{"id":360338,"date":"2026-04-02T13:39:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T13:39:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/360338\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T13:39:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T13:39:20","slug":"lets-get-physical-as-singapore-ages-retirees-turn-to-parkour-for-fitness-fun-and-friendship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/360338\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s get physical: As Singapore ages, retirees turn to parkour for fitness, fun and friendship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SINGAPORE, March 30 \u2014 In a corner of suburban Singapore, Betty Boon vaults a guardrail, crawls underneath a slide, executes forward shoulder rolls and scales a steep slope, finishing the course to applause.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood job!\u201d the 69-year-old\u2019s coach cheers.<\/p>\n

This is \u201cgeriatric parkour\u201d, where around 20 retirees learned to tackle a series of relatively demanding exercises, building their agility and enjoying a sense of camaraderie.<\/p>\n

Boon, an upbeat grandmother, said learning parkour has aided her confidence and independence as she ages.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re weak, you will be dependent on someone,\u201d she told AFP after sweating it out with her parkour classmates in suburban Toa Payoh, under the shadow of government-built apartment blocks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel more alive, it\u2019s a whole new world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"This <\/p>\n

This photograph taken on March 17, 2026 shows Singaporean elders warming up before a parkour training session in Singapore. \u2014 AFP pic <\/p>\n

The discipline has gained a devoted following of senior citizens in the city-state, which is among the world\u2019s fastest-ageing countries.<\/p>\n

Singapore is projected to become a \u201csuper-aged\u201d nation this year, meaning the proportion of residents aged 65 and above exceeds 21 per cent.<\/p>\n

By 2030, one in four Singaporeans will be aged 65 and above, according to the health ministry.<\/p>\n

As the society greys, various activities and industries have mushroomed up to cater to seniors\u2019 needs, including social activities and group exercise classes.<\/p>\n

Coach Tan Shie Boon, 33, said he was initially met with scepticism when he started offering parkour classes for older students in 2017, especially due to the risk of injury.<\/p>\n

But his idea was to share manoeuvres that could help seniors with their balance, stamina and coordination.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s meaningful, I can see the impact of my work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"This <\/p>\n

This photograph taken on March 17, 2026 shows coach Tan Shie Boon (right) guiding Singaporean elders during a parkour training session in Singapore. Parkour, a discipline that originated in France, focuses on overcoming physical obstacles like walls, gaps and platforms without any aid. \u2014 AFP pic <\/p>\n

Not just for youngsters\u00a0<\/p>\n

Parkour, a discipline that originated in France, focuses on overcoming physical obstacles like walls, gaps and platforms without any aid.<\/p>\n

Often called the \u201cart of displacement,\u201d it involves running, jumping, climbing, rolling and vaulting to quickly dart from one point to another.<\/p>\n

The activity has a young, athletic following, but coach Tan and his students insist it can be suitable for every age.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people hear the word parkour, they think it\u2019s only for youngsters who can jump from rooftops,\u201d said retired banker and parkour enthusiast Irene Chuah, 67. \u201cWe don\u2019t do that. We jump over benches.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tan, who specialises in coaching senior citizens in his classes across Singapore, tailors all the stunts to match the capabilities of his students, aged between their early 50s to 83.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole point of parkour is to improve your agility … you\u2019ll be faster in your reaction,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen seniors fall, they get severely injured because they have a lack of coordination, balance and agility. They\u2019re not fast enough to react in time,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Chuah experienced firsthand how the moves she learned in parkour class can apply outside of practice.<\/p>\n

When a trolley she was pushing at a supermarket hit an obstacle, it overturned and pulled her over.<\/p>\n

But thanks to her training, she managed to jump over the mess, remain on her feet and escape unharmed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody helped me because the people thought I was young,\u201d Chuah told AFP with a laugh.<\/p>\n

Retired kindergarten teacher Ling Ying Ying, 66, said doing parkour helped her to be able to mop the floor on her knees \u201clike we used to do when we were young.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"This <\/p>\n

This photograph taken on March 17, 2026 shows Singaporean elders taking part in a parkour training session in Singapore. The discipline has gained a devoted following of senior citizens in the city-state, which is among the world\u2019s fastest-ageing countries. \u2014 AFP pic <\/p>\n

\u2018Dare to do\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the fitness space in Toa Payoh, the parkour students also practised traversing down an incline and scaling a low wall during the 90-minute session.<\/p>\n

A couple of students jumped over a gap after some encouragement.<\/p>\n

Life after retirement used to be \u201cquite dull\u201d, Chuah said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter parkour, I can go line dancing, and I can remember the steps. You dare to do a lot of things that you think only young people can do,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Her classmate Boon said one time she brought her grandchildren to a neighbourhood playground and taught them to jump onto a platform and do forward rolls.<\/p>\n

When she looked back, she saw a line of other children wanting to try the moves.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince then, I became like the favourite grandmother. The children recognise me even when I\u2019m far away,\u201d she said. \u2014 AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SINGAPORE, March 30 \u2014 In a corner of suburban Singapore, Betty Boon vaults a guardrail, crawls underneath a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":360339,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[189925,565,189926,134,111,139,69,9739,189929,189928,189927],"class_list":{"0":"post-360338","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-betty-boon","9":"tag-fitness","10":"tag-geriatric-parkour","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-new-zealand","13":"tag-newzealand","14":"tag-nz","15":"tag-singapore","16":"tag-super-aged-nation","17":"tag-tan-shie-boon","18":"tag-toa-payoh"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=360338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/360339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=360338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=360338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=360338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}