Lifestyle

Exercising At Home

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At Seachange, our active residents understand the importance of nourishing the body. Not only does exercise improve our physical well-being but it has a vital impact on our mental health as well. While all of our residents have access to state-of-the-art gym facilities at each of our resort locations, fitting in a quick workout from the comfort of your own home is another great way to stay active.

 

Other benefits to exercising from home include listening to your music of choice out loud, wearing whatever you want, and the overall convenience of being in your own home. Try out these simple, yet effective, beginner exercises to kick-start your workout.

 

Chair squat

 Squats will help strengthen the muscles in your legs and core, making everyday movements easier. Start with a chair underneath you to help master the proper form.

Directions:

  1. Stand in front of the chair with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointed slightly out.
  2. Hinging at your hips and bending your knees, lower back and down until your bottom touches the chair, allowing your arms to extend out in front of you.
  3. Push up through your heels and return to the starting position.

 

Knee push-up

 The next exercise is a beginner-style push-up, this move will help you build strength before attempting a standard push-up.

Directions:

  1. Get into a high plank position from your knees.
  2. Maintaining a straight line from your head to your knees, bend your elbows to lower yourself down to the ground. Keep your elbows at a 45-degree angle.
  3. Push back up to start.

 

Stationary lunge

 Now target your quads, hamstrings, and glutes with a stationary lunge.

Directions:

  1. Split your stance with your right leg in front. Your right foot should be flat on the ground, and your left foot should be up on its toes.
  2. Bend your knees and lunge, stopping when your right thigh is parallel to the ground.
  3. Push up through your right foot to return to the starting position. Repeat for desired number of reps, then switch legs.

 

 

 

 

Seachange Residents Bowl into Action

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Playing bowls is a great leisure activity, and under the tutelage of Graeme Wicks, Seachange Riverside Coomera residents are quickly mastering the difference between ‘kissing the jack’ and ‘a heavy bowl’. Graeme was introduced to the ‘old man marbles’ by his father-in-law whilst on holiday in Wales in the United Kingdom. “I realised pretty quickly that it is a really challenging sport, much harder than I initially assumed,” he said. “The green is so variable as to how it runs, and you have to learn how much weight and pressure to apply in which direction because the ball does roll.”

 

After Graeme first arrived at Seachange, he found the bowls green only a few metres away from his house and shortly after volunteered for the resort’s coaching position. “When I was back from Wales, I asked a local bowls champion at my home club to coach me and started to develop my qualifications and experience. Bowls is now one of the most popular activities at Seachange Riverside Coomera, and the over 50s resort even holds its own tournaments. “The recent tournament, which included Single, Novice, Triple and Fancy-Dress competitions, was a way of bringing new and experienced bowlers together and it also encouraged the wonderful lady bowlers to participate that little bit more!”

 

Dave Flavell, featured in the pictures, was awarded Bowler of the Tournament. Graeme said ‘Dave truly exemplified the spirit of bowls which is all about gathering the community to have fun’. Seachange Riverside Coomera Community Manager Lynn Wild said the green has become the resort’s ‘heart of activity’. “The green is located right next to our wonderful Country Club, so the residents are able to go in and out of the Club to grab a cool drink from the bar whilst they are playing, it’s no wonder it has become so busy. The residents just love it.”

 

 

 

 

Bending and stretching to fitness

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Cathy Wicks’ desire to stay active and healthy has led dozens of her new friends to try a new style of fitness class at Seachange Riverside Coomera. Cathy, the resort’s Resident Activities Coordinator, attended fitness classes at the Pacific Pines Community Hub prior to settling at Seachange.

 

“When my husband Graeme and I moved to Seachange just over a year ago, I was so excited about the variety of activities on offer, but I did think it would be fun to continue with some of the fitness classes I took before we moved to the resort,” she said. “A couple of my friends attended a session of a new class called AgeilityFit post COVID and told me it was different but really good for our age group.”

 

 

“It sounded fantastic, so I tried it out, and now we have our very own weekly class here at Seachange.” Cathy said the beauty of AgeilityFit, led by instructor David Lawson, was how it combined physical and mental activity. “It’s about balance, listening to instructions that you have to follow, and then changing things mid-way through, so you have to use your brain too,” she said.

 

Mr Lawson said his MatureFit program was designed to improve participants’ health and wellbeing. “It focuses on developing strength, improving mobility, flexibility, balance and independence whether you want to challenge your current fitness level or start your fitness journey anew. We help many who have never exercised before or it has been years since they did sport or other activities,” he said. The low-impact class caters for those with injuries and limited capabilities by utilising light dumbbells and resistant bands to perform a variety of exercise while seated or standing with a chair as assistance.

