Strength for Life has helped us grow not just as a fitness site, but as a community. It gives people a place where they feel supported, valued and encouraged to keep living life to the fullest, and that’s something we’re really proud to be part of.

For more than 15 years, Strength for Life has been a core part of our community at Viva Fitness. Today, we have 300+ Seniors members attend our classes each week. Our oldest participant is 91 and still attends both Stay Strong and Better Balance classes every week and is such an inspiration!

I first became interested in strength training in my mid-50s while running marathons. I realised strength was essential to staying active long term. Now at 74, my focus is helping our community stay strong, independent and able to enjoy life too.

Strength for Life brings a strong sense of belonging and support to our community, with a whole-of-life approach to healthy ageing.
Our classes are social, inclusive and welcoming. After every class we enjoy coffee together. Many friendships have formed here, and members support each other through both the good and the difficult times.

If someone can’t attend due to illness or treatment, their class friends often still bring them along for coffee, so they stay connected. If I haven’t seen someone for a while, I call and check in, because people matter here.

Alongside classes and weekly coffee, I’m the Chairperson of the Social Club and love organising activities for our members that everyone can look forward to throughout the year. We run monthly Happy Hour and dinner gatherings and organise the occasional group theatre event or special outing. The social connection is just as important to wellbeing as the exercise! We also love to support the local café and hotel as a broader part of our community.

Strength for Life is a trusted, recognised program that works so well for us
Strength for Life is a program of COTA SA and is highly respected in the community. The quality and assurance behind the program is proven over 20+ years. They offer an excellent instructor training program that all our Strength for Life instructors complete. Their marketing support and genuine passion for helping as many older South Australians as possible improve their strength, balance and mobility have also played a key role in attracting new participants.

The COTA SA Strength for Life team is always there as a sounding board for us too. It really feels like we are growing together to better serve our community, and we love that.

Programs for different health and ability needs
We’ve recently also joined up with Darren Reid Physiotherapy to run the Strength for Life Stay Strong Tier 1 program at Viva Fitness, which has helped us support participants managing health conditions, returning after injury, or needing more specialised supervision. We are also having all new participant Strength for Life assessments conducted by Darren now too, which ensures all participants are placed in the right Strength for Life program for their needs.

Strength for Life isn’t just about running classes! It’s about helping people feel stronger, more confident and connected. It helps people stay active, maintain independence and build friendships that truly matter.