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Better late than never: late bloomer Marianne Wootton overcame arthritis to teach aerobics at 70 - Fourth Annual Seniors Section

American Fitness, Jan-Feb, 1993 by Helen Gardner

Late bloomer Marianne Wootton overcame arthritis to teach aerobics at 70.

I was earnestly explaining the workings of an abdominal crunch muscle toning machine to a virile young man when he suddenly began to laugh" Marianne Wootton recalled with a smile, "After sputtering a few times, he told me he was not laughing at me, but at this comic situation." Wootton is a 70-year-old woman demonstrating exercise to someone 50 years younger and in excellent physical condition. After a good laugh, this vital woman enrolled the young man in her aerobics class.

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Wootton was not always into physical fitness although she has always been health-conscious. For 25 years she taught special education in the public school system to mentally and/or physically disabled students. When she finally stopped, she found herself physically crippled with arthritis. She struggled and fought, rejected help and then sought it. "I remind ed myself of a trapped wild bird," says Wootton. "I constantly threw myself against the cage of this disease."

She then began seeking medical help. After gathering medical expenses and opinions, Wootton underwent carpel tunnell surgery. However, as she straggled to overcome the surgery and her debilitating disease, she lost muscle tone in her arms and legs. Rather than spending the rest of her life bound to a wheelchair, she began aqua aerobics. She did the prescribed movements with a great deal of pain at first, but each day became a bit easier than the day before.

Eleven months later, Wootton accepted a volunteer position guiding guests at a local fitness center on three-mile walks through the desert canyon. Then, a younger woman who taught aerobic classes at the fitness center decided to open her own aerobic and fitness business and asked Wootton to become a partner. "When my friends heard I was going into business some said, 'At your age?"' she says. "Others asked, "Where will you find the time?"'

Getting involved in the fitness program renewed Wootton's business and activity interests. Now serving on a county planning board for the care of retarded citizens, she is also a member of the zoning and planning commission in her town and a board member of the local convention center. She is currently involved in planning and promoting a "Senior Fitness" program at the new aerobics center.

"I feel on top of the world at 70," says Wootton, who wears a t-shirt which sums up her philosophy of life. It reads, "If Older Is Better I Must Be Approaching Magnificent."

Better late than never: late bloomer Marianne Wootton overcame arthritis to teach aerobics at 70 - Fourth Annual Seniors Section

American Fitness, Jan-Feb, 1993 by Helen Gardner

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