StrongBodies™ Program Re-enrollment for repeat participants
• Four 10-week virtual workshops, meeting for one hour each, will be held on:
• Mondays & Wednesdays, January 11 - March 17, 2021 at 8:30 am, 11:15 am or 5:00 pm, and
  Tuesdays & Thursdays, January 12 - March 18, 2021 at 8:30 am.

COST: No fee for new participants. $20 for individuals repeating. Scholarships available for Chippewa County residents by contacting us at adrc@co.chippewa.wi.us or 715-726-7777.

Please register at least one week in advance at www.adrcevents.org. Repeat participants must send in a Re-enrollment Consent Form.

Your Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) of Chippewa County has been partnering with the ADRC of Eau Claire County to bring you opportunities to participate in a variety of healthy living workshops. We would eventually like to offer our own classes so we can make it convenient for people living in all areas of the county. Luckily, all of these are now virtual so if you have access to the internet or you have a smart phone, there is a good chance you can participate!

The ADRC’s Prevention Programs meet the highest-level criteria for evidence-based Health Promotion Programs for older adults. This is great news because they have:
• Demonstrated to be effective for improving the health and well being or reducing disease, disability and/or injury among older adults.
• Undergone experimental design.
• Fully replicated in other community sites.
• Dissemination products have been developed and are available to the public.

StrongBodies virtual classes have only been approved for repeat participants. As conditions in Eau Claire County are not looking promising for conducting in-person classes yet this fall/winter, we have proceeded with a virtual pilot project with UW Madison Extension, the State license-holder for the StrongBodies™ Program. The goal is to assess program fidelity and safety practices for new participants in virtual classes, thereby expanding participation to more individuals. We know that strength training is important. Being physically active and socially connected are both essential for health and well-being.

This pilot project consists of meeting virtually with a certified Advanced StrongBodies™ Leader to: 1) Complete a pre- Senior Fitness Testing™ assessment, 2) Participate in one to two sessions (or as needed) to go through the series of 12 strength and balance training exercises to ensure proper technique. This is important for injury prevention and maximum benefit. After it is mutually determined that the individual is ready to join one of the virtual group classes, they can then join one of 3 or 4 workshop offerings, and 3) Complete the post- Senior Fitness Testing at the end of the 8 to 10-week session.

To participate in the pilot, one must first attend an Information Session, and complete and return all required StrongBodies forms to the ADRC. The next Information Session is on Thursday, December 3rd at 10:00 a.m. Once required forms are received, one-hour classes are set up (with up to two individuals) over the next three weeks in preparation for joining virtual group classes. The next series of 10-week StrongBodies™ workshops will start on January 11 and 12, 2021. Eau Claire County is very excited to be part of this valuable pilot project. Initial feedback from the first cohort of participants has been very favorable.