1 Sep 25 - Resident stories
Golden gains: Fitness by seniors for seniors
“Helicopter North! Helicopter Racecourse!” Roger Gillatt calls out. It’s a Tuesday morning and 44 pairs of poi are spinning in the direction of various village reference points to the tune of ‘Haere Mai’.
Good-natured laughter rings out as some poi get tangled, before the instructors swap and the class begins an upbeat movement routine to the Village People’s ‘YMCA’. The instructors switch again and the music changes to the classical strains of a violin as the class perform a stretching sequence to wind down.
This is the Use It or Lose It (UIOLI) fitness class, run by residents for the residents, at Summerset at the Course in Upper Hutt. The strength and balance programme offered is approved by Nuku Ora for its effectiveness in reducing falls in older people.
“The programme has been running for 10 years,” says instructor and resident John Tomlinson. “Twice a week for 45 minutes. It’s extremely popular. Today there were 44 participants, more than we have ever had! We’ll need a bigger room at this rate!”
The Trentham village was in its infancy when Use it or Lose It was introduced by a Summerset physiotherapist, who taught village residents not only the moves, but how to teach them safely to others. “We learned in the temporary rec centre!” laughs Heather Small, who along with John and Roger was one of the first residents to become an instructor.
There are four other trained instructors: Jeff Roberts, Carol Hoult, Jill Devlin and Margaret (Marg) Chester.
UIOLI consists of eight exercise programmes, each containing ten routines designed to work out the whole body. To be able to teach the course, the residents had to learn how to perform these safely and guide participants when needed. There are seven instructors currently, and they take it in turns to run each set of exercises. “It might seem like there are a lot of us up there, but there’s a lot to organise with equipment and so on. If there’s only three or four then it gets quite tiring!” laughs Carol.
“Every instructor in our group learns each set,” says Jeff, “so we can cover for each other if someone is sick or on holiday. We might have our favourites, but we try and switch it up and keep variety in the routines.”
Carol thinks residents teaching the class results in a growth mindset. “As seniors ourselves we don’t have any preconceived notions about limitations. If we can do the exercises, we assume that the participants can at least try.” Carol delights in seeing participants’ improvements in fitness and strength.
“When you are at the front of the room you can see the results. It’s gratifying to see.”
Marg agrees. “We had one gentleman participant in his nineties who had to pass a medical to renew his driving licence. His doctor was thrilled at his balance and coordination!”
Village manager Craig Braun notes that almost none of the falls recorded in the village involve class participants. ACC has also taken notice, featuring some of the instructors in their Live Stronger for Longer: Prevent Falls and Fractures advertising campaign.
While the physical benefits are obvious, the class also builds social connections and camaraderie – elements that play a prominent role in participants’ overall wellbeing. Tea and biscuits provided post-session give the opportunity for a natter. “One resident brings biscuits for everyone without fail,” comments John, and members hold a class BBQ twice a year. “It’s the notion of hauora, health as the integration of the whole body – mental, physical and social”, says Carol. John agrees. “One participant was so shy she wouldn’t speak, but since joining the class she has really blossomed,” he says. “Other residents take it upon themselves to look out for one another in the class.” It is also a very good opportunity for new residents to integrate into village life. “Ten per cent of the village attend our class,” Roger notes.
Expanding their teaching repertoire has also given the instructors a sense of purpose. Poi spinning requires synchronised hand movements and enhances hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, which can improve balance and coordination as well as muscle strength. The UIOLI instructors were taught the art of poi spinning by pupils from Trentham School, where Heather used to work. “They came to the village, and we gave them a morning tea afterwards. They were very young – around 10 – but they were very good!” A fellow resident made all the pois with yarn and donated socks for the class to use.
When Roger explored the idea of using balls in class, he discovered a challenge with the smooth-surfaced options available. “Participants with arthritic fingers had trouble catching them – we needed textured ones,” he explains. With none to be found locally, Heather stepped in and brought back a batch from Australia during her holiday. The group are creative with equipment solutions, such as skinny foam pipes to play the ‘Incy Wincy Spider’ hand strengthening exercises or plastic milk bottles filled with sand to use as weights. Like the socks for the poi, village residents donated their old milk bottles for the cause.
Summerset happily provides specialist equipment. “We just send an email to our Village Manager with what we would like, and it gets taken care of,” Jeff says. The instructors all wear blue shirts with the intitials UIOLI iand Trentham embroidered on, and participants can also choose to buy them. “Most do,” says Carol. “It’s a nice way to feel part of a group.
This is an article from the Spring 2025 edition of Summerset Scene magazine