctored Certification tests, seminars and workshops at AMV. Personal Training Associates features certified personal trainers under the director of founder and president Mike Mercurio. The facility provides one-on-one personal fitness training in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area both in your home or office or at their personal training studio in Herndon, Virginia. Phone: (703) 481-2323. Web Site: www.pta1.com Riderwood Village (RWV), an Erickson Retirement Community, has a state-of-the-art Fitness Center and Aquatic Center. RWV is located in Silver Spring MD, is staffed by certified, experienced fitness professionals. Scheduled classes include a variety of group exercise classes (chair, stretching, walking), personal training, yoga, T'ai Chi, aqua-cise and more. For more information please call Brad Andrus, Wellness Manager (301) 572_8333. w SENIORS 'N SYNC. Certified Senior Fitness Instructor, Cheryl Bartholomew, provides group exercise programs on a contract basis to Assisted & Independent Living Retirement Communities. The former teacher (23 years) is available as a consultant for planning and implementing fitness programs and as a speaker on fitness topics through her series of Wellness Lectures. Phone: (703) 281-1560, E-mail; FitSeniors@mail.com Community Washington House Fitness Center, a "Fitness Center for Seniors" located in Alexandria VA is staffed by certified, experienced fitness professionals. The facility features Keiser air-compressed fitness equipment and scheduled classes including Seniorcise, Balance Training, Group Strength Training, Chair Aerobics, Tai Chi, Yoga and more. For information please call (703) 845_2961. Web site: www.washingtonhouse.com/fitness.htm w FITNESSCare, Inc., serving the Northern Virginia area, provides one-on-one personal   training as well as group exercise classes to the senior community. Stacey Fallon, founder, and an SFA certified trainer, brings unique experience to the field with over 15 years experience in the fitness industry combined with 17 years as a geriatric social worker. For more information, call (703) 815-5317. w MatureFIT, American Senior Fitness Association certified Senior Personal Trainer and Senior Fitness Instructor specializes in exercise programs for mature adults and Parkinsonians.  I am currently able to work with a limited number of mature adults in the Rockville/Gaithersburg, Maryland area. Includes at home, one-on–one exercise programs for older adults.   Seated and chair exercise programs also available.   Please contact Robert Seymour by e-mail at: maturefit@comcast.net. ***   Return to SeniorFitness.net Home Page