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Woman, 102, finds creative way to work in exercise

By Nancy Dow, The Oregonian

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Who: Ida Van Parys, 102, Portland, Oregon; 5 feet, 125 pounds

Workout: Van Parys' daughter, Joan Pendergast, describes her mom as "disciplined." Every morning before breakfast, seven days a week, Van Parys spends 15 minutes on a Cardio Cruiser sold by Body by Jake. It resembles a kind of recumbent Stair Master. In addition, several times a day she walks four laps around the kitchen island in the condo she shares with Joan's twin sister, Joyce Clawson. She figures the laps add up to about 20 minutes a day. The three women live in two adjoining condos, and Van Parys only walks laps when one of her daughters is home. She uses a walker at other times.

Van Parys also keeps busy reading lots of mystery novels from the library. She prefers "cozy mysteries," the non-gruesome kind. She reads a couple of books a week in large print, keeping track of them on index cards with her own one-to-five rating system. Until about six months ago she was still knitting prayer shawls for her church.

Feedback: "If I didn't do the exercises every day, I wouldn't still be on my feet. I'd be stuck in a chair all the time. It keeps me going." According to her daughters, Van Parys has a wonderful sense of humor. She was a good golfer when younger; after her husband retired they played almost every day. Van Parys has seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. She's been pretty healthy, all in all, though she's on her fifth pacemaker. She takes medication for osteoporosis and for her heart.

Nutrition: Breakfast is yogurt with raisins and a banana. Lunch is a chicken or beef sandwich with cheese, plus applesauce. Dinner is generally vegetarian lasagna or a casserole and rarely includes beef. She's replaced her cocktail-time chardonnay with orange juice but has ice cream every night after dinner. Her supplements include calcium and a multivitamin. She drinks Ensure daily and water all day long.

jtrubenbach@cox.net