5 of the best exercise classes for the over 55s

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Bones and Joints Fitness Lifestyle Management Swimming Family fitness and active ageing Help and advice
Norman Brown Norman Brown Senior Personal Trainer
Keeping active is our best chance at living a long and healthy life, and it’s never too late to try something new. So here’s five of the best exercise classes for the over 55s to try.

Exercise is the best way to keep your body strong and to help you maintain a healthy weight, but as we get older our bodies change and you may want to adapt the exercise that you do to fit your lifestyle and needs. For some this might mean opting for lower impact or bodyweight exercise, or for others it might mean maintaining or building on strength. 

Here’s five of the best classes to try:

1. Indoor cycling
Indoor cycling is fully adapatable to whatever your fitness level and is suitable for people of all ages. There are no complicated moves to learn and you can go at your own pace by adjusting the resistance of your bike.  

Find your nearest Nuffield Health gym and join today

2. BodyPump
As we get older we naturally lose muscle, which helps keep our bodies strong and also affects our metabolic rate. The less muscle we have, the less effective our bodies are at burning calories, making it harder to lose weight. BodyPump, a high-intensity, weights-based class, will help keep your muscles active and strong.

3. Swimfit
Swimfit is lane swimming with a difference. It provides a mixture of different routines, strokes, speeds and lengths to encourage a more varied and challenging workout, adapted to your own fitness.
Swimming is a one of the best exercises for people of all ages as the water helps to support your body while you work and lessen impact on your joints.

4. Zumba
Zumba® is a fun and fast dance class for the more energetic dancer. You’ll dance to the sound of Latin music helping you to improve your cardiovascular fitness, burn calories and leave feeling invigorated.

Yoga class

5. BodyBalance
BodyBalance brings together all of the benefits of Yoga and Pilates into a challenging, yet relaxing class. This class will keep you supple as well as strong, strengthening the ligaments and connective tissues to keep your joints healthy. Over time it will help to improve your posture and restore correct alignment too. 


Last updated Friday 2 September 2022

First published on Monday 2 May 2016

Bones and Joints Fitness Lifestyle Management Swimming Family fitness and active ageing Help and advice