In the heart of the seaside town of Bognor Regis, the Laburnum Centre buzzes with activity.
Run by Age UK West Sussex, Brighton and Hove, the centre and its jam-packed timetable cater to a variety of cultural interests – hosting classes for painting, model making and conversational French, among many others.
But above all, staff at the Laburnum Centre are on a mission to keep local older people active for longer. As well as offering a range of fitness classes for all abilities, their popular gym for people aged 50+ is open five days a week and features specialist equipment for wheelchair users.
We spoke to John, the Fitness and Wellbeing Manager at the Laburnum Centre, to find out more.
We do inductions with people in their 80s who say that this is the first time they’ve ever come to a gym.
How did the gym develop into what it is today?
“When I joined in 2019, the Laburnum Centre already had a gym and classes, but they were getting to a level where they were so well-attended that there had to be some sort of improvement.
“Then we were left a legacy donation to be able to spend on the gym. We developed the fitness classes and got a dedicated studio, and we moved the gym to a bigger room and bought specialist equipment.
“That all happened in February 2020, and then in the March we closed because of the pandemic. The timing wasn’t great, but we weren’t to know that. Developing the gym was the best thing we could have done – it’s become really accessible for so many people.”
How does the specialist equipment work?
“Some of our equipment is what you’d see in a normal gym, and some of it is adaptable. One of the biggest examples is the seats. Normally, if you’re in a wheelchair and there’s a seat on a machine, you have to get off the wheelchair or you can’t use it. But we’ve got a really easy system. You can pull the seat out and then your wheelchair is the seat for that machine.
“Sometimes people come in with their carers. We do the gym induction with their carer to show them how to support the person they’re caring for and how to move the equipment, so they don’t always need our one-to-one assistance. We’re always available to help, but it means they can come in and exercise independently.”
I think that the body was designed to move, and the less you move it, the more inclined it is to say, ‘I don’t need this muscle anymore’.
Does the gym cater for different ages and abilities?
“Absolutely. If you considered everyone who comes into the gym, you’d have two ends of the scale and everything in between: some attendees have limited movement because of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), arthritis, strokes or MS, but we also have three people who run the Brighton Marathon.
“But when customers come in, they see people in their age group. No one’s there to pose – they’re there to try and be strong. Most of our customers are aged 65 to 75, but we also do inductions with people in their 80s who say that this is the first time they’ve ever come to a gym.
“So we always set the level that’s right for each person. Some customers who come in have been told they must exercise by their doctor or physiotherapist, and you can see their anxiety and trepidation. They think we’re going to push them to do more than they’re capable of, but we’re not. We go through the medical side of things, talk to them about what they’d like to do, and reassure them. Within 15 minutes, you see the anxiety leave them and at the end they’re really keen for their next session.”
“Once you start, you feel so much better.”
We attended one of Age UK West Sussex, Brighton and Hove's popular fitness classes to find out about the variety of ways they're helping older people get active.
Why do you think it’s important to stay active as we age?
“Coming from a sports and fitness background, I’ve always been pretty active. I use the gym three or four times a week, and I encourage other staff to use the equipment on their break because it’s a way of showing people how to do certain activities.
“I think that the body was designed to move, and the less you move it, the more inclined it is to say, ‘I don’t need this muscle anymore’. So if people say, ‘I don’t like gyms’, then don’t come to the gym! We offer around 25 classes, including a walking group, and we’ve got a nearby beach you can walk along too. We just say that if you can be active and use your muscles – upper body as well as lower body – you will be able to do what you love doing for longer and more often.”
Act Now, Age Better
Read about our campaign to help more people stay fit and strong in later life.
