Member, Redvers Shares His Top Tips For Healthy, Happy Longevity.
Mr Redvers Oakley has been using Holmes Chapel Leisure Centre’s facilities three times weekly for 17 years in order to remain active and to socialise with the staff and customers at the centre.
Recently, Redvers unfortunately suffered from a series of ill health which led to him receiving a double heart bypass, two knee replacements and a hip operation. Thereafter naturally, Redvers experienced difficulty getting back on his feet and thought that he may be unable to keep up with his weekly exercise routine. Determined, he didn’t let his discomfort and difficulty to walk stop him from attending Holmes Chapel Leisure Centre. Redvers would drive his car as close as possible to the Leisure Centre’s entrance, have a member of staff help him to walk into the gym with aid of two walking sticks and then use the fixed resistance machines and free weights to continue with his upper body exercises.
Redvers gradually added more and more exercises using more of his body to his workout which built his strength and level of fitness back up. Incredibly, Redvers now walks with no pain or discomfort at all. His determination to overcome his illnesses especially at age 83 is inspirational and he truly believes that exercising is the key to a happy life.
He now encourages others to attend the centre with him to try and engage them in activity too. “Its never too late!” he explained, “Some people just give up when they get old, but if you want to carry on doing what you enjoy, you just can’t! Through coming here so regularly, I see people just visiting the centre for more of a socialise with the staff than a workout, but they’re getting out and about and doing a few exercises so that’s the main thing. As long as exercising allows me to keep doing jobs around the house like gardening, I’ll be a happy man.”
If you want advice on how to lead a healthy lifestyle like Redvers, no matter what your circumstances may be, we have a range of membership and health programmes designed to help you on your pathway to fitness. For more information, please visit your local Everybody centre or visit www.everybody.org.uk