Exericse classes to benefit the locals health

[sshaw0]

A local myself living in Keswick, I believe there is a need for exercise classes, even though we have the beautiful surrounding to walk and the local leisure center to use how many people actually do any exercise? This may be due to not having any classes available but there are also different barriers, which can limit people being able to exercise. We need to defeat overcome these barriers through providing structured classes to groups within the community.

These classes need to deliver exercise programs that suit the population of over 50’s, and everyone that has health related illnesses that could benefit from exercise classes. Do you agree? I want to hear what the people of Keswick think bout this idea of maybe starting up theses classes.

[Sheila P]

I think this is a good idea, and maybe my mother would be interested if she lived here, but unfortunately her home is 140 miles away.

I wonder if there are enough interested people here to make this viable. Exercises would need to be tailored to suit individuals perhaps based on age, disability, current fitness so some sort of professional assessment may be needed? And what sort of exercise facilities could be provided? How would this compare to already available facilities, such as the Evergreen Over 50s club?

There is a range of options listed on http://www.allerdale.gov.uk/leisure-and-...eople.aspx but I do not know how suitable these are for those with disabilities, such as osteoarthritis.

My mother is taking up Tai Chi now that she has found a local club and a friend to go with. She does need to use a walking stick at times, but Tai Chi does sound like a gentle form of exercise that she can cope with. I think the social side of an exercise group may be as important as the actual exercise itself.