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Improving Quality of Life and Brain Function
One of our goals at Personal Best Fitness is to encourage everybody to look and feel better and function in a more optimal way.
Robert is certainly a ‘shining’ example of that. Diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) over the last 3 years. FTD is characterized by the nerve cells in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain being lost. It can impact behaviour, personality, language and movement.
Robert’s wife Heather has been a regular at Personal Best for some 10 years and is well aware of both the physical and mental benefits of exercise and knew that Robert was eligible for the Home Care Package that included funding for personal training.
Prior to starting personal training with Fran, Robert had difficulty getting into and out of a chair due to his posture and lack of strength. He had put on weight due to his brain wanting him to be sedentary.
Since Robert has started personal training with Fran, Heather can see many positive changes.
‘He is learning new motor patterns and movements and when he comes home from Personal Best Fitness, he is more engaged with the world around him and is more vibrant. Robert even now notices weeds in the garden and pulls them out, which is a great help to me.’
Robert’s carer Sandy brings him to Personal Best Fitness in a taxi and recently Robert gave the driver directions to the gym from the Eastern Shore!
Heather feels that going to the gym is the most stimulating part of Robert’s week as it extends his brain function and it is significantly slowing down the rate of deterioration in brain function.
Six months ago, when Robert started on the exercise bike, he could pedal for 3 minutes on resistance 4, now he has progressed to 2 x 5 minutes on resistance 7. Robert’s walking gait has also improved, and he is able to co-ordinate his opposite arm and leg.
‘It is so rewarding to work with Robert, he has a wonderful sense of humour, and he has started to ask why we are doing specific exercises. His posture, balance and strength have improved greatly, and he has lost weight’. Fran
Robert now moves with more confidence and feels a great sense of achievement when mastering new exercises.
If you know of someone who is eligible for the Home Care Funding Program and could enjoy a better quality of life, please have a chat with our front desk team.
