Retirement village residents get fit for the future
With research clearly showing that being physically active and keeping fit helps to reduce the risk of osteoporosis and fall-related injuries*, it is clear that doing some form of exercise is vitally important for older generations.
Residents at Denham Garden Village, an award winning Anchor retirement development in Buckinghamshire, are using the state-of-the art on-site fitness facilities to keep them mobile as well as making the club an integral part of their social life.
Tina Starzecki, Manager of the on-site health club, comments: “It is really important for both physical and mental wellbeing that mobility is retained by means of some form of regular exercise in older age. We have over 270 residents registered at the health club, some of whom use the gym and swimming pool on a daily basis. We cater for a range of abilities from residents who want weekly personal training sessions to the less mobile for whom we have weekly classes that focus on seated exercise and movement.
“Regular exercise is also a great way for Denham Garden Village’s residents to boost their social life. We have many members who come to us each morning for a swim and then pop around the corner to the village shop for a coffee with friends they’ve made through using our facilities.”
The high-tech health and fitness suite at Denham Garden Village is open to residents as well as non-residents and includes a range of fitness and weight machines, a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and steam room, as well as offering a range of fitness classes.
Freddy Cramer-Brown (89), a resident at Denham Garden Village, comments: “My quality of life has increased dramatically at Denham Garden Village. Had I stayed in my previous home I think life would have got really difficult. I have polio and so the fact that I can swim everyday at the onsite heated pool has dramatically improved my health. Denham Garden Village really has given me a new lease of life!”
Jackie Eltis, General Manager at Denham Garden Village comments: “All residents at the development get free membership of the gym and health club and it’s proving a very popular benefit. We promote to all residents the benefits of keeping active and having the gym and swimming pool on-site makes it easy for our residents to keep up with a fitness regime. Residents see clear benefits from regular exercise and we have one lady who, since she started swimming regularly, has not needed to take her pain relief medication.”
Denham Garden Village, a 327 home development for the over 55’s, has set a new benchmark for retirement villages in the UK. As well as a variety of stylish new homes including a number of two bedroom bungalows and three bedroom two storey dormer bungalows, Denham Garden Village boasts a wide range of community and recreational facilities. Residents at the development can enjoy the onsite café bar, village hall and health and fitness suite and also take advantage of the doctor’s surgery. A care and support team is on hand 24-hours-a-day to enable people to continue to live independently in their own homes, a key ethos of the development.
The development, which is now in its third and final phase of construction, is near completion. Prices of homes in phase three start from £370,000. For further information visit denhamgardenvillage.co.uk.
* International Osteoporosis Foundation