A Wigan retiree walks the Great Wall after a year of strength training
A Wigan retiree says she’s fitter than she has been in years after intensive training and a walk along the Great Wall of China
Jan Walker, 68, spent 30 years working in the NHS and was struggling with her mobility, balance and strength when she retired.
She told us: "I was very concerned that I wouldn't be fit enough to be in a gym, and could only see a deteriorating picture.
“Fast-forward 12 months, and I can honestly say I am stronger than I have been in probably more than a decade." After a year of training she went on a three-week family trip to China and walked the Great Wall, something she says "would have been unthinkable just 12 months earlier."
Jan is one of a growing number of older people in Wigan taking up strength training.
She also runs a strength class for Wigan u3a members, and has delivered sessions for Wigan Athletic Community Trust's Extra Time programme.
Many of the people she works with had never set foot in a gym before.