Ageing well with Horizon Leisure: Why exercise is vital for helping us live happier and healthier for longer

As the years pass, keeping your world large and vibrant is closely linked to how active you are.

We’ve all heard the phrase ‘use it or lose it’: As we approach middle and later age, this becomes more of a reality. Exercise is a vital tool for helping us to live happier and healthier for longer.

The power of independence

Ageing well is about choosing to remain the boss of your own future, and exercise is key to that. Exercise helps you to keep strong to play with your grandchildren, it gives you the mobility to take a walk along a coastal path, and the clarity to cherish and remember every moment.

Research shows that staying active is the single best way to avoid the preventable decline associated with ageing.

Exercise can help with:

· Sustaining muscle mass

After the of age 30, we all naturally lose between 3 per cent and 8 per cent of our muscle mass per decade. Strength training can significantly slow this process, ensuring you retain the power needed for simple daily tasks like standing up or carrying groceries.

· Preventing falls

Regular exercise improves balance and coordination. Since falls are one of the leading causes of loss of independence in older people, an exercise routine will help you stay strong and stable.

· Cognitive longevity

Physical activity increases blood flow to the brain, which is linked to better memory and a lower risk of cognitive decline.

Horizon Leisure’s team believes that exercise is the key to a life without limits. It doesn’t just add years to your life; it adds life to your years.

All the gyms and group exercise classes are suitable for every ability at every age. Head along and meet with their team, who can provide you with an induction and talk you through which classes and exercises might be best for you.

Horizon Leisure also offer specialist classes for older adults at their leisure centres and at their Wellbeing Hub at the Meridian Shopping Mall. These include:

· Steady and Strong

· Steady and Strong Gold

· Chair-based Strength and Balance

· Men’s Over 60’s class at The Wellbeing Hub

· Ladies Low-Impact Circuits at The Wellbeing Hub

· Communities Against Cancer sessions

· ESCAPE-Pain specialist exercise sessions

· Falls prevention classes

· Health/GP Referral scheme

· Swimming for people with long-term conditions

· Aquasize

· Dementia-friendly sports

· Walking groups.

One customer Michael, aged 77, recently said: “I’ve been coming to Horizon Leisure’s Wellbeing Hub for nearly three years. I started attending when I retired completely, as I wanted to make sure I didn’t drop into sedentary ways like a lot of people do at my age.

Horizon Leisure is filled with people just like you. Whoever you are, you are the right fit. Their team of experts will work with you and for you, to help you become healthier and happier throughout every stage of life.

To find out more, then please visit the Horizon Leisure website.