Powerhouse Polly is an inspiration

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This article was published 14/10/2023 (1065 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Polly planks, she lifts weights and is the star student of her yoga class at Brandon’s YMCA.

Not only does Polly Fleming have energy to burn but she is an inspiration to many who are 20 and 30 years younger, said her longtime friend and Y workout buddy, Mary Jo Abbott.

“I think Polly is a marvel. Friday’s class started off with a three-minute plank challenge and Polly nailed it. At 89, she is more fit and active than many people are, at a quarter of her age,” Abbott said.

Standing at “five feet and a little bit”, Polly Fleming has spent all her 89 years in Brandon. Growing up, she was in the middle, between two brothers, and said she’s always led an active life.

“I’ve always wanted to keep myself in shape,” Fleming said. “I was the only girl in the family, and nobody really bothered me because I went to a gym. Wherever there was a gym open, I would go there. And when one closed, I’d go to the next one.”

One of those gyms was Fitness Quest, which closed in 2016 after operating in the Town Centre for 17 years. When it shut down, Fleming and Abbott became members of the Y.

“I go every weekday, taking classes five mornings a week,” Fleming said. “Sometimes we’re in the big gym, but we also do weights. And then next door is the exercise room and it’s got a mirror right smack across, so you can watch yourself,” Fleming said as she laughed.

Classes are different each day, designed to increase muscle and improve strength. Mid-week are cardiovascular exercises, a step class, and yoga for flexibility. The week ends with boot camp, strengthening the core with the plank, which requires supporting the body’s weight on forearms, elbows, and toes.

“Well, I think I’m the oldest,” Fleming said. “There’s a girl in her 70s and she’s very good. The rest I would say are in their 60s, 50s and much younger. But I modify the odd exercise, because of my age. I do everything — maybe not as fast, but I still do it. It’s not that I’m slow, it’s just that I am careful. I don’t go hog wild because I don’t want to fall and hurt myself.”

Fleming hurt her shoulder awhile ago, which forced her to put down the 10-pound weights, much to her annoyance she said, but she’s now lifting a little bit more, each time.

“That really ticked me off, but after a few months I’m back up to eight pounds. And if my shoulder bothers me, I don’t use the weight on that shoulder. And my instructor will say, ‘watch that shoulder, Polly’, and I’ll go, yeah, yeah, OK,” Fleming said as she chuckled.

Everyone wants to be Polly when they grow up, said Sue Palmer, fitness class supervisor at the YMCA.

“She is a role model for every participant here at the Y. She’s inspirational, even for instructors, and we love her to pieces. She inspires me. She’s that good.”

As someone who takes people through their paces in step class, aqua size, and yoga, Palmer said here is an important life lesson in someone like Fleming.

“When many people retire, they literally have nothing to do. And we have so much here at the Y, people can come multiple times a day. They can come for a swim in the morning and then in the evening, attend a nice yoga or stretch and release class,” Palmer said.

Physical activity for people over the age of 70 has significant benefits, including helping to control arthritis, maintain healthy bones, stamina and muscle strength, which help prevent falls, according to the United States-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Moderate aerobic exercise can improve part of the brain that plays a role in memory, which allows you to recall where things are located on both a short and long-term basis, stated a medically-reviewed article on the CDC website.

When asked what her secret is, Fleming said, “I don’t know why I have the zest for life, I’ve always had it, it’s just something that was in me, I guess.”

But then she paused, and added, “You know what it is? I just keep going. I go. Saturdays I walk from 26th Street, west to 34th Street, back east again to the cemetery on 18th Street to see my husband, and then back to where I started.

“I always want to make sure I get my 10,000 steps in.”

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

» X: @enviromichele