The free Dumbbells for Seniors class at Bay View Community Center continues to meet twice a week. Founded by Bay View resident Dick Knepper, now 97, the program has continued beyond the times he can attend.
According to CBS58, Knepper began sharing his exercise routine with fellow seniors when he was in his 70s, and the routine grew into the class. He told the station he credits exercise with helping him live as long as he has; that is his personal view, not a finding about the program’s effects.
Dumbbells for Seniors gathers every Monday and Thursday at 1 p.m., running for an hour at a time, and there's no cost to attend. The location is fitting: Bay View Community Center's fitness room is stocked with a treadmill, elliptical, recumbent bike, weight bench, resistance bands and dumbbells, according to a facility listing from the Bay View Foundation.
A New Teacher Steps In
CBS58 reports that 82-year-old Marcelina Agbuis now leads the class after Knepper trained her to run the sessions. The handoff allows Dumbbells for Seniors to continue while Knepper winters in Florida.
Francesca Loiacono, program manager at the community center, told CBS58 that the classes build more than physical strength among attendees. The center's broader senior offerings include monthly luncheons, bingo, discussion groups and a weekly exercise program for people age 50 and over, according to Volunteer Wisconsin, which describes its mission as providing programs for individuals and families of all ages.
The Case for Lifting Later in Life
Research on resistance training in older populations—not an evaluation of the Bay View class—offers broader context. A systematic review published in PMC found significant improvements in grip strength, flexibility, static and dynamic balance, lower-body strength, coordination and fall efficacy, according to the PMC review.
Federal guidance points in a similar direction. The CDC recommends that older adults perform muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days a week that work all the body's major muscle groups, from the legs and hips to the back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms. Separately, the National Institute on Aging has reported that pairing a healthier diet with a workout mixing aerobic exercise, resistance training and balance work proved most effective for reversing frailty in obese older adults, according to a study highlighted by the National Institute on Aging.
Part of a Wider Movement
Bay View's twice-weekly class fits into a pattern seen elsewhere in senior fitness programming. One community-based strength-training initiative documented in PubMed established 97 self-sustaining classes across senior and community centers, enrolling 2,217 older adults ages 50 to 97 who had multiple chronic medical conditions. A related program known as the StrongWomen Program, described as a nationally disseminated, community-based strength-training effort, has likewise shown that older adult women significantly improved their fitness outcomes through participation.
Falls data and a separate program's history
Statewide context underscores the importance of older-adult injury prevention: the Wisconsin Department of Health Services reports that in 2024, adults 65 or older had over 55,000 nonfatal emergency department visits—treated and released only—and over 12,000 nonfatal hospitalizations involving fall-related injuries. These figures are statewide, not Milwaukee County-specific, and do not show whether Knepper’s class prevents falls, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. A distinct older-adult exercise program offers a historical comparison: Enhance®Fitness began as a pilot at Northshore Senior Center in Bothell, Washington, in 1993 and was first implemented in 1995. The University of Washington Health Promotion Research Center says the program was developed with University of Washington and Group Health Cooperative collaboration, unlike Bay View’s locally created dumbbell class.
For now, the model Knepper built in Bay View keeps humming along on its own schedule, powered by neighbors teaching neighbors. Whether he's lifting alongside the group or spending the winter in Florida, the class he started continues to meet at Bay View Community Center, free of charge, twice a week.
