Fit for Life
“Moovin Aboot”
Our Supported Housing Co-ordinator at our Thornliebank development, in East Renfrewshire, Rosaleen Smith, was invited by East Renfrewshire Council to join one of their week long training courses called “Moovin’ Aboot”. This is a project designed to train staff and volunteers to provide gentle exercise for older people.
This training was then taken back to our Thornliebank development and the concept introduced to the tenants.
Starting August 2005, and organised and run by Rosaleen, tenants have consistently turned out every Tuesday to join in the fun at “FROLIX” - Fun, Recreation for Older Ladies In Xercise.
The tenants named the group themselves and an anonymous donation from a class member enabled them to organise buying their T-shirts and get them printed with their group name. Although the group does not receive any funding from external bodies, thanks to a generous donation from Trust, they were able to purchase a parachute and hula hoops for the sessions.
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FROLIX appeals mainly because the exercise is set to music, with tenants feeling the physical benefits alongside the social aspect of getting together.
As well as exercise, bottled water and healthy eating, with different weekly themes i.e. fruit, are an important part of the weekly session.
Those tenants who attend the class regularly are reporting no falls or chest infections, which they agree is directly linked to weekly physical exercise. Many tenants feel they are doing something purposeful to improve their general health and spirit and have compared the sessions to being the equivalent of their younger family members attending the gym.
The class has certainly captured the tenants’ hearts and minds like nothing else that has been done in this development.
Not only has the class benefited Trusts’ own tenants but staff from the Older People Team at East Renfrewshire Council has also been attending the weekly sessions at Thornliebank. They have then taken what they have learned from Rosaleen at FROLIX out to other sheltered housing facilities in the East Renfrewshire area, where taster sessions are provided to those tenants. This was met with such a positive response from Council tenants that one of Trusts FROLIX members, Mrs Lochoff, became an ambassador of “Moovin Aboot” for the day and attended a Council run session to help enthuse.