 

 

“We work with all types of people. Some who have had hip or knee replacements, shoulder and back issues and others who have had strokes. Participating in classes can make everyday activities easier and shows you that it is never too late to make an improvement to your health and wellbeing,” he said. Seachange Riverside Coomera Community Manager Lynn Wild said she thoroughly enjoyed seeing homeowners trying new activities at the resort. “At Seachange, we provide our residents with the opportunity to participate in all type of fitness programs such as Yoga and Line Dancing,” she said. “Lawn Bowls is a really popular activity, and it is wonderful to see more and more people using our fully equipped gym, treatment room, sauna and steam room. “AgeilityFit is proving to be great new option for those wanting to try something interesting and different.”

 

 

 

The Cent Sale

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The residents at Seachange Toowoomba recently got together and had a magnificent Cent Sale at the resort’s Clubhouse. The lovely event was organised by Marilyn Schefe who has previously put on similar events successfully. She sourced around 150 prizes from the Toowoomba community. There was even a lucky door prize; an Air Fryer which was kindly donated by Betta Electrical, St George. It was a great community effort and Marilyn made sure all residents were included, each one tasked with their own job to help make the event a success.

 

 

The Clubhouse was buzzing with about 118 people in attendance. Guests paid an entry fee which gave them tickets to place along prizes of their choice and there was also a multi draw raffle for higher value prizes like the two family passes donated by the Darling Downs Zoo. The event managed to raised over $2000. The funds raised are in the hands of the HOAC who will decide which charities the money will be donated to.

 

 

The event also featured a lovely Afternoon tea which included delicious food, all donated by the residents. There were a lot of excited winners and everyone at the event had a great time and was happy to have contributed towards the worthy cause. The support the event got from the residents is a further testament of the community spirit we have at our Seachange resorts.

 

 

 

Fresh produce and friendships seeded at Seachange Toowoomba

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It may just be a lettuce to some, but to Yvonne Mallory growing produce in the Seachange Toowoomba community garden provides a way to share knowledge, recipes and start friendships. Coming from apartment life, Yvonne hasn’t had her own garden in over six years. Once she moved into Seachange she found joining the gardening club a source a great joy. “I used to love gardening out in the sun with all the fresh air and it feels great to get my hands dirty again, but my favourite part by far is seeing people enjoy the produce we grow,” she said.

 

The gardening club meets every Monday at the residential community garden, but is open for picking every day of the week. Many donate a gold coin for the produce they pick to maintain their fresh food source, and as the seasons change, so do the options available. “Currently we have a winter garden of broccoli, cauliflower, peas and more but it has been a learning experience for me as I am from North Queensland and actually had to ask the other gardeners ‘what about the frost?’,” she said.

 

 

Although the options in the garden change, one of Yvonne’s most cherished vegetables is the thriving silverbeet. “I particularly like the silverbeet as it is one of the first things planted in the garden,” she said. “Interestingly it has grown so large because no one has been picking the leaves for meals.” This led to Yvonne finding some tasty recipes to utilise the abundant leaves, and she has even made a recipe book that everyone can view in the club house. “It’s since become a hit amongst the residents, same as our Japanese turnips.”

 

“We found that there were many single people who would only be cooking for themselves, so we started cutting the pumpkins in quarters and cabbages in halves. This also made sure that everyone could get the fresh produce and the joy of a returned patron makes it so worthwhile.” Not only is the community garden growing a connection between the club members; all the residents who pick from the garden have the opportunity to try new foods and share recipes amongst themselves as well.

 

 

The next planned project is to grow citrus trees so limes, lemons and oranges can be shared. “One of our new residents had citrus trees on his previous property, so we plan to work with him to bring citrus to our community.” The sweet taste of success for all at Seachange Toowoomba.

 

Marathon Meander at Seachange Emerald Lakes

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It all started out as a chilly Saturday morning at Seachange Emerald Lakes but you would not have noticed it based on how electric the atmosphere was. The annual charity Marathon Meander had everyone buzzing with excitement. The residents came out in their numbers to support a worthy cause, with funds raised to be donated to the Cancer Council.

 

 

53 residents walked the circuit, all aiming to not only raise funds, but to also beat the previous record set in 2020, when 52 walkers did an amazing 150 laps (180km) around the resort. This year, a new record was set as they participants managed to do a total of 189 laps (226.8km). Special mention goes to Michael Heath and his grandchildren, Jaden & Lulu who did an amazing 6 laps. Claire Attree, Kay Hamilton (in wheelchair), Joy Aylward, Peter Carney, Dot Carney, Cherry Elliot, Gil Gerhardt, Ray Gibson, Graham Gitten, Stuart Rayner & Graeme Roberts all walked an incredible 5 laps as well. It was great to see the team work and community spirit in action.

 

 

It was all hands on deck with other residents manning the registration desk and the guessing competition which was won by Les Harry. We also had a team pumping out delicious bacon and egg rolls and our trusty Seachange coffee van, Martha, was there churning out some great coffee. All in all, it was a great day out and we managed to raise an incredible $1,400 for The Cancer Council. Preparations are already underway to beat the new record in 2022 so get practising and we will see you on the circuit.