Drum – 15 August 2019

HILEmostoftheir

peers complain

about bodypain

andachingjoints

theseseniorciti-

zensarefightingfit.

It’sa warmTues

womenandmenawaitinga boxing

session.Althoughtheclassaccommo-

datespeopleofanyage,it’sdominated

bywomenovertheageof60,fondly

knownasthe“boxinggrannies”.

Thegogoshavecomefortheirbi-week-

lydoseoffitnessfun saysClaudeMa

introductiontohisfoundation, A-Team,

whichheformedin2014.

Inthefiveyearshe’sbeen teaching this

class,he’sstillamazed by the gogos’

strength.“Peoplegenerally think old

peopleareweak,butthey’ve shown me

there’snosuchthing,” he says.

Thefitnessfundi’sbodybuilding career

spannedfrom 1999 until 2007 when he

wasforcedtoputaway his dumbbells for

goodduetoa lackofsponsorships and

nosupportsystem.

Hethenrefocusedand looked for op-

portunitiestousehisknowledge and ex-

pertiseinthecommunity. He knew he

wantedtomakea positive difference but

wasn’tquitesurehow.

“Isawtheneedfor a fitness training

programmeforgrannies in the township

andI actedonit.I started the pro-

grammethinkingI’dbe teaching them,

yetsomehowthey’vetaughtmesomuch

PACKING

A PUNCH!

Thesegoldenoldiesareboxingtheirwayto

healthierlivesandshowingusallthatbeing

youngis a stateofmind

BYDAKALONEMASETONI PICTURES:LUBABALOLESOLLE

. GGG

It sawarmTues-
daymorningatthe
CosmoCityMultipurposeCentreinRoo-
depoortwherewemeetthegroupof

lydoseoffitnessfun,saysClaudeMa-

phosa( 42 ).Theformerbodybuilder

startstheclasswitha prayer,andgospel

musicplaysinthebackgroundwhilethe

goldenoldieswarmup.

MeanwhileClaudegivesDRUMa brief

ooooorerereree, CCCCllll deeessss.

“Theydon’t letmego easyonthem

andit’s mind-blowingthatthey

aren’tasfragileasI thought.”

The session begins with a

10-minutewarm-upusinggym

equipmentfollowed by a walk

around the centre.

16 | 15 AUGUST 2019 http://www.drum.co.za

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