WeStretch is truly for everybody and every body.
In our search to discover who our “prime” users are, we have uncovered such a variety of people. From our first known user with cerebral palsy, to grandmas who have never exercised, dads with a competitive streak, couch-potato 20 year-olds, to world class dancers- the range has been astounding! We want to share with you the story of Liette, a 70-year-old stretcher who is a grandma with a zest for life.
Liette, known as Mimi to her family, has never been an athlete. She is very petite but before she tried WeStretch, exercise was never a part of her life. She would go for groceries at 7 am on a Saturday morning and walk her grand-dog every so often, but that was the extent of her exercising.
We sat Liette down one afternoon to hear her story and how she came to become one of our regular stretchers.
Liette’s story
“I’m Liette and I’m a 70-year-old stretcher. I started WeStretch about a year ago, just before Christmas and the reason I started using WeStretch was to get the joints going.
It was getting harder to move and do everything else, so I started stretching and walking. Louie, my daughter’s dog, and I, still walk a lot, but not as much because it’s getting cold out.
When you start at 50, it’s easy. At 60, it’s still easy, but at 70, it’s not as easy.
I have good days and bad days. I’m not going to lie, it’s sometimes a struggle, but I keep going, doing what I can.
I do the stretch I need at the time, but I can do it more during the day. It’s usually the neck, ankle, or shoulder, so I do just those stretches when I need it.
On the days that aren’t so good or I don’t stretch much, I blame it on the weather, but overall it is what it is, right? I’m not going to be 20 again, so… Overall, it’s been good.
Using WeStretch as a 70-Year-Old
I have vertigo, so it interferes with what stretches I can do, so I don’t do about 5 or 6 stretches in the app.
What Ada explains is very clear and easy to follow. I do what my body can do so if I want to do more during the day, I do it.
When I started, I think I started at 4 or 5 minutes and I thought ‘Oh my God,’ but now I do 15. It’s also just the time I have.
15 minutes is good right now, but I could probably go up to 20. I like to do it in the morning, but now that my granddaughters don’t have to be driven to school, I have a little more time because I’m slow in the mornings.
I wake up, have my cup of coffee, and then an hour later is when I stretch. Once I do it, I come over to Josee’s house, I take Louie (below) and we go for a walk.
Stretching as a 70-year-old
I would feel it in my body if I stopped stretching because I get used to it. It’s a good habit and I would miss it.
Sometimes, like last week, I think I forgot twice. During the week, I mark it on my fridge. I think, okay, December 11th at that time, because sometimes I question if I did it or not.
You know, at 70, your mind goes sometimes! I mark it down, so if I get busy doing one thing or another, I won’t forget. It makes me mad if I forget because then I go back to one and I break my streak!
One time, I think my streak went up close to 70 and then I forgot. The next day, back to square one, but that’s okay. It’s not something I do for the points, but rather something I do for myself.
For some people, the points are an incentive but not for me. I see it as if the ankle doesn’t want to work, we’re going to work on that ankle.
That’s it and that’s all. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be easy to walk or bend properly.
The Window Incident
Well, it was just Louie and myself one morning, because the family was on holiday. I went to the garage, and the door closed and locked on me. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my key with me.
I tried to pick the lock, and tried to find some other way to get the door open, but no. I knew that the window to the laundry room was open about four inches. Luckily, I found something to cut the screen, I pushed on the window and then I crawled in. I landed on the washer and went from the washer to the sink…
It was quite an experience, but you have to do what you have to do. All I had in my mind was that I left something on the stove and Louie was all by himself… I came upstairs from the laundry room and Louie was all excited. “Oh, she’s back! She went out that door and now she’s coming up from the basement!”
Well, you know that the sink was between the washer and the dryer. I thought it was the old-fashioned sink, you know, one of those big things, but no. It had plastic legs.
It broke and I fell.
Landed right on the treadmill. My shoulder was sore, but thankfully nothing else. Yeah, it’s quarter to seven in the morning, so I determined that I was okay, turned the stove off and went for a walk. That was that.
I was probably okay because I have been doing lots of stretching. Coming through the window was also a lot of stretching because I didn’t want to stand on the washer, so I stretched in an angle and landed in the sink.
Now that I think about it, I could have really hurt myself. I could have fallen backward and landed on the dryer, but I made it out alright!
Liette’s advice for other senior stretchers.
As for WeStretch, I say to try it. I mean, at my granddaughter’s level, she could go through all poses, any stretch without a problem.
As you get older, though, you do what you need to do to fix what’s wrong in your body. It’s up to each person.
It’s not going to get better overnight because it’s not ‘try it once and then it’s fixed.’ No, you do it every day and make a habit of it.
This is no different than people going for a walk mid-morning. They go for a walk every day. So you should do the same thing with your stretching. Fix a time so that you can remember it.
Speaking of, I don’t think I did it this morning, because we were grocery shopping and everything. I’ll check my fridge and if I see December 12th, I’m good. If not… I better go home and stretch!
The Impact on Her Life.
I’ve done 447 routines… It doesn’t seem like that much, but you can do a lot in fifteen minutes, so I can imagine if I do twenty or twenty-five minutes, it really adds up at the end of the week. I’m happy with that.
I like walking. In the summer, and they were gone, Louie and I were on the trail three times a day. We went for long walks. In the wintertime, right now, it’s like I said- my body can’t handle the cold anymore.
But you know, just for myself, if I want to do a second routine, I do it. If I cannot go out for a walk or something, I do it. I mean, it’s fifteen minutes, so it doesn’t take long.
People should try it. Ada is quite good because she’s very clear and I really like WeStretch.
Final Thoughts.
I have one last story. There was one time, last summer when the family was on holiday.
I was here to take care of Louie and I laid down on the floor to do my stretching. Well, Louie got all excited so I cried, “I’m not sick, I’m not dead or anything- I’m just stretching, Louie!”
Overall, I’m happy with WeStretch. I’m happy with the result and I’m happy with the app. Just try it because this app works.
I was never a person to go to the gym or anything and my whole life I didn’t exercise. No, I’m just starting. That’s why I’m quite happy with myself.”
Written and Interviewed by Kayla Willsey
Updated May 21, 2021