her ‘big’ philosophies and probably the invisible hands that
drive her to do the things she does. “I believe in taking at least
10 risks a year,” she says. Actions can be as simple as doing
something new, striking up conversations with new friends,
learning a new skill or just getting out of your comfort zone.
“It’s this risk taking that has taken me to the edge lots of times,”
she says, which is evident from her own adventures.
It’s hard to keep up with Laraine as she rattles off the exciting
adventures she’s undertaken, which is more than most people
half her age. She lists jumping out of a plane over Namibia’s
Skeleton Coast as the scariest. “It was a tiny little plane in a
third world country and the guys who ran it looked like they
had just stepped out of a bar,” she recalls. “It was amazing - all
you could see was desert. Jumping out was great but what
was more outstanding was the 360s the plane was doing –
after the third one I had to ask them to stop!”
Approaching each adrenalin fuelled escapade with a
‘no fear’ attitude keeps Laraine calm and stops her from
backing out (not that that is an option), whether it is hiking Mt
Kilimanjaro, swimming with whale sharks on Ningaloo Reef,
trekking New Zealand’s less-travelled trails or white water
rafting down a crocodile-infested Nile river.
I don’t offer that
option of having a
rest because they are
going to have it if they
want to.
Inspired by adventurers like polar pioneer Sir Ernest Shackleton,
Laraine says that we as modern day explorers have it easy
with all the technology and gadgets available to us. Although
she sees herself as a traveller, she admits we have everything
we need to make our adventure comfortable compared to
early explorers who didn’t have much at all.
What Laraine has discovered through her own ageing
and teaching experience is that individuals have far more
capacity for challenging their bodies through exercise than
they think possible. “We don’t know how strong we really are
because we never put it [our bodies] to the test,” she explains,
saying how probably 95 per cent of the older population never
really push themselves. Teaching 60 to 70 participants a week
with a variety of health conditions and limitations, Laraine
insists that classes for seniors and older populations should
include a floor component so individuals can practice getting
down and up from the floor. “If they fall down on the floor, 50
per cent of people who can’t get up – die,” she says.
So what works best with older populations? “If you have a
choreographed routine it doesn’t allow for all the capacities
and you can’t always work on function and range of
movement,” she explains, and “Getting your older clients to
know what an exercise feels like and what it really is to push
yourself is important.” Adopting a form of interval training,
teaching correct technique and form and encouraging
them to work harder are her methods to bring out the best in
participants.
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WHAT’S NEW IN FITNESS - SUMMER 2014