When Barb Bailey moved to Maungaturoto from the Bream Bay area, she found herself missing the strength and balance fitness classes she was once attending in Ruakaka. After learning about classes in Dargaville, she started to commute there but after a short while, she found this was too far to travel and therefore stopped going.

She then approached the local Physio in Maungaturoto, Caitlyn Bloxham. Caitlyn knew through her own work experience there was a need and was more than obliging to start a physio led senior fit exercise class targeted for 60s plus. The class is still within it’s first year of running, but word of mouth has gotten around the community, and more and more older adults are making their way to this fantastic class. Now running twice a week, with her physio co-worker, Caitlyn is considering another class to be held in the evenings.

The class is normally set up in a circuit type format with stations and depending on numbers of participants, they work in pairs or threes making their way around the different exercises. The stations are a combination of light weights, balance, exercise bands and body movement exercises. They are suitable for all levels of fitness, as they can modify the exercises if needed and participants can work at their own pace. “We have people coming along post stroke, post shoulder surgery or with knee arthritis etc and some have no health conditions at all but just want to keep fit. Which is great,” says Caitlyn.

Caitlyn was also willing to learn more about becoming a certified strength and balance instructor after been contacted by Ann-Marie at Sport Northland. Ann-Marie felt her class was a great fit as part of the fall’s prevention programme.  After seeing Caitlyn’s session in action and assessing the class delivery, Ann-Marie certified Caitlyn as an approved class provider.

“Approved classes adhere to an evidence-based criteria to ensure safety and effectiveness for participants. Senior Fit, a physio led community exercise class ticked all the boxes when it comes to supporting older adults with improving their strength and balance, and it’s fun too”, says Ann-Marie. You can check it out here.

Article written by Ann-Marie Lambly, Community Strength and Balance Coordinator