New gym, same exercises

Vernon’s favourite senior’s personal trainer is on the move.

For more than 25 years, Don MacLeod has been leading weight-resistance exercise classes for seniors.

And for the past eight years, MacLeod had taught classes five days a week at Snap Fitness in the Landing Plaza, but on March 31 that gym closed its doors, so MacLeod needed a new venue for his popular classes.

Enter Anytime Fitness in the Anderson Subdivision.

MacLeod said he is grateful to have reached a deal with the fitness club to carry on his morning exercise classes, and many seniors have already signed up.

While there are other gyms in Vernon that have seniors exercise classes, the certified personal trainer uses weight-resistance training to target all major muscle groups.

He will lead seven classes from Monday to Friday.

“It’s basic strength training,” MacLeod said of the exercises that geared towards the older crowd.

“We do everything that the bodybuilders and powerlifters do, but in a reasonable manner where we are just going to get our bones, our muscles, our tendons and ligaments stronger.”

MacLeod, 71, has also taken special courses geared specifically towards working with seniors.

Some seniors may feel too intimidated to go to a gym on their own, but MacLeod said seniors can find a common bond when they exercise in a group.

MacLeod said he has heard a few people say “what a waste of space” to hold senior’s classes.

“They really make life difficult for us. They think old people shouldn’t be in the gym, why are they lifting weights: to stay strong and to stay healthy,” MacLeod said. “One day, these guys are going to be old too.”

MacLeod said he started lifting weights in 1972 and continues to reap the benefits of regular exercise as he enters his 70s.

For more information, contact MacLeod at 250-260-1001.

HONOLULU (KHON2) — A local fitness center specializes in preventative training programs targeting a disease that impacts our kupuna.

Fitness Therapy Hawaii specializes in step-by-step preventative training programs targeting Parkinson’s symptoms.

In the program, patients get a clearance with doctors, work with physical therapists and prescribed medication.

“Science shows that once you get diagnosed as soon as possible, right? What exercise will do is help you keep those neurons firing, because Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disease. The longer you wait for these patterns of movement, you will die,” George Ma, Fitness Therapy Hawaii owner, said.

According to Yale Medicine, exercise is an essential component of Parkinson’s disease management, saying “high-intensity exercise induces brain-protective effects that have the potential to not just slow down but possibly reverse the neurodegeneration associated with Parkinson’s Disease.”

“When you get diagnosed with Parkinson’s, in the beginning, you have no hope. And then you come here, you do your tour, there’s hope. And then as they start moving through our exercise programs, they find purpose. And we have clients who have been with us for seven years at stage one,” Ma said.

Fighting the disease thats way might be intimidating to some… that’s why Fitness Therapy Hawaii lets caretakers work out with their loved ones.

Group classes are also available, which encourage socialization for what can be an isolating disease.

“In Hawaii, there is a stigma for Parkinson’s, and I think having a place and having that purpose and understanding that your fellow member has been fighting it with you,” Ma said.

Visit the Fitness Therapy Hawaii website for more information.