There was one more challenge 79-year-old Anne Thibodeaux was determined to complete \u2014 walking up the 72 steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the location of the well-known scene in the movie \u201cRocky\u201d where the fictional boxer, played by Sylvester Stallone, runs up the steps as part of his training.<\/p>\n
And Thibodeaux did it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I got up those stairs, I imitated the same scene when \u2018Rocky\u2019 raised his arms in victory,\u201d Thibodeaux said. \u201cI felt great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even years before, though, Thibodeaux, who lives in New Orleans, was already living an active life, taking more than 11 online fitness classes over six days a week since 2014 through the nationwide SilverSneakers program.<\/p>\n
Because of her dedication to fitness as well as her ability to motivate older adults and serve as a role model, she recently received the 2025 SilverSneakers Member of the Year Activity Award.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I found out I was chosen, I was speechless,\u201d said Thibodeaux, who was selected for the award from more than 800 nominees nationwide. \u201cPeople who know me know that I have never been speechless my entire life. It was a very emotional moment for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
SilverSneakers, managed by Tivity Health Inc., partners with several health care companies including Humana, Aetna and UnitedHealthcare. These providers work with SilverSneakers to offer a network of gyms, community centers and fitness classes at low or no cost.<\/p>\n
The program is open to anyone 65 and older enrolled in a Medicare Advantage or Medigap plan.<\/p>\n
Thibodeaux said the people she works out with are a close-knit family.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe not only take exercise classes but spend time together,\u201d Thibodeaux said. \u201cWe go out for lunch, play Bunco, have a book club and take tours of local interests. We are like an extended family, looking after each other and supporting each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thibodeaux is a retired elementary school teacher.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy job now is to prepare myself to keep living my best life,\u201d Thibodeaux said, \u201cand a big portion of that is exercise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deana Palmisano-Lejarza is Thibodeaux\u2019s instructor.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnne has so much stamina,\u201d Palmisano-Lejarza said. \u201cI am certain she can do just about anything.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnne is also a very caring and loving person who brings so much positivity to the groups she exercises with and is a role model to many people.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the 1930 American folktale “The Little Engine That Could” by Arnold Munk, a familiar line reads \u201cI think I can, I think can,\u201d a metaphor for reaching new challenges.<\/p>\n
And that is exactly what Thibodeaux intends to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cI realize that at 79, there are things I can\u2019t do anymore,\u201d Thibodeaux said. \u201cBut I feel like I still have a lot of life left in me. I have places to go, and I want to experience new things.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am someone who never gives up. And as I go along, I am writing my own story.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There was one more challenge 79-year-old Anne Thibodeaux was determined to complete \u2014 walking up the 72 steps…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285500,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[337,97],"class_list":{"0":"post-285499","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-health"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285499\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}