Help in the Swimming Pool is the Life’s Work of One Local Senior

Lake Ridge, VA–When Carol Cornutt was looking for a retirement community, her ‘must have’ feature was a swimming pool. Carol is a former physical education teacher from Eureka, California. She spent her entire career in the public school system and primarily taught swimming to high school students.
When she first retired, she moved from the Redwood Country to the California mountains. There, her home had a private swimming pool. Over the 16 years she lived in Mount Shasta, she estimates she gave swimming lessons in her backyard pool to between 200- 250 children.
Carol’s grown son lives in Manassas, so she decided to come east two years ago and found the pool she was looking for at Westminster at Lake Ridge. “I knew I wanted to keep swimming and continue to help others,” explains Carol.
Today, the water sports enthusiast is coaching other members of the Westminster at Lake Ridge in the community’s swimming pool. She is in the water, helping others, three days a week an average of 1-1/2 hours daily. Carol also works out in the gym a few times each week and swims laps on the days she is not coaching other swimmers.
Carol taught one woman in her early 70’s to swim for the very first time. She didn’t know how to swim at all, but with Carol’s help overcame her fear of the water. Another of her neighbors knows how to swim, but is interested in perfecting her stroke. Mostly, Carol helps others get comfortable doing water exercise after years of avoiding the pool. Working out in the water she says ” Water exercise is beneficial because the water adds resistance, allows for more flexibility, is easy on the joints because it is not weight bearing and, what’s more, you don’t have to get your hair wet.”
Carol also serves on the 2013 Westminster at Lake Ridge Resident Council. Her role on the Council is to monitor the suggestion box.
Her biggest adjustment in moving to Westminster at Lake Ridge is the sheer size of the metro area. “I moved from a town with one stoplight and a population of 3000. I am still getting used to the change,” says Carol.
Carol recently did a stint in the Westminster at Lake Ridge rehab department after undergoing a knee replacement surgery. She reports that the physical therapists teach patiently and kindly. She highly recommends the Westminster at Lake Ridge physical therapists.
Westminster at Lake Ridge is a Continuing Care Retirement Community located next to the historic, riverside Town of Occoquan, Virginia just across the river from Fairfax County and 30 minutes from Washington, D.C. Residents enjoy wellness and lifelong learning opportunities, the choice of maintenance-free cottage or apartment living, housekeeping, dining, parking, transportation and on-site amenities all in a beautiful, wooded campus environment featuring two ponds, gardens and trails to the Occoquan River.