{"id":16398,"date":"2026-03-25T23:00:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T23:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=16398"},"modified":"2026-03-25T23:00:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T23:00:10","slug":"ex-bodybuilder-gives-riverhead-55-plus-community-residents-a-lift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=16398","title":{"rendered":"Ex-bodybuilder gives Riverhead 55-plus community residents a lift"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJoanne Lucas teaches a class of roughly 20 seniors how to stay fit. (Credit: Brendan Carpenter)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

For the residents in Joanne Lucas\u2019 fitness class at Glenwood Village in Riverhead,<\/a> age is nothing but a number.<\/p>\n

Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon since late September, about 20 residents from the 55-and-over community gather in the village clubhouse for 45 minutes of strength and balance training \u2014 lifting weights, working muscles and, in some cases, rebuilding abilities they thought were gone for good.<\/p>\n

At the center of the group ranging in age from 59 to 95, is Ms. Lucas, 65,\u00a0a former figure bodybuilder who volunteers her time teaching the class.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of them came in with walkers or couldn\u2019t stand up out of a chair. Now they\u2019re doing squats with dumbbells,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For older adults, strength and balance aren\u2019t just about fitness \u2014\u00a0they\u2019re vital to staying independent and avoiding the kinds of falls that can change lives overnight.<\/p>\n

In Ms. Lucas\u2019 class, called\u00a0Strength Training and Balance with a Chair, seniors work out to music with\u00a0happy but determined faces as they move through each set.\u00a0Some participants bring their own weights. Others use the equipment available. All of them keep moving.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve gotten stronger with my legs and my arms,\u201d said Linda Stumpf, 75, before a workout Tuesday. \u201cI\u2019ve learned about working the core. If we do something wrong, she expresses it, she corrects us. She\u2019s wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Stumpf positioned herself in the front row,\u00a0lifting steadily through each exercise as the class moved in rhythm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve learned so much from her about exercising and doing it properly,\u201d said Ms. Stumpf. \u201cWhen I leave this class, I feel energized. The best I feel throughout the whole week is after these classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Donna DellaValle, 70, has been coming since Ms. Lucas first started teaching the class.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been doing things now that I haven\u2019t done in 30 years,\u201d said Ms. DellaValle. \u201cI\u2019ve lost 30 pounds, my blood sugar went down. She\u2019s just great. All seniors should do this because it makes such a difference in your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The class includes various stretching and weightlifting exercises. (Credit: Brendan Carpenter)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ms. Lucas\u2019 path to the front of the room started decades ago. She grew up in Oakdale and began figure skating at age 3, sticking with it through seventh grade before pivoting to gymnastics. That eventually led her to Pennsylvania Western University\/Clarion on a scholarship.<\/p>\n

She graduated in 1983 with a degree in early childhood and elementary education. She then moved to Groton, Conn., where she taught kindergarten in a child care center. A few years later, she returned to Long Island and opened her own center in East Islip, Watchful I Child Care Center.<\/p>\n

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Then came a dramatic shift. In the early 1990s, she sold the business and moved to New Zealand. For three of the six years she lived there,\u00a0she competed as a figure bodybuilder, traveling internationally for competitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost girls compete in one contest a year. For three years, I did five to six,\u201d said Ms. Lucas. \u201cI ended up with the women\u2019s sports ambassador award for the country because of my reputation in the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

She competed in Spain, Prague, Germany and Australia before rupturing her appendix.\u00a0In 1999, she also became a mother, giving birth to her son, Dalton \u2014 a turning point that ended her competitive career.<\/p>\n

She returned to Long Island, settling in\u00a0Jamesport\u00a0in 2000. Her son is now a member of the Jamesport Fire Department and runs Lucas Built LLC, a local excavation, drainage and trucking company.<\/p>\n

Ms. Lucas then became a personal trainer; the Glenwood Village class came about almost by accident.<\/p>\n

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Bicep curls are just one of the array of exercises done in the class. (Credit: Brendan Carpenter)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Her mother, Barbara Klein, lives in the community. When Ms. Lucas heard residents were looking for a yoga instructor, she knew that wasn\u2019t her lane. She didn\u2019t know a thing about yoga, but she knew weightlifting,\u00a0and decided to \u201cteach them something better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve come full circle, from early childhood to now, I\u2019m working with seniors,\u201d Ms. Lucas said. \u201cI really, really enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

She tailors the moves in her class to each person. She helps residents choose appropriate weights,\u00a0pushes them gently when they can handle more\u00a0and teaches proper form, breathing and nutrition.<\/p>\n

The lessons go beyond exercise.<\/p>\n

She also teaches them about safety in their homes, specifically what to do if they fall. She even demonstrates techniques for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeniors think they have to stay the way they are. That\u2019s why this is so important to get out in the community, because it works,\u201d she said. \u201cWe play music, and we laugh a lot. It\u2019s a really, really good class.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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Joanne Lucas teaches a class of roughly 20 seniors how to stay fit. (Credit: Brendan Carpenter) For the residents in Joanne Lucas\u2019 fitness class at Glenwood Village in Riverhead, age is nothing but a number. 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