At Holmwood, exercise and movement are a large part of the leisure and lifestyle program designed to enhance strength, coordination and balance, and increase social activity in residents.
Our Move It or Lose It program is a resident driven program created by the leisure and lifestyle team. The program is offered three times per week and involves a combination of weights, stretches, cardio, and balance exercises. For residents who prefer a less physical approach, a gentle exercise program allows for residents to move with ease using tai chi techniques and breathing exercises..
For resident Ray, continuing with movement and exercise means that he can work on his strength and mobility whilst engaging with other residents at the home. Ray says, ‘I’ve always tried to stay fit. I like being able to do things for myself and stay independent and being fit helps me do this. I’ve always liked walking and keep doing that now’. For Ray, maintaining his fitness and strength means that he can still do things for himself and maintain a level of independence. He also likes to use his own weights and exercise bands in his room.
Since coming to Holmwood, Ray starts his day by walking 12 laps of path outside in the tranquil Healesville setting.. He loves the exercise program put together by the leisure and lifestyle team and says that the Move It or Lose It sessions are, ‘Just hard enough to make you really work for it but it’s all things that we can do.’
The social aspect of exercising for Ray is just as important as the physical aspect. ‘It’s a good social group to start the day, we knock on each other’s doors and remind each other to come, and we start the day off with friends. It was good during COVID too because it kept us being active and healthy and social. And if we couldn’t go to the exercises, Ben [Lifestyle Coordinator] made sure we had things to do in our rooms too,’ says Ray.
