Finding a physical activity that suits your needs, your abilities and your life is an important but sometimes daunting task. It can be hard to know where to start but we at Active Essex are here to help you Find Your Active! We’ve spoken with some of our community members to find out how they’ve found their perfect activity.
Dave Tomlin is 73 and much like his wife, Laraine, he likes to keep himself physically active. The couple have been attending a Move it or Lose it class in Wickford for 16 months, in a bid to change up their fitness routine and to help Laraine manage her Osteopenia – a condition that needs regular gentle exercise to help keep bones strong and healthy.
Dave considers himself a reasonably fit man and wasn’t entirely sure on starting a “Senior Citizens” exercise class, but he kept an open mind. He said: “My wife encouraged me to try it out, so we both joined Tina’s Move it or Lose it class in Wickford. I still jog and go on my exercise bike; I walk a lot, I’m active and always on the go. Nevertheless, I attended my first class with an open mind.”
Given Dave’s level of fitness, he was surprised to find there were activities he’d benefit from in the Move it or Lose it training. He said: “There was one aspect of the training session, which highlighted an enormous deficiency in one particular area. It had never dawned on me that, despite being reasonably fit, my coordination wasn’t very good.” Dave added: “Our instructor Tina would explain the moves for the next exercise. Straight forward, you would think, but if you looked at where my legs and arms were going, it became clear that I would have to sharpen up my act.”
Along with coordination, Dave found the exercises focussing on his balance and muscle maintenance to be extremely helpful. He said: “Being reasonably fit did not automatically mean my balance would be good and the associated exercises are both practical and fun to do. Another area, from which I’ve benefitted, has been the exercises involving weights. It helps to tone that “slackening” muscle definition.”
Keeping active is important for Dave, not only to ensure a good level of physical fitness and mobility but for keeping mentally strong, too. Dave said: “Simply by being in the exercise class, one is not only keeping the body healthy but also stimulating the mind, a “muscle” which must also be exercised.”
We at Active Essex are always inspired by the members in our community, like Dave, who are finding the activities that suit them best. That’s why we’ve launched our Find Your Active campaign – to inspire you to do the same. If you’re looking to find an activity that you can do on your own or with your family; or where you can make friends and be with other like-minded individuals, we could have the solution for you.
Head over to the Find Your Active page here where you can find an activity that suits you and is close to where you are based.
