Group Exercise Instructor Diane Reuther

Group Exercise Instructor Diane Reuther talks with the Becoming Elli cohosts, Jill McCauslin and Chris Brown, about being fit as a woman over 50.

Diane has been a group exercise instructor since 1986. She's seen a lot of changes in the fitness industry and how instructors are trained and credentialed. Today, Diane teaches:

• Pilates (certified through SCW Fitness Education)
• Silver Sneaker (certified https://www.silversneakers.com/)
• Step class

We discuss why some of us like step class and why others don't. Diane explains that step is a visual class and that we walk through the steps, repeating the motions into a routine so that the class feels like a dance class.

Some of the questions that Jill and Chris ask Diane is how she defines fit and if we had only 15 minutes in a day to work out, what should we do. Diane says anything we do for fitness should be fun and safe. Also, she reminds us that the pool is our friend.

Diane is an avid hiker. She and her husband hike a lot of trails close to home and Diane tells us about the wonderful sounding hiking vacation the two of them took.

Last summer Diane had a hysterectomy and discussed her recovery with us. Before the surgery, she was very active and in good physical shape, but she followed her doctor's advice and took baby steps to recover. She had laparoscopy with four small incisions of thumbnail size. Her recovery was limited to what she could do without pain. Diane started walking two days after surgery. At first, she walked the length of her driveway because she was anxious to get moving outside. So, at first, she walked five minutes. The next day she walked for seven minutes and the next day nine minutes. She made sure her husband accompanied her on these walks.

Disclaimer: Neither Diane nor us at Becoming Elli are doctors or physical therapists. We are not providing you with any kind of medical advice.

The discussion with Diane was informative and enjoyable. She has some good advice for women over 50 who are trying to improve their fitness and health.

Jill and Chris also talk a bit about healthy eating and finding new vegetables to try.