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Violet Lewis, 86, keeps her aerobics class moving at the Northern Neck YMCA. 'I think I can keep doing it until I'm 90,' she says. |
BY FRANK DELANO
Violet May Skinner Lewis is 86 years old, 4 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 95 pounds.
But few little old ladies move like her.
"C'mon, girls, let's work a little harder!" she barked at her 17 students in an aquatic exercise class one recent morning at the Northern Neck Family YMCA in Kilmarnock.
"One and two and three and four! Pick it up! C'mon, higher, let's go!" said the high-stepping, arm-waving, headset-wearing Lewis on the side of the pool.
"I don't think you're working hard. Move it! Move it! Push it hard! One more minute! Looks good!"
As always, Lewis ended her class with a joke. Her students were all smiling as they toweled off.
One of them was Mary John Payne, 80, of White Stone. Lewis "is everybody's favorite teacher," Payne said.
"She's unreal. She doesn't sit still. She puts all of us to shame. We think that if she can do it, we better get going. She's an inspiration to us all."
"I don't think I'm that remarkable," Lewis demurred between her two classes that morning. "I don't feel old, you know. But I do think you have to keep active."
If she hadn't been sitting with a reporter, she said, she would likely have been taking another exercise class or two, practicing her aerobic routines or walking a 15-minute mile on a treadmill.
"I'm really fortunate I can do something I love. I thank the Lord every day for giving me the strength to do it," she said.
HELPING OTHERS
Lewis was 9 months old when her family moved from Aberdeen, Scotland, to Cleveland, Ohio.
As a teenager, she won awards for Scottish Highland dancing. "It was aerobic, but we never heard or used that word back then," she said.
In February 1942 she married the love of her life, who was soon drafted into the U.S. Army. After World War II, they raised four children at Air Force bases all over the world. Her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are now scattered all over the country.
When her husband, David, retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1972, they moved into a house in White Stone they built for $35,000 on Carter's Creek. David died eight years ago.
"My parents told me what to do for the first 20 years of my life and my husband told me what to do for the next 56 years," she said. "When David died, I had to figure out what to do by myself. I became much more involved in the work and the people."
She was "a mere child of 59" in January 1981 when she took her first aerobic dancing class. "By September, I was teaching the course," she said.
As time went on, the Aerobic and Fitness Association of America certified her in aerobic dancing, water aerobics, personal training and weight training. In February she renewed her certificates for two more years.
"I think I can keep doing it until I'm 90," she said. "After all, Jack LaLanne, the father of aerobics, is still exercising and going strong at 93."
"It's not that I don't get tired and have aches and pains. I do. But, when I'm teaching, I'm so wrapped up in what I'm doing that I don't feel my aches and pains.
"If I can't sleep at night, I lie awake planning my programs and doing repetitions in my head. Then I'll fall asleep, wake up and think, 'Shucks, I have to start all over again.'
"The best part is that I've made so many friends from all this. I love to help people. When they tell me something I've done has helped them, that makes me feel good."
STAYING YOUNG
Lewis enjoys a busy life outside of the YMCA--singing alto and playing bells in St. Andrews Presbyterian Church choirs, traveling often and entertaining at home.
"I like a glass of wine with my dinner," she said. "I have a healthy diet, but I don't eat a lot.
"I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and I enjoy sweets in moderation. I take lots of vitamins and supplements, but I firmly believe you've got to exercise."
Her next class that day was Senior Specialties. Forty-three people showed up, some of them older than Lewis. Some had replacement hips and knees. Others had suffered strokes or other infirmities, she said.
Her students sat in chairs and worked out with balls, weights and elastic fabric. For the next hour, Lewis raced around the room inspecting and adjusting elbows, knees and techniques.
"Doo Wah Diddy Diddy Dum Diddy Do" played on the tape deck.
"C'mon, Bill, lift that leg. What's the matter, Bev? Oh, you're tired. Don't give me that stuff! Step, step, cha, cha, cha. Step, step, cha, cha, cha. Can you do a couple more? The answer is yes.
"Hey, Charles, that looks great back there. Working those quads will keep you out of wheelchairs.
"With the pulse, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. And again, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
"Getting tired? Think of what you're doing for yourself. You're getting dense bones like you always wanted, didn't you? Holy smokes, I can't believe it's time to quit."
At the end of the class, Beverley R. Wellford, a 79-year-old student from Irvington, said this about Lewis:
"A lot of people have lived a few years longer because of Violet. She's only 86. I don't know what she's going to do when she gets old."
Frank Delano: 804/333-3834
Email: fpdelano@gmail.com
