Lifestyle: How youths are fighting aging at the gym in Cameroon

By Ruth Enjeh Forbuh*

As early as 5am in the nation’s capital city Yaounde, the sidewalks of some major streets are graced with joggers, walkers and runners of varied age groups, who take advantage of the unpolluted morning air and the less busy streets to get their mojo for the day.

These categories of persons are those who prefer open-air workouts at their own pace without the pressure and crowds in public gymnasiums.

Others however use it as a warm to set the tone for more intense exercises in the gym halls later.

Exercising and keeping fit has gradually become a new lifestyle trend for a majority of Cameroonians especially with the ageing, unlike in previous years when it was considered an activity meant for enthusiast and athletes.

In a fitness centre like the Complexe Sportif Fusion Centre, situated at the Superette neighbourhood in Yaounde VI Municipality, Coach Andre, one of the sports instructors says the centre has witnessed a tremendous increase in membership in the last two years. Same increase he says, has also been observed at the centre’s branches in Nsam, Mbalngong and TKC neighbourhoods in Yaounde.

Andre who has been fitness instructor  at the centre for over five years says most of the recent new members belong to middle-aged generation; that is people between the ages of 40 and 65 years old. He says in his earlier days at the gym, the much younger generation mainly frequented. According to him, “awareness on the importance of physical activity, which is a key factor in health both physically and psychologically”, are the reasons for the increase in the numbers.

A fervent gym-goer Adah Judith Nadine, aged 40 disclosed that she started her journey five years ago due to overweight (100kg) and heart palpitations.

“Ever since I made a conscious decision to register at a gym and be discipline with exercises, I am in better shape and place,” she explains.

Adah’s day begins as early as 5am. As a mother of two, she kick-starts her day ensuring her children are ready for school , after which she heads to the gym to spend an hour exercising. She follows this routine religiously twice a day (morning and evening sessions) from Mondays through Fridays. To her, the time spent at the gym are no stress zones.  Her objectives were met, with a constant follow up from coaches like Andre whose function involves helping clients to better understand their bodies, expectations while taking into account as many parameters as possible.

Charlotte 57, who prefers to identify herself only by her given name, is another exercise lover who has been at the fusion fitness centre since 2018. Despite her busy schedule, she finds time during the evening to burn some steam, a time she isn’t ready to part as it helps her stay focused and always revamped, she says.

As a sports coach since 2013, Andre, has  used the bodybuilding and fitness techniques to keep his clients in good spirits over the years with a permanent challenge which lies in pushing members to achieve optimal transformation. “Clients have different objectives, therefore follow-up is specific and organised according to each person’s expectations and objectives,” he explains.

Whilst age is but a number Henryka Barvio, Physiotherapist and Physical Therapist points that, “embracing ageing and also being active is a plus and essential for mobility, flexibility, strength while maintaining independent living”.

And for Coach Andre, this does not just happen overnight. “Joining a gym doesn’t mean overnight transformation,” Andre says explaining that “it takes discipline, perseverance, patience and hard work to achieve desired results”.

*This article has been produced as part of the EXCEL 2.0 professional internship program organized by Sisterspeak237, which the author is a cohort.

First published in NewsWatch newspaper No 186 of Wednesday, September 25, 2024.