Move It Or Lose IT - ​Seniors Holiday Club

The Seniors Holiday Club is hosted by Deeping St James Methodist Church specifically for their senior members of the congregation. Every summer the Holiday Club runs for two consecutive weeks and offers a full range of activities and events every day, including lunch. For the duration of the Holiday Club, the members are looked after and can spend time among friends while enjoying the many activities and entertainments available. This gives their carers and family members the opportunity to take some time off knowing their loved ones are safe and cared for.

Amanda at Smart Fitt was invited to provide a demo class for a 45 minute slot in the Holiday Club timetable. She chose to use routines that she had successfully used with her current Move it or Lose it classes along with music she felt would be known to the majority of the class. 

Amanda said:
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The first song ‘Catch A Falling Star’ used moves that mimicked the words allowing the routine to be easily learnt and also encouraging the members to sing along while they exercised- this helps with breathing.

Amanda then moved on to Tuxedo Junction by Glen Miller and incorporated a version of a hand jive. Next up was “Seven Little Girls” which resulted in lots of laughter!

During a short break Amanda gave everyone a ‘hedgehog ball’ (soft ball with round ended knobbly bits on them), these balls stimulate the nerves in the hand and assist the grip. The class restarted the class using the balls to encourage manual dexterity and hand/eye coordination while listening to music by Tom Jones, Neil Sedaka and the Everly Brothers.

Amanda ended the class with a short meditation to help relax the mind and body along with some gentle stretching.

As the class finished Amanda was given a big round of applause and the members stopped to chat together.

When we get older it is a good idea to ensure you keep active and continue with gentle exercise. A group exercise class such as Move It Or Lose It is a great way of helping to stay mobile as well as keeping the mind active. There are many benefits of keeping active in older age. These include a decreased risk of dementia, depression, hip fractures, some cancers and type 2 diabetes.