A Cloetesville husband and wife duo have started offering exercise classes for senior members of their community. The classes provide a source of recreational activity, as well as a means for them to take care of their well-being, free of charge.
Christie Nobles’ seniors’ fitness classes commenced for the first time in May. He has offered fitness classes to the community of Cloetesville since he and his wife, Beverley-Lynn, started the Christie Noble Fixer Fitness Foundation in 2013, when his professional rugby career had come to an end. “When I came back, I thought about what I should do for the community that I lived in,” he said, and added that the purpose behind the initiative has always been the benefit of Cloetesville. PHOTO: Jessica Hillier
This is according to Christie Noble who started the initiative, and who is the co-founder of the Christie Noble Fixer Fitness Foundation, alongside his wife, Beverley-Lynn.
“I operate in the community, and I can see the suffering [with health-related issues] of our seniors,” said Noble. “They can’t afford a gym [membership]. I came up with this initiative to give them some exercises, and it is something [we can see] that they are really enjoying.”
The first class was held on 30 May. Further classes will be held on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 19:00 to 19:45 in Cloetesville’s Eikestad Hall, according to their Facebook page.
The ins and outs
“Because it’s aimed at the older guys, it’s less strenuous on the joints. […] This is really exciting for the older people,” said Steven Festus, who was a first time attendee on 31 May.
Noble’s classes are based on fitness programmes he studies from online sources, such as YouTube, he explained.
Senior citizens do not pay for the classes, but are given the option to provide monetary donations, of as little as R1, used to support the community of Cloetesville, according to Noble.
“I started with the 6 o’clock classes; there’s more young people there that come to those. This is the first time ever that I’ve started the fitness for seniors classes. I really hope it will grow, and that people will buy into it, [and] that stakeholders will contact me and see how they can help. As you can see, there’s not enough weights, there isn’t enough equipment, so we need equipment, and we need resources,” said Christie Noble, regarding his Cloetesville fitness initiative. PHOTOS: Jessica Hillier
The classes currently consist of 12-15 people. Noble stated that in the future, as the numbers grow, he hopes to utilise volunteers as extra trainers, and collaborate with Maties Gym.
Maties Gym plans to make instructors available to help Noble teach classes, donate gym equipment, and provide regular information sessions surrounding health topics such as “hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia and better food choices”, to the senior citizens of Cloetesville. This is according to Dr Francois Kotze, the general manager of Maties Gym.
“Not everyone can afford gym membership fees, and we realise this. But everyone can be active and make better lifestyle choices, to enhance [their] quality of life,” said Kotze.
What it means to Cloetesville
“I’m really, really grateful to my brother Christie […] to allow us the opportunity to get fit at this age,” said Aubrey Noble, who attended two of the classes.
Noble said that he believes his fitness initiative will not only encourage the community to get active, but will also help to alleviate the stressors residents of Cloetesville face as a result of socio-economic issues.
“The drugs, the unemployment, and poverty [are] quite a big concern. Our people, we need something constructive […] I look after their health, and I believe that will help to alleviate any sort of illness,” said Noble.
Dr Francois Kotze, the general manager of Maties Gym, has said that they fully support Christie Nobles’s endeavours to keep the community of Cloetesville healthy and active. “If we can help in any way, we would gladly assist,” said Kotze. VIDEO: Jessica Hillier