Under the careful guidance of instructor Emma Frost, everyone exercises at their own level ensuring that even the very fit over 55s are pushed and the not so fit ease gently into the exercise regime.

Greg Berkley has been going since the class started in early October and said: "I wanted to get some aerobic exercise particularly at a time when there's no skiing."

Laurinda Allen is a regular and fit cross country skier but said: "Emma manages different levels of fitness with different weights and changes the exercises every week. It's all very social too."

Bev McGarvey has only been going for a couple of weeks but says she has seen improvements already. Bev has very bad arthritis and said that although there were a couple of things she couldn't do at the beginning, now she could tackle them and it was getting easier.

Margot McCabe said that having a set time each week with a group helps with the discipline of going to the gym.

"I feel as if I have had a work out but Emma is also conscious of people's problems," she said.

The group meets every Tuesday and Thursday from 12.30-1.30pm and exercises include 15-20 minutes of cardio-vascular work for heart health, 20 minutes of resistance work for bone density health and 15 minutes of mobility, core strength and flexibility work.

The course runs all year and costs just $6 a session with no membership needed but a doctor's clearance is required. It's advisable to book as it's quite popular.