By Jill Stocks
Regulars at a gym in Horsforth are making huge improvements to their fitness levels. And building their muscles too.
Now known as the ‘Grannies With Guns’, the ladies who lift have seen huge changes in their bodies through their hard work with one lady adding 2kg in muscle over the course of 12 months at the age of 70.
The ladies, who have been attending the Fun Fit class at Slim Fit Life gym on Horsforth Town Street for about a year – or in some cases a lot longer – are mainly over 60, and became known as the Grannies With Guns in reference to their muscle development.
Andrea Richardson has been attending the class for about 12 months.
She said: “I retired about four years ago so it’s keeping me busy. I come to some of the other classes but we’ve got really into this one, coming regularly and we’ve now increased it to two or three times a week. Really just to keep myself going and build strength.
“I’m not working but I look after my grandchildren. So there’s something about keeping going and keeping your strength up. And your mobility to make sure you can move around as you get older. So it works for me. And I’m local as well so I just come up the road and Tricia does a really good job.”
Nada Jasim also attends regularly.
“I like it here because it’s only ladies,” she said. “I come for my health, to lose weight, to keep fit. Always we have something to talk about.”
Sheila Marsden has been going to the class for about two years now, and gained 2kg in muscle over the past year.
“My balance is absolutely awful. Tricia will work on it. It keeps me going. I always have to hold on. I used to be able to run up and down steps and I thought I’ve got to do something to keep me going and not seize up. I do the dance class as well.”
Tricia Jephcott is the owner at Slim Fit Life. She told WLD: “We’re doing it slowly. We’re building it up slowly. We’re getting them to lift stronger. Just understanding that if you’ve got three or four kilos in a bag when you’re shopping you need to be able to lift it so training with one kilogram isn’t going to be enough. You need to up your weight.”
Sue Bettley is one of the longest standing gym members, having joined when it first opened in 2013.
“I come to various classes,” Sue said. “This one we’ve been doing as a group for about twelve months. And now we’re lifting heavier weights. I like the variety of the different classes. I’ve got more motivation being in a group rather than just coming on my own.”
Viv Caunt is another long-standing member. “I’ve been here since 2017. I came because my doctor told me I wasn’t getting any exercise. I started with zumba then moved to pilates then done all sorts. The classes are good and it’s social.”
Tricia added: “We call it Fun Fit because it focuses on functional fitness. Things like being able to get the plates out, being able to bend down into your oven, being able to get down in and out of chairs, so every exercise we do is designed around what we need from a functionality point of view.”
Slim Fit Life is a ladies only gym located on Horsforth Town Street and runs a number of classes as well as having a cardio and weights area for use at any time. There is also a weekly men’s yoga class.
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