She credits her youthful feel and looks to thinking young and working out three times a week at her local gym. She’s 90 years young, and Agnes Littlejohn says she feels the best she has in years.“Working out at the gym has a lot of benefits,” Littlejohn said. “It keeps my joints in good shape and gets me moving. I’m not here to lose weight, I just needed to get up and get moving. I was getting to be a couch potato.”
Littlejohn has been working out at Curves in Springville for two years since she realized she was having a hard time walking to her mailbox and back.
“I don’t like to admit the bad things, but I was getting out of breath walking to my mailbox,” Littlejohn said. “Now I enjoy that walk.”
Littlejohn hits the machine weights three times a week for 30 minutes a session and recommends that everyone do the same.
“Several doctors have said ‘good for me’ and I encourage everyone to get up and get moving,” she said. “I just tell them to think young and then go out and do it. It does me so much good to come here. If I stay off a long time, I’m stove up when I come back, so I try to keep it regular.”
Littlejohn, who celebrated her 90th birthday in January with cake and a party at Curves, said even though working out is her main activity at the gym, the companionship is also important.
“I come to Curves because it does me so much good, but it’s not only the exercise,” she said. “It’s a friendly place and I enjoy the other people, too.”
Nola Higdon of Curves said exercise it very good for everyone, especially the older group, but the social interaction has its benefits, too.
“There are a lot of emotional benefits, too,” she said. “It’s a great stress reliever and it makes people feel good to hang out with friends. Women often lose their husbands and can get lonely and sad, they come here and make friends, giving them a boost.”
Higdon said the health benefits are also too numerous to count.
“Working out can help combat diabetes and osteoporosis, among other things,” she said. “The equipment is set so that if you’re 14 or 100, you can operate it at your own capacity and strength. You can diet and lose weight working out but it’s about what’s inside, too.”
Higdon said Littlejohn is an inspiration to older folks to get up and get moving.
“She enjoys her workouts and does her best to encourage others,” Higdon said. “I just love her. She tickles you to death.”
