Living a healthy lifestyle is nothing new to seniors living at Holly Creek Retirement Community. After all, a few residents have exercised in more than 300 fitness classes to date. So when the International Council on Active Aging celebrates "Active Aging Week" this week, these residents already know that how well they age has much more to do with how well they function, and a lot less to do with their years.

"The benefits of exercise for seniors include improving pulmonary function, increasing bone density, and improving flexibility and range of motion," said Holly Creek's fitness instructor Rhonda Wolffis. "It also helps maintain balance and improve reflexes to decrease falls, builds endurance, improves posture, increases metabolism, boosts their mood, improves self-efficiency and most importantly, maintains their independence.

Holly Creek promotes fitness and health through a variety of classes custom designed for residents. Life Moves consists of weight-bearing, low-impact body movements to great music new and old. It incorporates strength training using light weights and resistance tubes. Balance and coordination are a huge part of the program.

For those with arthritis and related diseases, the Arthritis Foundation Aquatic program includes exercises that promote optimum joint flexibility, muscle strength, endurance, coordination and balance. The water supports the body, which reduces the stress on the joints.

"These programs really make it easy for our seniors to remain active without stressing their joints or causing unnecessary injuries," Wolffis said. "We take it slow and easy at times, but it's the consistency of fitness activities that makes the difference.

For seniors unable to participate in formal fitness classes, Wolffis offers these at-home tips:

Remember to warm up first and do a small amount of repetitions until you build up.

Take soup cans and do bicep curls or raise them over your head to strengthen your upper body. Bend and extend at the elbow and hold your arms close to your body.

Stand next to a chair. Flex one foot slowly, push it out then slowly pull it back in. Slowly lift your heel up to the buttock to strengthen hamstring muscles.

Sit in a chair and put a small ball between your feet. Using your feet to hold the ball, raise the ball with your knees. You can also squeeze the ball between your hands in front of your chest to strengthen pectoral muscles.

To improve balance, stand behind a char and lift one knee for five seconds. Stand tall. Switch sides. You can also do squats behind the chair using your legs and your abdominal muscles to stand back up.

Walk and take the stairs, even small flights, when possible.