Have you been harbouring a desire to join a gym because you know strengthening exercises will be good for you, but you hesitate because you are intimidated to join a gym? Or maybe you’re waiting for the right guidance to help you work towards good health and independence?
Gym Tonic might be the place for you.
This is a workout den just for us silvers where we get to hang out with other silvers and simultaneously build our strength under the guidance of trainers so that we can better manage our daily activities. At Gym Tonic, exercise is medicine.
Gym Tonic’s hydraulic machines are sponsored by the Lien Foundation. I found them to be perfect for silvers; effective, safe, and kind on the joints.
Silvers are thus able to empower themselves with strength and energy through safe joint-friendly workouts under a structured training programme.
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But then I learnt that there are currently only 18 Gym Tonic sites open to seniors in the community, out of a total of 29 sites, including those in residential and rehab settings.
And their waitlists are long.
So, my plea is for the government to take over funding and undertake the building of Gym Tonic sites on a national scale, all over the island, perhaps at Active Ageing Centres (with the Lien Foundation as consultants), so that all silvers have access to these facilities.
The Lien Foundation embarked upon this project a decade ago after a study trip to Finland.
The study team observed that the Finns are very fit, and a lot of that was due to the machines they were using.
Hence the team decided to bring in the first-generation machines.
Five years later the Foundation switched to the second-generation German Frei hydraulic machines.
Ivan Loh, Programme Administrator from the Lien Foundation, proudly states that these machines cannot be found anywhere else in Singapore.
What is the objective of the programme and how does a silver join it?
The objective is to provide preventive strength training exercise for silvers.
I visited the relatively new Rivervale Gym Tonic.
Hence any silver above the age of 50, and mobile, is accepted.
The 24-session programme is becoming so popular there that there is already a waitlist of 50 at this Gym Tonic, in Rivervale Community Club.
Those who have completed the programme swear by it. They feel so much stronger.
Almost all return for the follow-up Maintenance Programme.
Some who seek a second round of Maintenance are disappointed when told that priority goes to new participants and that they have to rejoin the queue.
Some Gym Tonic sites accept only silvers aged 60 and above. Rates vary but the cost of training averages $10 a session.
However, the condition is that silvers must commit to 24 sessions. The Gym Tonic is open five days a week during normal working hours.
Programme structure
To begin with, the participant is assessed in the pre-programme section. The first four sessions are more of an orientation.
The silver goes through a warm-up routine followed by two cycles on the five machines. The number of reps (15) and load (25 Newtons) in these rounds are standardised.
The trainer then tailors and maps out a progressive programme for each individual.
He guides the silver on the use of the machines and monitors his progress during the 24, one-hour sessions (once or twice a week).
Upon completion of the programme, there is a post assessment. Thereafter the silver continues with the programme under “Maintenance” (24 sessions).
Finally, the silver graduates. He can move on to sign up with a gym or ActiveSG which is free for those 65 and above. Or he can join the queue again with priority given to newcomers.
How is Gym Tonic different?
The Frei German-made machines are hydraulic.
They do not use weights, which make them safer. They are less taxing on the joints for silvers.
Not much coordination is needed say the trainers. It’s just a straightforward isokinetic movement from point A to point B. Resistance training in exercise is crucial as we age.
I felt the consistent resistance throughout on all the five machines I tried. It felt no different from the regular machines in my gym just that it was kinder on my joints.
And the trainer guided me on a modified range when I told him about my injuries (back and spondylosis).
Even if the participant is not able to continue with the reps, it’s safe to stop midway.
Participants just tap on the machines with a digital card and their fitness history on the circuit is logged.
So silvers do not have to fret over which machines they have covered in the circuit.
I smiled when encouraging prompts kept appearing on my screen as I went about my reps.
I noticed the other silvers were beaming too whenever a “Very Good” or “Awesome” flashed.
Who benefits the most from the programme?
Trainer Xue Chengjin emphasised that results vary with individuals and depend on the physical condition, medical condition, age and gender of the client.
