Fitness instructor Matt Harris exercising with his daughter Taya (8).
Camera IconFitness instructor Matt Harris exercising with his daughter Taya (8). Credit: Supplied/Dominique Menegaldo

Fighting for fitter families

Staff ReporterEastern Reporter

The chief executive of Exercise for Life has been in the industry or 12 years and has seen too often the rise in chronic health conditions.

This is the reason he wants to give back by offering Free Fitness Fridays for families looking to get fit and healthy.

Mr Harris said having trained people on a daily basis, he had the seen an increasing lack of physical activity in society, and wanted to provide local families the opportunity to come and exercise for free.

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‘All too often people, are presenting with chronic health conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which are being caused by poor lifestyle choices,’ Mr Harris said.

‘As a father of an eight-year-old, I am very aware of the increasing incidence of chronic health conditions in kids.

‘Due to a lack of exposure to play and activities, many kids are suffering from poor posture and often don’t develop fundamental movement patterns.’

Mr Harris said people who did not participate in physical activity were usually time poor, did not like to exercise, could not afford to exercise or just did not see the benefits in exercise.

‘This kind of attitude has resulted in a shift in society where adults who place little value on their own health are not taking the opportunity to run around with their kids, resulting in poor health education,’ he said.

‘Health education has to come from home and as a dad and local business owner, I wanted to provide local families the opportunity to come to Exercise For Life and exercise together.

‘I wanted to give parents and their children the opportunity to develop a positive behaviour towards exercise and health.

‘In my experience, the best way to help people to engage in a positive lifestyle change is to make it simple.’

Mr Harris said the one-hour session would allow parents and children to exercise together with trainers who were human movement specialists.

Free Fitness Fridays starts on Friday, May 10 from 4pm to 5pm, with no cost and no obligation to join as a member.

To participate in the program, call the East Fremantle office on 9319 8355 or visit www.exerciseforlife.net.au for more information.