When Elizabeth ‘Bitsy’ Graham learned in 2019 that her husband needed a kidney transplant, she immediately volunteered to be the donor. Despite her being 72 years old and well above the average donor age, doctors approved the transplant—because her organs were as healthy as those of someone in their 40s.
For Graham, the results came as little surprise.
After nearly 47 years of practicing and teaching aerobics in Wellesley, Graham credits the sport for keeping her healthy. Now, at 79, she helps other women do the same.
“I have been given this opportunity with good health to be able to spread the idea of being as strong as you possibly can, being as healthy as you can,” the Wellesley resident said. “Being as young in heart and mind and body and spirit as you can.”
Every weekday at 8:45 a.m., Graham leads a choreography-based aerobics class at the Warren Building at 90 Washington St. through the Recreation Department that attracts women ranging from their teens to their 70s. Some students have been attending for more than four decades.
Ellen Zockoff, who has taken Bitsy’s classes for 42 years, described them as “addictive.”
“I’ve tried other classes, and they don’t cover the same range of muscles and joints,” Zockoff said. “And the recovery from my replacements, which was recent, is amazingly faster when we have a class like this.”
Graham said her own quick recovery from her kidney donation, which she attributed to aerobics, demonstrated what she always told her students: a healthy body is better equipped to handle life’s challenges.
“When your body is fit on the inside, it responds and recovers from all kinds of challenges and trauma,” Graham said. “I think that’s one of the things that people have really realized in my class, because they’ve been able to have surgery and come back, be well and be able to have no limitations.”
The connections students build through Bitsy’s class are another reason many have stayed for decades.
Svea Fraser, another student who has attended Bitsy’s class for over 40 years, said the community is tight-knit.
“People connection makes a big difference to me,” Fraser said. “We get to know each other, we know if you’re not here … it is really a loving, welcoming class.”
While many of the faces in the room have remained the same, the class itself has changed a lot over the years.
Graham, who taught science and music before teaching aerobics, said she has evolved and improved her classes based on advancements in sports medicine research.
“I think by constantly altering things and adding and changing the music … it doesn’t become tedious,” Graham said. “You don’t overwork any muscle group or any joint, so that it’s safe, it’s comprehensive, it’s fun.”
The ever-changing choreography and music also help ensure her students stay engaged and have fun, according to Graham.
“I wanted people to have a good time, because exercise that’s boring, people quit,” Graham said. “I felt like it was like a mission for me.”
As she approaches her 50th year of teaching and her 80th birthday, Graham said people often ask when she plans to retire. Her answer is simple: not yet.
“As long as there are people that want to work out with me, that want to do this program, and I am physically able to do it, I will do it,” Graham said. “Because I really believe that it is my calling, and I know that there are people whose lives were changed because they came to this class and they stayed with it. So why would I quit that?”
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Bitsy is the best! I loved working with her many years ago. She is an inspiration to this day.
What was Bitsy’s maiden name? My sister Marty and I were in WHS around that same time. Mid-late 60s. She was a brilliant athlete as I recall
You are amazing! I remember with fondness our early morning classes.