A local newspaper, Shropshire Star, has featured the many benefits of Elevate strength and balance classes for people aged over 60. These classes are designed to be safe, beneficial and most of all enjoyable!

The cost per class for Shropshire Council residents has been halved to £2.50 from October 2022 until 31st March 2023.

Christina Morgan, the Live Longer Better manager at Energize Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin said "we are aware that people may be concerned about their finances with the increased cost of living, so we have halved the cost." 

She continued: "There are many reasons why people could lose their strength and balance. Research shows that one in three people over the age of 65 will have a fall, with that figure rising to one in two over the age of 80."

"It may be that people have been immobile, maybe spent time in hospital or on bed rest, and have lost muscle mass. They may be on medication which can affect their balance or have blood pressure problems. And from the age of 30 all of us lose three to eight per cent of muscle mass every decade."

Christina said lockdown had had a huge effect on people's physical and emotional health.

"We have noticed an enormous drop in older people's physical condition because they were not going out during lockdown. They were not going shopping, walking to post a letter or socialising and as well as their physical condition, they have lost confidence about going out."

However the Elevate classes have already seen individuals make huge difference to their health, including two inspiring stories from Chris and Rob which you can read within the full story here.