Belong Macclesfield residents challenge staff to keep fit

People living in Belong Macclesfield have experienced such positive results from their exercise programmes in the village, that they issued a challenge for staff to join them in the gym and try to keep up.
Over 50 members of staff so far have visited the exercise studio and tried to match the efforts of the customers that they're caring for, highlighting the fitness levels that regular users of the service have achieved. Caroline Ray, General Manager at Belong Macclesfield, exercised with lifelong Macclesfield resident, Joe Smith, who is 90 years old and now lives in the village.
Barbara Tait, Fitness Instructor at Belong Macclesfield, said: "Part of the Belong exercise service is to educate residents, their families and the staff that work with them about the benefits of regular exercise, because people that understand the value of our programmes have a better motivation to keep fit. That was where the idea of the challenge came from.
"The best way for staff here to fully appreciate the effort that we're expecting of residents in the exercise studio is to experience it for themselves. Staff that feel the benefits of regular exercise are better empowered to encourage residents to do the same."
The exercise studio in Belong Macclesfield is equipped with specialist equipment for older people, and sessions are supervised by instructors qualified in fitness and care for older people. Belong is committed to helping people stay active and independent through exercise, giving residents a greater degree of control make choices over their lives. Proven benefits of regular exercise include decreasing stiffness and pain, lower blood pressure, improved memory, sleep patterns and mood. Regular exercise has also been proven to delay the onset of dementia.
The Belong Macclesfield exercise studio offers a friendly, person-centred approach to exercise, designed for mature customers as an alternative to traditional gyms.