Tuesday, March 13, 2007

 

Local Stairlift Company helps Bingley OAPs get Fit for Life !

It’s never too late to look after yourself, and that’s certainly the philosophy behind Personal Fitness Trainer Lee Smith’s classes currently held at Maple Court, a retirement housing scheme in Bingley. His “workouts” have proved so popular that local company Sabre Stairlifts have stepped in to sponsor equipment and extra classes, so that he can help people return to fitness.

“Its about self-confidence” says Lee “many people with certain conditions and of a certain age feel unsafe on their feet, and this results in a sedentary life-style, which in turn makes any attempt at mobility more risky than it needs to be. A knock or a fall can be very serious, but if we work on stability and increased flexibility, confidence will increase, and my clients find they get a new lease of life.”

“People can have the wrong idea about exercise, they think it might be too much for them.” He continues ,“But the right exercise, at the right level, done in a safe environment can make a world of difference to the mobility of those who think their walking days may be limited.”

Lee’s classes currently take place twice a week, and make use of simple equipment such as exercise balls, stretch bands and small weights. The idea is that a lot of the exercises can be duplicated at home, though Lee is keen to stress that would-be keep-fitters have an exercise plan designed exclusively for them, before embarking on a back to fitness routine. Lee’s personalised exercise plans take account of any injuries or medical conditions, and he is a strong believer in getting fit in order to prepare for an operation, as well as in exercise being part of the recuperation process.

It’s this attention to personal needs that gets such good results.

Pauline Quirke, a resident who attends with her husband Donald says “I wasn’t sure what it involved, at first, but I’m doing things that I normally don’t do, like squats using the ball, and we can do it at home as well. I’ve got more mobile, I just need to lose a bit more weight and I’d be more flexible still. One lady couldn’t balance before, she needed a stick, but she’s walking confidently now.”

John Sugden of Sabre Stairlifts is delighted to be sponsoring these classes. “It’s made us rethink our service,” he says “ We’re one of the only stairlift companies with a short-term stairlift rental option, so that our clients can have a cost-effective way of ensuring they can still use their whole house even when recovering from an operation or illness. Renting can be a cost effective option, and when they’re back on their feet, they can have the stairlift removed with a minimum of fuss.”

For more information (including photographs from the classes) please visit:
http://www.sabre-stairlifts.co.uk/stairlift-news/maple-court-01.html





<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?