99-year-old exerciser puts us to shame

Betty Holmes exercising at Bob Owens Retirement Village. Betty turns 100 years in two weeks. Photo/John Borren

Betty Holmes turns 100 in just a few weeks and still attends exercise classes several times a week - she says it could be the key to a long life.

Mrs Holmes also helped set an Australasian record by taking part in the largest and oldest synchronised exercise class.

She walked every day and attended twice weekly exercise classes at Bob Owens Retirement Village.

"I've had a bad leg after someone ran into me at the lifts, but it's just coming right, so I'm getting right back into it," Mrs Holmes said, rearing to go in the front row of the exercise class.

More than 60 residents at the village, most older than 80, took part in breaking an Australasian record where 3000 elderly did a synchronised exercise class, linked together live via YouTube.

The event celebrated 10 years of Ryman Healthcare Triple-A exercise classes.

"I love doing these exercises. Maybe it's why I have lived for so long.

"I just love to walk and get out and around," Mrs Holmes said.

The exercise class was focused on functional movements - balancing and extending one leg at a time, marching in place and using an elastic band for resistance training.

The residents sat in chairs, for the most part, singing along to the tunes as they worked out.

Instructor Sarah Nicol took two types of classes at the village, which the residents got "really into".

The first was a circuit class, a bit harder which included weightless bicep curls, wall press-ups and sit-ups.

"It's amazing to see the change it makes in people's lives. If you don't use it - you lose it.

"We did fitness testing, and I encouraged one of the women to try the circuit class, and a few months later she came to tell me she felt so much younger."

It gave the residents balance, confidence and allowed them to become more active in other aspects of life, Ms Nicol said.

"I regularly have a 95-year-old vision impaired woman come to class, and she does almost everything."