No pain, big gains.

Adactus Housing in conjunction with Active Living from Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust are running activities for sheltered housing residents to get fit and have some fun at the same time.

The activity programme includes a great variety of exercises for local people. It offers a safe, effective and enjoyable physical activity for residents across the borough in a range of local and accessible Community and Leisure venues. All activities are suitable for beginners and focused on the over 50’s.

As part of the programme, Adactus and Active Living arranged for residents aged 50 and over from Sheltered Schemes to attend a Tai Chi session at Ambergate, a sheltered scheme on Lee Lane, Atherton. The first session was held on Tueday 24 April between 10am and 11am and proved very popular amongst the residents.

More sessions are expected to run every Tuesday from 10am – 11am at the scheme for a period of six weeks. The sessions could be extended even further if the participants’ number remains high.

Kathryn Evans Senior Support Co-coordinator from Adactus Housing Association explained “This gentle form of exercise can prevent or ease many ills of aging and could be the perfect activity for the rest of your life. Although Tai Chi is slow and gentle and doesn’t leave you breathless, it addresses the key components of fitness — muscle strength, flexibility and balance. The sessions are not only for our residents and I would like to invite members of the community over the aged of 50 to join in, this will also be a great opportunity to meet people and see what other events/activities Adactus Housing and Active Living have to offer.”
Katharine Kennedy from Active Living added “Tai Chi is a great form of exercise and does have many health related benefits including helping to reduce blood pressure, helping with breathing and increasing circulation.
Tai Chi also has a benefit of helping to reduce falls by upto 47% and can also help increase bone mineral density approximately three fold. The Tai Chi sessions are based on Tai Chi for health which is a none religious form. The best thing to do is come along and have a go, what have you got to lose.”