The 30-minute Fit for Life fitness class will start on Tuesday, October 1 from 10am at South Oxford Community Centre in Lake Street in Oxford.
Participants can then enjoy a free hot drink and cake in the community café, so they can socialise, connect and make friends.
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Run by Maddy Biddulph Personal Training, Fit for Life is supported by South Oxford Community Association (SOCA) and subsidised by Well Together. The class is just £1 with all proceeds going to SOCA.
Personal trainer Maddy Biddulph, 46, said: “This is my third seated exercise class in Oxford and I’m really excited to launch one in Grandpont, where I live.
(Image: Richard Cave) “Exercise is crucial to physical and mental wellbeing and can improve quality of life, as well as lower the risk of chronic diseases and injury.
“With low impact chair-based exercise we can improve muscle mass, bone density, mobility and flexibility, as well as boost mood and focus.
“Plus, there will be a free hot drink and cake over at the centre’s community café after class so people can socialise and feel more connected. Huge thanks to SOCA and Well Together for helping me make this class a reality.”
For the last year, Maddy has been running a free weekly seated exercise class for older people with charity Waste2Taste at Shotover View, Craufurd Road, as well as one for residents at Pegasus Grange in Whitehouse Road in Oxford.
“And with the right kind of training, we’re capable of amazing change. Through gentle exercise we can strengthen our bodies so we can move and live to our full potential.
“During the low impact class we will do a mixture of bodyweight and resistance bands exercises, which are fun and easy to follow. Regular exercise is a great way to boost brain and heart health, sleep better and stress less.”
Maddy Biddulph is a former Oxford Mail reporter and freelance journalist who retrained as a fitness coach during lockdown.
The journalist turned personal trainer first joined the Oxford Mail after editor the late Jim McClure hired her while she was on work experience there.
She worked on The Oxford Times features desk as well as well as working as a senior reporter before moving to London in 2006 to work for Splash News.
She went on to work for celebrity magazines NOW and Closer, and still writes and edits for many of the UK’s bestselling publications.
Maddy’s late father Michael Biddulph was also an Oxford Mail journalist in the Sixties and was deputy editor of the Mail’s sister paper the Oxford Star.
To find out more about Maddy Biddulph Personal Training, email Hello@MaddyPT.co.uk or head to www.MaddyPT.co.uk.
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