{"id":447081,"date":"2026-01-30T09:39:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T09:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/447081\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T09:39:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T09:39:09","slug":"the-89-year-old-fitness-fanatic-leading-exercise-classes-in-bolton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/447081\/","title":{"rendered":"The 89-year-old fitness fanatic leading exercise classes in Bolton"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Since moving to Lever Edge Care Home<\/a>, in Great Lever, resident Valerie Bailey grabbed the attention of staff with her enthusiasm for daily exercise.\n<\/p>\n

\n Her enthusiasm soon saw her invited to lead an aerobics class for fellow residents, encouraging them to stay active through stretching and resistance training using cans and bands.\n<\/p>\n

\n It was during one of Val\u2019s daily outings in Great Lever that the care home\u2019s events manager, Manny Patel, decided to capture her energy on camera for the home\u2019s Facebook page.\n<\/p>\n

\n Lever Edge Care Home resident Val Bailey, 89, with her running medals\n<\/p>\n

\n In the video, Val demonstrates her technique for power-walking, running and leg-strengthening exercises, while also showing that age is just a number when she rides the seesaw and slide at a nearby park.\n<\/p>\n

\n The video has so far garnered over 8,100 views, more than 130 reactions and dozens of comments, with one commenter stating: \u201cI hope I\u2019m like that at 89.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Others called Val an \u201cinspiration\u201d, \u201can amazing woman\u201d, \u201ca role model for us all\u201d,\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201csuch a happy person\u201d, while another said watching the video made their day.\n<\/p>\n

\n Val said: \u201cI started running when I was younger because it costs nothing. All you need is a pair of shoes.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cAt 89, staying active keeps my enthusiasm alive, because movement is my morning reminder that life is meant to be lived fully.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI enjoy inspiring others. My active life and enthusiasm shows that it\u2019s never too late to keep moving growing and thriving it’s brings me joy.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI loved leading the exercise class with Manny because, at my age, staying active is even better when you lift folk up with you. It makes me happy.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Val trained as an NHS<\/a> nurse but soon after took her skills abroad, working in South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and France.\n<\/p>\n

\n She was in the Middle East during the Gulf War and recalled bombs and missiles going off while she helped patients.\n<\/p>\n

\n She said: \u201cI got into trouble once with the nursing director for going hiking in Riyadh. I was called a \u201cloose cannon\u201d.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n While in the Saudi capital, she also completed the Riyadh 5K \u2013 just one of her running accomplishments.\n<\/p>\n

\n Val also ran the London Marathon<\/a>, in 1989, as well as another 20-mile race, with shorter runs including the Preston Mini Four-Mile Fun Run, and the Lancaster Race Series Garstang 10K in 1992.\n<\/p>\n

\n She added: \u201cFor me, staying active has always been more than exercise \u2013 it\u2019s a way of living. I\u2019m well aware I\u2019m now well old, but you have to make the effort to stay active and engaged.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Manny said: \u201cAt 89 years old, Valerie is a true fitness fanatic, and she certainly gave me a run for my money when we went out for a power walk.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI asked Val if she\u2019d be happy for me to film her and she was more than happy to share her enthusiasm, proudly instructing on what\u2019s involved in her routine, and setting a lively pace from the beginning.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cShe truly enjoyed the morning and said she can\u2019t wait to do it again. Moments like these bring joy, purpose, and vibrant energy to our residents\u2019 days \u2013 reminding us how important movement, fun, and connection are at every age.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Since moving to Lever Edge Care Home, in Great Lever, resident Valerie Bailey grabbed the attention of staff…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":447082,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[64,63,538,137],"class_list":{"0":"post-447081","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-fitness","11":"tag-health"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=447081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/447082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=447081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=447081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=447081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}