Aerobics at the Blatt: Just try it--you''ll like it

When Lael Kenney says she has been going to the noontime aerobics classes at the Blatt P.E. Fitness Center for "a while," she means for 28 years.

"They've had different types of classes during that time, and whatever they've offered at noontime I've gone to," said Kenney, a computer programmer with University Technology Services. "I go five days a week. It is what gets me through the day. It's as much mental as it is physical for me."

When Kenney isn't at the University, she is with her three daughters at their gym.

"They are 9, 11, and 14, and they are all competitive gymnasts," she said. "They started rather late in life for a gymnast--this is their third year of competition--but it is definitely a sport they excelled at. When they were younger, we started with them playing soccer, both outdoor and indoor, and then we tried cheerleading, which migrated to the gymnastics."

As Kenney was growing up in a small town in Oregon, her grade school offered competitive softball and volleyball, among other sports, and she participated. She also ran track. After service in the U.S. Army, she came to work at the University and pursued a bachelor's degree in business while she was here. She has participated in group exercise classes ever since.

And if Kenney looks like she is having fun, she is.

"I'd tell anyone to please come try a class," she said. "They'd have a good time."

11/07