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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Part of the bargain for living on Earth is that you have to deal with the laws of gravity. As you age, it tends to get more difficult to be able to stay on your feet, and gravity starts having its affects on your day-to-day life.
Just don’t tell that to Boston’s own Sharon Fillyaw, a local bodybuilder and Masters Figure Champ who has dedicated her time to helping senior citizens stay on their feet as part of her Fall Prevention and Recovery class at Warren Hall.
Fillyaw, or also known as the “Drill Sergeant,” by many of class’s participants for her hard work and extreme dedication to body mechanics and balance, says that her strict methods may be intense and difficult, but they help make seniors more self reliant.
“It is very important that we are able to strengthen the quads and rotator cuffs of every senior who walks through that door,” says Fillyaw. “Not only does it help them physically in case they are ever knocked off balance and need to quickly adjust to their surroundings, but it gives them all the confidence that they can live a normal day-to-day life without the worry of falling and hurting themselves or others.”
Along with making the class an intense workout and something that will benefit these senior citizens on a day-to-day basis, Sharon says she also has the goal of making the seniors want to come back and enjoy what they are doing; she tries to be more than just a senior advisor to her students.
“We try to make it as fun and exciting as possible,” says Fillyaw. “We try to make it a good mix of times where I am the ‘drill sergeant,’ and times where I am there to comfort these people. So far, we’ve seen a good amount of people keep coming back and we definitely want to keep it that way.”
