VERNON — A new RSVP Bone Builders class has started in Vernon. The class meets on Mondays and Fridays from 10 to 11 am at Vernon Senior Housing, 82 Huckle Hill Road, Vernon.
Bone Builders classes are free, and open to all.
Based on research by Tufts University finding that age-appropriate weight training exercises increase bone density and muscle strength, the RSVP Bone Builders Exercise program uses weight training to prevent and reverse the effects of osteoporosis.
Key to the classes are exercises to improve balance, exercises with free weights, a warm up and cool down, and dietary and nutritional discussions.
Studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine show that senior women who participated in a weight training program twice weekly for a year gained an average of 1 percent in bone density. A control group lost 2 to 2.5 percent over the same period. Bone Builders participants report increased strength, better balance, more energy and sense of well-being.
Volunteer-led RSVP Bone Builders classes are free and open to anyone interested – men and women – of any age.
Other Bone Builders classes in Windham County are held at the following locations:
• Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, Exercise Room, Lower Level. Tuesdays and Fridays, 11 a.m. to noon, and Mondays and Thursdays, 3:15 to 4:15 p.m.
• Dummerston Congregational Church, 1535 Middle Rd. Mondays and Thursdays, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
• Putney Meadows Senior Housing (near the Putney Food Co-op). Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 to 11 a.m.
• Wilmington, St. Mary's, Main St., Wilmington. Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
• South Londonderry Town Offices, Old School Street, Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
• Hayes Court Community Room, Garfield Drive, West Brattleboro. Mondays and Thursdays, 10-11 a.m.
• Melrose Terrace Community Room, G.F. Miller Drive, West Brattleboro. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
• Bellows Falls Senior Center, Hyde Street. Tuesdays at 9 a.m. and Thursdays at 10 a.m.
• Vernon Hall Retirement Residence, Route 142, Vernon. Mondays and Wednesdays, 10 to 11 a.m.
• Jacksonville/Whitingham Municipal Center, Route 100, Jacksonville. Mondays and Fridays, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
• West Dover, Butterfield Commons. Mondays and Thursdays, 10-11 a.m.
For more information about the Bone Builders program, or to inquire about becoming a volunteer class leader, please call Green Mountain RSVP and Volunteer Center at 802-254 7515. Their office is at 974 Western Ave., Brattleboro.