1/2 Jacqueline Legersee (74) thinks it is very important for the gyms to reopen.
The severe coronavirus lockdown should keep people in poor health outside the hospital, but it is often counterproductive for the elderly. Due to the gyms being closed, they are actually facing physical problems. “Open it anyway, because it is vitally important,” says Jacqueline Legersey, 74, from Breda, who was already so weak that she ended up with the doctor.
Ronald Strater
Her gym’s decision two weeks ago to set up a tent outside and then allow clients to train there was a godsend for her.
“After two months I couldn’t walk as much as I always did,” says Jacqueline, who has been cured of cancer twice. “My organs are irradiated and if I don’t move them all deteriorate. My internist says my body has been severely reduced and it will take a long time before I come back to the same level. I have been forced to start physical therapy.”
“I never understood why the gyms were closed.”
Jacqueline recently managed to exercise outside and luckily the Medifit gym recently set up a tent for her. He protects her from the rain, but the 74-year-old still has to face the brave winds and sometimes bitter cold.
“I have to choose between two evils and then choose to act anyway,” she continues. “But it’s really an emergency solution, because I can only do well on my show. This is designed for me. Now I have to go with the rest and that’s much harder. I also never understood why the gyms closed. Before the closure, the gym did all It can make sure I can play sports safely. “
“They made the threshold far too big for the elderly to do something about their health,” says Sim Van Leighten, Jacqueline’s athletic trainer at Medifit. “Sport is important for this target group, because I believe it can save years of life.”
“People get hurt and end up in social isolation.”
Jacqueline’s physical therapist confirms twice that age group. “I have a lot of patients with shutdowns,” Alex Haas said. “They will not die from that, but it is dangerous. This group suffers a lot from muscle and joint stiffness. They have to do certain exercises and they cannot do that now.”
“It just gets from bad to worse,” says Haas. “At first they get tougher and then move less. Then they also get pain, which causes them to move less. Then people don’t get anywhere, until some end up in social isolation. So, yeah, the gyms really need to be opened.”
So Jacqueline hopes that soon the government will find a relaxation of sports centers. “I understand the procedures, because we have an epidemic and people are dying. But they just look at the hospitals and the number of patients they can deal with. But they also have to know what the lockdown is doing to health. Open the gyms anyway, because it’s vital.”
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