Free OSU Strength Training Classes Expand to Baker County Fairgrounds

Angela Robb volunteers twice a week at the Baker County Fairgrounds to lead a strength and balance class where, she says, laughing is as reliable as the Tuesday-Thursday schedule. "There's not been a class where we're not laughing," said Robb, who manages the fairgrounds office and now also runs the StrongPeople sessions in its exercise space with fellow volunteer trainers Trinity Sackos and Lyndsie Spivey. On March 31, participants Glenn and Suann Rush were among those working through bicep curls at 2600 East Street, a scene that looked more like a social hour than a clinical exercise program.

The lighthearted atmosphere belies a serious purpose. Nearly 28 percent of Baker County residents are 65 or older, one of the highest concentrations in Eastern Oregon, and falls remain the leading cause of injury-related death in that age group nationally. The CDC puts the age-adjusted fall death rate for adults 65 and older at 78.4 per 100,000, a 21 percent increase since 2018. Eighty-eight percent of hip fracture hospitalizations trace back to a fall.

StrongPeople grew from the original StrongWomen research curriculum and is administered through OSU Extension's Family and Community Health program. Statewide, OSU has trained 60 leaders and reached 455 participants with the evidence-based curriculum. The university provides the program structure and leader training; local extension offices and community partners supply the space and volunteer support, which is how Baker City's class remains entirely free.

Barbara Brody, who works in the Malheur County OSU Extension office where StrongPeople first launched in the east region, framed the program's core commitment this way: "The biggest thing is to remove all the barriers." In a county where cost, distance and limited fitness infrastructure have long kept older adults on the sideline, the fairgrounds location and zero price tag are features as deliberate as the curriculum itself.

Baker City's expansion is part of OSU Extension's push into seven eastern Oregon counties: Baker, Grant, Union, Wallowa, Umatilla, Morrow and Malheur. Each class combines progressive resistance training with balance work and social interaction, with structure that adapts to local needs and fitness levels.

To start this week: the class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 a.m. at the Baker County Fairgrounds, 2600 East Street. No prior fitness experience is required, and no equipment needs to be brought. OSU Extension provides registration materials, a PAR-Q health screening form and a liability acknowledgment, all of which can be completed at the first session or in advance through the Baker County OSU Extension office. Those interested in becoming a volunteer leader can contact the extension office directly to learn about OSU's training pathway.