Nearly every new retirement village has a gym, but as Ari Kallinen, Managing Director of HUR Australia says, new residents are unlikely to attend unless the most appropriate, fit for purpose equipment is provided.
“Having a gym which is used by all, rather than just your typical gym-junkies,
not only looks after the health of your residents, encouraging residents to stay longer and thus boosting your DMF, but also creates brand ambassadors which reduces vacancies.”“A busy gym is good for the residents and good for you.”
Why choose HUR fitness equipment?
109 of 131 residents now attend the gym at The Henley on Broadwater retirement village on the Gold Coast after HUR Equipment was installed. Before HUR equipment the most was nine.
“The HUR equipment simply stood out. Without a weight plate to be seen, it looked more like a lounge than gym and served to break down any barriers of use,” said The Henley Fitness Consultant Liz Webster.
HUR Australia uses air cylinders connected to a near-silent air compressor for generating the resistance needed for strength training. These cylinders are safely hidden away in the frames of the equipment.
The air cylinders give smooth and consistent resistance across the range of motion. This reduces stresses on joints and tissues and entirely avoids the risk of accidents from overloading muscles.
Air resistance starting loads can be near-zero and increments can be as low as 100g. This means even the frailest person can start exercising.
The economics work
HUR helps seniors to maintain or regain the life they want to lead, helps therapists to work efficiently with result-based outcomes and helps administrators run a cost-effective gym with low staff numbers and long equipment lifecycles.
“The decision we struggled over was whether or not to commit to the higher spend for the digital smart touch (ST) version of the equipment. However, it has turned out to be seminal to our success,” says Patrick Smith, CEO of The Henley.
This equipment has been in use across the world for 30 years.
Integratedliving – from one to eight gyms installed
Integratedliving Australia commenced with one HUR gym in 2017, and based on its success, have rolled them out to all eight of their Wellness Centres.
“HUR equipment is a fundamental part of the exceptional results our clients’ experience at our Wellness Centres in New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania,” says Catherine Daley, CEO of integratedliving Australia.
23% increase in body strength
Over the past 12 months, their eight sites have made startling progress.
Collectively, attendees have registered a 23% increase in upper body strength and a 22% increase in lower body strength. One of the centres showed an average upper-body strength increase of 70% across all its clients.
“This progress is made possible in part by the outstanding ergonomic design and safety of our HUR machines,” Catherine said. “As well as the motivation that the data capturing and sharing provides to clients during and after their use.”
Who is integratedliving?
A Not For Profit organisation offers in-home and virtual services to more than 22,000 clients annually in various regional centres from Launceston, Tasmania, to Toowoomba, Queensland.
In 2021, integratedliving Wellness Centres delivered approximately 45,000 hours of exercise classes to clients, despite COVID-related lockdowns.
Head of Wellness Business at integratedliving, Amina Ward, emphasised the pivotal role HUR equipment plays in the excellent and consistent results their clients have achieved.
“The digital system allows clients to easily pick up where they left off, and adjust the incremental increases, enabling staff to monitor their program at all times. The results we see over time are certainly not incremental. Balance scores have improved drastically over time, and strength scores and other measures are equally impressive in their outcomes.”
Ms Ward said the HUR equipment has proven so popular with clients that they return week on week to enjoy the benefits of moving better.
HUR allowed Veronica’s skydive to mark 80
Veronica Philips’, from integratedliving Australia Wellness & Activity Centre Gorokan, NSW, credits the HUR machines with giving her the strength she needed to skydive into her 80th birthday celebrations.
She said without the machines and the exercise classes at her local centre, she would not have had the strength for the most physically demanding part of her parachute jump – climbing the vertical ladder into the plane.
“If I hadn’t had the strength training, especially in my arms and legs, I wouldn’t have been able to get up that ladder,” said Veronica, who has been using HUR equipment for the past three years.
“I’ve got a lot more strength and I have a lot more energy by exercising regularly.
“I love going each week, it becomes almost addictive because you know you’re doing yourself good.”
Individual digital programs
integratedliving’s Senior Manager – Wellness Exercise, Georgia Kelaher, said such positive responses from clients are a regular occurrence.
“The HUR machines make exercise really achievable and enjoyable,” she said.
“They eliminate a lot of the barriers that stop people, especially senior people, from exercising in a regular gym,” Ms Kelaher said. “Their individualised program loads onto their card, which means when they can sit on a machine it will remember exactly the program the Exercise Physiologist prescribed for them, with any increases or decreases from their last session.
“Another huge benefit of HUR equipment is that it allows users to work each limb individually, which is excellent because none of us are completely even on both sides of the body, and most of us have injuries,” she said.
“HUR gym equipment continues to be an absolutely core part of the success of our centres and our clients’ achievements.”
Why choose HUR fitness equipment?
Check out this video on HUR equipment being used around the world.
The key takeaway message
The message from all of our most successful clients is that gyms need to be for all and the way to achieve this is with truly fit-for-purpose equipment and passionate people who care about their clients.
Learn more
To receive information on HUR equipment and how it can add to your business, email Ari Kallinen HERE or check their website HERE.
