92-year-old woman exercises, walks 10,000 steps every day at local YMCA

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - Sonja Elzey is a 92-year-old woman who exercises every day at the Renaissance Pointe YMCA.

She says her favorite form of exercise is dancing at the Zumba class with YMCA instructor Vanessa Escobar. Escobar says Elzey and a group of women have been taking the class together for seven years.

Escobar says that Elzey is her biggest inspiration. She says that every person who comes to the class sees Elzey and says she is amazing.

“We all are family with her,” Escobar said.

Family is the reason why Elzey loves fitness and health, Elzey says. She wants to stay fit to be able to do things with her family.

“I cycled for 45 minutes before I came here, then I do the treadmill,” Elzey said. “I do the heart rate exercises on the treadmill to make sure the heart is good, then I come to Zumba.”

Escobar says Sonja shows everyone in her class that no matter your age you can still dance.

Elzey says fitness has given her strength even during the hard times. She has survived a craniotomy, open heart surgery, and colon cancer.

Her daughter Nancy Zimmerman says every time she wakes up from surgery, she smiles and is ready to hop out of the hospital bed to walk.

Elzey says she hopes to inspire more people her age to stay active.

“Even if you don’t want to exercise, you can still come and keep your mind healthy,” Elzey said.

She says her goal is to get 10 thousand steps and stay as healthy.

“Sonja is the inspiration for everybody in the class including me, because every morning I think of Sonja coming to my class,” Escobar said. “Everybody goes to the rhythm not just for the dance, but they dance for life!”

Elzey hopes to continue to take classes at the YMCA for the rest of her life.

“I’m so glad I got my 10 thousand steps in,” Elzey said. “Because now I don’t have to worry about getting them when I get home.”