A morning trip to the Waynesville Recreation Center shows the place is teeming with people.

The classrooms are filled. The treadmills are humming, the ellipticals are whirring and there is sometimes a waiting line for the upper and lower body workout machines.

Those not using the machines are walking or swimming laps or enjoying a cup of coffee to top off their workout.

This crowd most certainly isnt the early January crowd that floods the gym as part of a New Years Resolution. They are year-around regulars who appreciate the center for all it offers.

This is a great facility, said Mike Krezek, 81, of Maggie Valley. Its just wonderful that a town the size of Waynesville has a place like this.

Krezek works out at least twice a week, mostly to strengthen his upper and lower body. Its a regimen he started two years ago after he fell when moving a ladder in a stairwell.

After his release from therapy, his therapist at Pivot in Canton suggested he start working out, and even came over to the rec center to demonstrate which machines would help the most and how to properly use them.

Krezek eventually got back to playing his favorite game, golf, but still kept coming to the center, thanks to the friendly people he met.

MAINTAINING HEALTH Mike Krezek uses machines at the Waynesville Recreaation Center to improve lower body strength.

Theres an awful lot of regulars here, he said. Well meet up and go get something to eat.

Tommy Bright wholeheartedly agreed with Krezeks assessment. Bright, 74, is a five-day-a-week attendee where he continues a regular fitness routine he started more than a decade ago. Bright moved to Waynesville from Burlington in 2014 to be near his son and grandchildren, now 6 and 9.

I started getting fat, he said, noting he went from 180 to 227, so I started working out again. When you move, its hard to make new friends, but this is such a friendly group of people. Its nice to have a place like this to go.

STAYING STRONG Chris Martin works out in the free weight exercise room at Waynesville Recreation Center.

Chris Martin, now 76, started working out after he quit smoking. Once damaged lungs begin to repair, there is a burst of energy that needs to be channeled constructively, he explained.

He continues the workout routine not only to combat his vertigo, but to make sure he retains mobility. In the weight room he has one machine he calls his get out of the bathtub machine. Another is a keep me standing up machine.

If you lose your knees, you are screwed, he said.

Martin said hes met some amazing people at the recreation center. One man in his 80s runs laps every day.

Another 80-plus year old woman is in the top 1 percent of the population her age in that she can be seated and stand straight up and lift weights above her head all in one swoop.

Others walk around the track pushing oxygen machines, showing an amazing resiliency, he said.

As for Martin, he assesses his fundamental strength using the perfect Turkish get up, a method for standing up from a flat-on-the floor starting position. To make the move trickier, it is performed with a weight in one hand raised about the head.

EXERCISE BUDDIES Shirley Harvey and Carolyn Waller chat after a quick walk around the track at Waynesville Recreation Center. The busy pool area can be seen through the window.

Tim Plowman is amazing on how to self-assess yourself, he said, referencing the fitness supervisor at the recreation center.

Shirley Harvey, 70, and Carolyn Waller, 80, enjoy spending time at the recreation center where they take a stretch and low-impact weight class together and walk. When the weather is nice, they use the outdoor track, or even meet up at Lake Junaluska.

They met 20 years ago when Harvey was giving piano lessons, and now have similar fitness goals.

I need the exercise, but I enjoy meeting people, as well, Harvey said.

I come here to exercise, Waller said. We all know we need exercise, at least were supposed to know that. I love to walk.

The Waynesville Recreation Center is a certified senior friendly business and is located at 550 Vance St. in Waynesville.

Excerpt from:

Seniors find friendship, path to healthy living at Waynesville Recreation Center - The Mountaineer