Gym success stories

Since the gym at William Lench Court has re-opened in November, many residents have began or continued their fitness journey, the regular gym-goers here have seen big improvements in their strength and cardiovascular fitness already. To name a few there's Barry aged 69, Frank aged 84 and Albert aged 94. Here is each resident's experience in the gym so far:

Barry, aged 69, Ex-pro football player:

Being an athlete in the past Barry had a great level of cardiovascular fitness, he has kept up his fitness habits well into his 60's and can still keep up a fast-paced run for around 50 minutes on the treadmills available. Since he started using the gym at William Lench Court he has been using the dumbbells too, testing his strength through rows (performing the exercise with 13.5kg in the picture below!), bicep curls and shoulder press. This type of training is quite new to Barry, however he likes physically challenging activities and has great fun pushing his physical limits this way.

Frank, aged 84, worked in an opticians:

Frank came to the gym with the goal was to improve his walking, he had a hip operation one year prior and after being in hospital for a while, his fitness and walking distance took a bit hit. His first time on the treadmill was on a speed of 0.5 and he lasted 3 minutes, now after just 3 months he manages 8 minutes on a speed of 1.2 (more than double the speed). His family members have noticed walks that would often be hard to complete for Frank, he can now do with ease.

Albert, aged 94, joiner as past career:

Albert is someone who enjoys talking to anyone about anything, so spending 45 minutes exercising and the remaining 15 minutes chatting is an ideal exercise routine for him. Albert starts with 15-20 minutes of walking on the treadmill and we then move onto 3-5 exercises (either weights or resistance bands). We usually try to either add one rep onto each exercise or do the same amount as the session before.

Well done to the residents mentioned above, your hard work is paying off. A special mention goes to Eric, Brina, June and Leah too for giving the gym here at William Lench Court a go.