At 92 years young, Mary Ann Robinson of West Point defies age with her commitment to fitness.

Mary Ann has always been active, playing basketball and running track in her younger days. “I’m an outdoors person,” she said. “I cut my own yard—about five acres—with a bushhog and tractor until I was 81.”

But in 2013, Mary Ann faced some significant setbacks. She had back surgery for a ruptured disc and struggled with muscle atrophy in her legs. “I started falling because my legs would just give way,” she said. “One time I fell out in my yard and had to crawl on my elbows over to a stump to pull myself up.”

Her condition worsened to the point that she could no longer walk. “I’d sit on the side of the bed, and someone would have to lift my feet and legs to put them on the bed,” she said. “I was in a wheelchair, and the doctors gave me no encouragement of walking again.”
 

Turning the Corner

Mary Ann completed physical therapy, where she graduated from a wheelchair to a walker. Admittedly “rather stubborn,” Mary Ann set out to regain her independence and joined North Medical Center-West Point’s Wellness Center in January 2014.

When she joined, Mary Ann was still relying on a walker. “The staff developed an exercise routine for me. “They would help me get on an exercise machine, stay with me and then help me get from one machine to another,” she said. “They took care of me really, because I didn’t walk very well.”

Mary Ann was determined and dedicated. Before long, she was moving confidently without her walker and growing stronger with every workout.
 

Bouncing Back

Around four years ago, Mary Ann got extremely sick and had to take several months off from the Wellness Center. But as soon as she was able, she was right back at it.

Now she works out four days a week for about two hours each day. She follows the exercise program that Wellness Center staff developed specifically for her, which includes using the Precor® elliptical machine, Nu Step® recumbent stepper, suspension trainer, rowing machine, spin bike and more.

“I started out lifting two-pound weights and now I’m up to five-pound weights. I also do the chest press for my upper body,” she said. “For my lower body, I do squats and the abduction/adduction, hamstring, leg extension and glute machines.”

In fact, there is very little Robinson won’t do. “I’m a bit of a daredevil,” she said. “I watch other people and wonder if I can do that, and so I do. The staff helps me and shows me how to do it correctly.”
 

Membership Has its Privileges

In addition to the obvious, Mary Ann says Wellness Center membership offers other benefits. “It’s like one big family,” she says. “I’m thankful for them, and I look forward to seeing everybody.”

As she nears the century mark, Mary Ann has no intention of slowing down. “I do things that most 92-year-olds don’t do,” she said. “I keep going because, at my age, I think if I were to stop, I would probably end up in a wheelchair.”