By Aaron Cordy
BETTER fitness should be the goal for everyone, but this doesn’t mean everyone should be tackling marathons and trying to pump more iron than is good for them. What everyone should be doing is trying to increase movement and mobility to the best of their ability, in whatever form that takes.
Sadly, many people who truly need help improving their fitness and mobility are left behind because of prices, lack of confidence to join a gym or get a personal trainer, or lack of accessibility due to disability.
Chair One Fitness (COF) is a passion project of Sharleen Bachelor open to everyone of any level including senior citizens, people with balance deficits, chronic pain, injuries, disabilities, obesity and more. COF is a chair-based dance fitness program with activities for daily life movement incorporated into Sharleen’s fun dance moves. It is priced at $3 and $5 to cover expenses.
Sharleen understands the fears and setbacks many people face trying to improve their fitness for overall better health and wellbeing. When her dream of becoming a career firefighter was quashed because she is epileptic with multiple chronic health conditions, she knew that wouldn’t stop her from helping other people improve their lives, so she qualified to become a personal trainer.
“I’ve had multiple chronic health conditions pretty much my entire life, and trying to find someone that wants to take the time to cater for that is hard,” said Sharleen.
“If you don’t have lived experience with chronic illness, you really can’t understand what it’s like that one day you wake up and you can do some stuff, other days you can’t. So traditional personal trainers are just like, you know, let’s push you every day, whereas I’m not like that.
“I want exercise and movement to be joyous for a person. I want them to discover that moving your body can feel good. It doesn’t have to be painful. But then it’s also, we’re going to give you some health benefits from it too.”
COF classes are held at North Shepparton Community and Learning Centre on Mondays at 11.45am and Wednesdays at 12.45pm for $5 per session.
Wilmot Road Primary School Community Hub on Fridays at 9.30am for $3 per session.
To book a place or for more information phone Sharleen on 0457 433 696 or follow her on Facebook.
And don’t forget to follow Wilmot Road Primary School Community Hub on Facebook for more great initiatives and programs.
