WARRINGTON Bootcamp has moved into new premises at a retirement village – with free membership for residents.

Pensioners in their 80s and 90s have been working out at Warrington Bootcamp and Studio after they moved into their new home at Ryfields Retirement Village in Orford.

Residents have been taking advantage of free membership and specialist equipment since the move to the Arena Gardens gym in early October.

Paul Warburton, who set up Warrington Bootcamp in 2009, said: “We get a lot of stroke victims and elderly people who can’t be doing the normal stuff you do in the gym so we’ve got specialist equipment for the less mobile – we have bikes that move for you so if you strap yourself in and even if you have no movement in your legs it’ll move for you.”

But the gym has seen people of every age getting in shape with after school family gym schemes and kids running clubs also in place.

Former Army man Paul’s 11-year-old son Ben has been leading the way with his fellow junior gym bunnies.

The 31-year-old added: “We go right from the young up to the old – I like that you get everyone here.

“My son runs 5 or 10k on a weekend and he’s fit as a fiddle and that’s because when he comes in now he’ll train every time he comes in – he’ll do his own thing or I’ll do a bit with him or he’ll join in with some of the lads.

“He’s only 11 but he’s become more confident working with the other lads and then when the other kids come in he shows them what to do.

“It’s nice that kids can go through the same experience and as long as they’re not lifting crazy heavy weights it’s not going to do them any harm.”

Paul hopes the move to Ryfields Retirement Village will bring back a more personalised gym experience after moving from the larger site at Evans House.

He said: “We put a lot of money into but the amount of clients we needed to make the money we needed took away from the message of what we’re trying to do – we’re trying to promote an intimate, caring feeling and we needed too many people to make it financially viable.

“We spent a year there and it was pushing me into depression – it was a difficult time.

“I went back outside training on the fields for six months and found my flow again and got back into what I was doing.

“This place became available and we opened here.

“It’s been brilliant – we’ve got a cap on our memberships and there will never be more than 200 members.

“We’ve learnt from the lessons of the past and we don’t want to go too big – we’re not looking to pack the place out.”

For more information go to warrringtonbootcamp.co.uk or call 07868306736.