Steven Oberfest – Leading Workouts For The Elderly
His clients are the elderly, children and even the homeless. For this personal trainer, it’s just another day at work, even if it means doing it for free. NY1′s Roma Torre introduces us to our New Yorker of the Week.
Steven Oberfest is a personal trainer on a mission to help New Yorkers stay in shape, no matter their age, even if they’re sick or homeless, and even if they can’t pay.
“I decided to do some community service and I wasn’t sure exactly in what capacity I wanted to help out,” he says.
That was a year ago, when he founded “Underdog Personal Fitness”, a workout program he brings to senior centers, and sometimes cancer wards and shelters for teen runaways.
“Our city is a pretty tough city between the subway stairs and potholes,” Steven told a class recently. “We have to be pretty agile to get around without hurting ourselves.” Then he led the group of seniors through exercises meant to improve their coordination, strength, flexibility and balance.
“I like the classes because they’ve been helping me a lot. I had a stroke a year ago,” says participant Jaime Lajara. “The best thing about him is that he’s so patient. He really is a good man with old folks like us.”
Steven’s schedule is so packed it’s almost like a full time job. He runs classes at five different centers, four days a week.
“He isn’t to be compared, and yet here he is volunteering and spending hours and hours with people into the night,” says Roslyn Pearlman, another regular exerciser.
“I enjoy every bit of it,” says Steven. “I really enjoy watching people come in here at the beginning, having a hard time getting in and out of chairs, and after a few weeks, the improvements are amazing.”
Steven’s ultimate goal is to recruit other volunteer trainers and open a free gym for what he calls the Underdog Community.
“I’ve always rooted for the underdog,” he says. “A lot of people feel they may not be able to accomplish something that they want, whether it’s extreme weight loss or whether it’s a race that they’re having a hard time winning. My goal is to show them that they can do it and that I’m rooting for them, and I’m in their corner and it can be done.”
So for taking his time to get New York in shape, Steven Oberfest is our New Yorker of the Week.
- Roma Torre
To find out more about Steven Oberfest’s program or to volunteer your time, you can reach him via email at www.underdogfitness.com, or call 646-644-9001
