LOS ANGELES — West Hills resident Helga Unkeless, 92, knows the importance of exercise more than most.
“Having been a physical therapist many, many years ago, perhaps I know more how important it is to keep certain muscle groups active and strong,” she said.
But these days, she’s not just working out her body, she’s also boosting her brain. Unkeless was one of the first members of a new fitness studio for seniors called Q4 Active. Phil Swain, the company’s co-founder and CEO, started the gym earlier this year with the idea that people should be able to enjoy the fourth quarter of their life by improving their physical and cognitive health.
“This woman’s 92 years old, drives here three times a week,” Swain said. “It seems that these things are being accepted that as we get older, our memory’s going to go. We’re going to have cognitive problems. Our knees are going to go, and that’s not the case.”
One particular class is a 45-minute circuit, where participants rotate between six stations. Each one has a purpose ranging from agility and balance to flexibility, muscle strength and brain function. One highlight is the SMARTfit wall, a fast-paced game where participants hit sections of the wall as they light up.
“When you put a cognitive demand on when you’re doing a physical activity, the neurons fire together,” Swain said. “This is science and research, and that’s kind of the magic.”
In other words, neurons that fire together, wire together — which neuroscientists say can improve how our brains learn, store and recall information.
“There’s some very compelling evidence that you can delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease or prevent it entirely with this kind of combined intervention, this kind of combined activity,” said Dr. Neil Martin, a neurosurgeon and one of the consultants behind Q4 Active.
Martin said that in the last 30 years, there has been a tremendous revolution in fitness — but only now are more people realizing the need for a cognitive element.
“We have so many older people like myself that would get such benefits from this type of exercise and caring,” Unkeless said.
Membership is $150 per month for unlimited classes. Unkeless lives alone, so this is also a chance for her to socialize with other members, which motivates her to keep her mind and body active.