30 | SUNRAYS NOVEMBER 2014
ONLINE:
SCTXCA.ORG
FITNESS
At 85, Mary Singletary knows what’s good for a beating
heart.
“Love, and a good Cabernet Sauvignon,” she says, laughing.
But when Mary felt the first flutter of atrial fibrillation
(AFib) several years ago, she immediately knew this was
not something that a good glass of red wine could fix. Her
physician placed her on requisite daily medication, but
she wanted to do more to help strengthen her heart and
improve chances of a longer and healthier life. The solution,
she says, was just down the street at the Sun City Texas
Fitness Center, where she enlisted the help of Personal
Trainer Chris Freas.
“When Mary first came to see me, she had some health
issues and I had to get a doctor’s approval before I could
work with her,” says Chris, noting that in addition to dealing
with AFib, Mary had undergone a right knee replacement
and surgery on both shoulders. “She also wanted to lose
weight, tone up, and increase her strength and stamina.
Her doctor agreed that exercise would be a great idea.”
Cautious of the AFib, Chris started Mary on just one set
of ten reps using light weights and working all the muscle
groups. Now, a year later, she performs two sets on each
machine using much heavier weights. “She has exceeded
both our expectations,” says Chris, adding that Mary’s
enthusiasmmakes her a “joy” to work with. “Not only has
she lost weight,” he says, “but we can actually see that the
muscle size has increased.”
Mary puts her progress in layman’s terms. “You ought to
see my arms with those muscles popping up!” she exclaims.
“And that stuff I had on both sides of me is gone. Everything
I have is two sizes too big. My figure has changed completely.
What’s happened is I’ve gotten my schoolgirl figure back.
Athlete of the Month
By Lynda Dufour
Photo by SHERRY MCRAE
I’m so proud of it.”
“Feeling stronger just makes me more energetic and happy,”
she says, remembering a time after her AFib diagnosis when
she tended to be a homebody, with no energy or enthusiasm
for life. Nowadays, she’s anxious to get back to golfing with
friends, she loves working in her backyard water garden, and
she looks forward to her twice-weekly workouts with Chris.
But perhaps the greatest benefit of her strength training
is that Mary’s AFib is now under control. “My heartbeat,”
she says happily, “is perfect.”
Monday, November 10, 10 a.m.,
Cowan Creek
In the Group
Fitness Tutorial,
W h i t n e y
A l e x a n d e r ,
Sun City Texas
Group Fitness
C o o r d i n a t o r ,
will answer your
questions about Group Fitness
classes. If youwant more information
about the classes offered, which
class is right for you, and how to
get started, please join us.
Group Fitness Tutorial
Meet Your Personal Trainer
Chris Freas
Certifications
Cooper Institute—
Certified Personal Trainer
Cooper Institute—
Fitness Specialist Older Adults
Cooper Institute—
Fitness Specialist Special Populations
Aerobics and Fitness Specialist Association of America
For an appointment with Chris, call 512-948-7761
