While most senior housing facilities are geared toward general physical therapy or have a smattering of exercise classes, few offer a comprehensive program like Belmont Village.

The Sunnyvale senior facility opened up last August and is the 10th branch of BelmontCorp to hit the nation.

The inspiration for what Belmont calls the Life Enhancement Center came to the company's president Patricia Will, the founder of BelmontCorp senior care homes, after she spent two years working with a trainer to avoid knee replacement surgery. Supported by her personal experience and the results of university studies that point to increased senior health through exercise, Will directed her trainer to create a program to offer seniors the kind of exercise regimen that would get them fit.

Each facility has a Life Enhancement Center, a small gym with weights and exercise machines.

Though the concept of exercise for seniors is not a new one, Mona Kaur, an occupational therapist with Pacific Coast Healthcare who works with seniors at Belmont Village, says the center has the first extensive exercise program for seniors in the Bay Area.

"Certainly many facilities have exercise programs, but I have not seen any facility invest in such great equipment. Belmont Village is the first to have supervision by a licensed therapist," Kaur says.

Ruth Arp, who's begun an exercise regimen at Belmont's fitness center, says she's going to keep working out until she can stop using "that thing," referring to her walker.

Belmont Village focuses on helping residents maintain their health. "We believe in prevention to help residents from declining in function. They end up in nursing homes a lot sooner if they don't exercise," Kaur says.

Sunnyvale's Life Enhancement Center is open three days a week to Belmont residents and has dumbbells, step machines, a treadmill and parallel bars. As a group, the seniors concentrate on stretching, using low-weight dumbbells to build muscle strength and using Therabands, long, thick rubber bands to stretch their muscles.

The residents also work with an occupational therapist to design a personal training program.

"The participants are very goal-oriented," Kaur says. "Not everyone is going to get up and start running here. Some residents work toward being able to push off from their chairs or bend down to put their shoes on," she says.

Belmont Village also offers residents other activities to supplement their cardiovascular training. Seniors can practice tai chi or yoga or work in elevated gardens so they don't have to bend down.

David Nussbaum, market officer for BelmontCorp's Northern California facilities, says the various programs have made a difference in residents' lives. "We've seen great benefits in their emotional attitude and physical mobility," Nussbaum says.