As a 63-year-old retired law enforcement officer, Susan Faulkner has had her fair share of physical training. But by time of her retirement at age 59, she was not in the best of health due to her smoking habit of 45 years. She had also been diagnosed with emphysema years earlier.
After retirement, Faulkner admittedly did a lot of sitting and smoking and reached a point where she could hardly walk due to back problems. Doctors suggested Faulkner quit smoking and build her core to alleviate the pain in her back. She was receiving physical therapy for her back issues when her sister saw an ad for auditions for a senior dance team.
“I auditioned and made the dance team which changed my life,” Faulkner explained. “Once I started dancing my back problem disappeared. The emphysema will never go away but I find the more I dance the longer I can go without getting out of breath. I still have a long way to go but it gets better every day.”
Faulkner always had a passion for dance but had no clue there were dance classes for adults until her audition for the Atl Silver Classix Crew senior dance team. She now takes a mix of hip hop and funky jazz dance classes three times a week.
“Dancing makes me feel young again and seems to give me more energy,” Faulkner said. “You can get in shape and have fun at the same time. Once you turn the music on, you can’t help but to start dancing. I get to escape from my shell.”
Like many others, Faulkner struggled to find a workout she could do at home in her spare time.
“I tried using a DVD in the past and found them to be either boring or hard to follow. I recently started using one that is fun,” she said.
Although she found fitness videos in the past either moved too fast or the music was uninspiring, Faulkner expresses high praise for Shazzy Fitness. Now, as one of the most popular Shazzy Fitness dance team members, Faulkner shares how she came to love the Shazzy workout.
“I loved working on the Shazzy Fitness exercise program. It was a great experience and made me realize just how out of shape I was. The instructors are excellent dancers and their choreography is awesome and makes you want to get up and start dancing. It is comforting to know you can dance to good clean hip-hop music. I feel honored to have been a part of the project. I think it will change a lot of lives. People will have fun and get in shape at the same time. No other class I have taken compares to this video.”
With the influence of her daughter’s pregnancy and the support of her dance team, Faulkner quit smoking three years ago and offers advice to others with ongoing health problems,
“Don’t sit around and feel sorry for yourself thinking you are on your deathbed. Get up and do something. Tap your feet, shake your booty, just move. You are never too old and it is never too late to get started. No excuses. Anyone can dance. Put in a DVD and have fun.”