The trainers focus on getting the silvers to learn how to move correctly and breathe correctly when they exercise.
Conducive design and atmosphere
Now I understand why the Gym Tonic I visited didn’t quite look like a gym.
The design is intentional. The gym is adorned with greenery to look like a park, and in the background I heard music from Vintage Radio SG. This design relaxes the participant.
One of the most heartwarming scenarios the trainers have witnessed is the “seasoned” participants trying to teach and guide the other silvers on which machines to use and also how to use them.
Community building and bonding
A big plus with participants of this programme is the communication and social network that the silver is exposed to.
Silvers get to interact with their trainers and make new friends with other participants while staying active.
One of the bugbears of growing old is loneliness.
To add to that, a growing number of silvers live on their own.
If silvers can get out twice a week to a Gym Tonic and socialise while exercising, that would certainly be a win-win situation. And it would certainly help if these gyms are in our neighbouhood.
The silvers I interviewed made a special request for proximity to ease the strain of their commute.
Looking ahead, the trainers envisage a new direction for future silvers. Young people today know how to exercise they quipped.
When this lot grows older, their demands may be different. But for now, there is a great need to be met: our current batch of silvers need help with mobility, strength and flexibility to be independent and healthier for longer thus lightening the load on our healthcare system.
Gym Tonic Champions
Sylvia Chew 62, Senior Lab Technician
Sylvia started to feel pain in her knees at age 55 which she traced to an accident she had at the age of 13. Her specialist told her to look up Gym Tonic to strengthen her knees.
She found one which was relatively new then. Although she lives in Tampines, she travels to Sengkang for the sessions.
I overheard her chatting with Zul that she had to go on the “monster machine” (The Leg Press).
Later I learnt that other participants also dislike the “monster machine”. But they all confessed that it did them good and they could now squat and stand up faster than they used to.
Sylvia had a problem squatting to clean her floor. She doesn’t anymore and demonstrated her squats for me to prove her point.
Currently Sylvia is completing the Maintenance Follow-up and is already starting to miss her trainers and the programme.
Goh Teik Liang 71 and wife Rosemary 58, ex bankers
Teik Liang is an avid golfer playing three times a week.
So, it was a big change in routine for him when he had knee replacements (one partial and one full). He rested for six months and bounced back on the green the moment he could.
His resourceful wife Rosemary found Gym Tonic and signed them both up.
Rosemary has back issues and spondylosis (degeneration of intervertebral discs) but found Gym Tonic alleviated her problems by strengthening her back.
Teik Liang strengthens his back on the Abdominal and Back Trainer. Says it helps with his swing.
But his biggest gain is the strengthening of his knee caps. He can stand up faster from a resting position and play a better golf game he says. He used to walk with a walking aid when he was travelling about a year after his operation but does not need that any more.
Rosemary now makes it a point to encourage her friends to strengthen their legs because like most silvers, she and her friends love to travel and that involves a lot of walking. “Sometimes a walk to a coach parked a distance away is already too much for some silvers.”
May Tham, 63, Company Secretary
May was told in July this year that she has osteopenia (the reduction of protein and mineral content in bones).
Her doctor asked her to start taking natural calcium and exercising to reverse the trend.
Her friend confirmed the benefit of building strength too and raved about Gym Tonic after it helped her with hip issues when she was undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer.
So, May gave it a shot and signed up for the programme because she was convinced that the strengthening exercises would be good for her bones.
She has already completed six sessions of her standard circuits.
She is looking forward to an increased load and being challenged. The trainers are working with her to set new targets.
Ing Lim 53
Ing Lim is thankful that Gym Tonic’s objective is preventive.
She has no injuries but wants to keep them at bay and prepare herself to age well.
After her preparatory stint at Gym Tonic she is contemplating signing up at a regular gym.
Let us make the best use of Gym Tonic’s facilities now and keep our fingers crossed that they’ll soon fall under our national health budget.
Silvers interested in signing up for Gym Tonic can write in to hello@gymtonic.sg.
