The Power of Strength at Groundwork Fitness
Karl Versteeg is a man on a mission. As a coach and owner of Groundwork Fitness in Carrington, he is on the way to revolutionising fitness in old age.
Born with cerebral palsy in Goulburn, Karl has spent his life overcoming obstacles to not only thrive but also inspire others. At a young age, his parents insisted he attend a ‘normal’ school despite his disability. They could see that he was an intelligent child and taught him to work harder than anyone else – they didn’t believe in wrapping him up in cotton wool.
As a youngster, he played soccer, but over time, due to the way he walked, damage to his spine made a wheelchair a very real prospect. Aged 14, Karl discovered the local gym, and although he felt intimidated by the experience and didn’t enjoy it at all, he kept going and found that weight training made a huge difference to his posture – to the point where the need for a wheelchair faded into the distance.
As time passed, Karl learned to love his gym work and trained every day. He also studied to become a personal trainer, although, at that stage, he chose not to work in the industry. He became an accountant and ended up working in hospitality for many years, running hotels, pubs and clubs across Sydney. He married a girl from Armidale, Sally, and the two started looking around for a place outside Sydney to settle down. They chose Newcastle for the lifestyle and infrastructure and moved here in 2015.
Life threw another challenge at Karl and his wife when Sally suffered a brain haemorrhage when she was 26 weeks pregnant. Thankfully, their daughter Poppy was born safely and is now the light of their lives at seven years of age.
Karl had started training people in his backyard as a side project and understood how his clients found gyms too intimidating.
“Aged care facilities are filling up every day with older Australians becoming too frail to care for themselves at home,” said Karl.
“I know from personal experience the power of strength training, and I just can’t understand why this form of exercise isn’t suggested as a form of preventive therapy for seniors or those over 50, so I decided to do something about it!”
Karl basically sold everything he owned and worked side by side with his father to build Groundwork Fitness from the ground up. There are no mirrors at Groundwork Fitness; the membership is kept low so that a real sense of community is developed and people feel comfortable. Groundwork Fitness specialises in strength training for over 50s or those suffering from an illness or disability. Training options are flexible but based around “The Big 4 Lifts”, designed to strengthen muscles, improve fitness and flexibility and make everyday movements easier.
“It’s more than a job to me,” says Karl. “I want to change the culture. Most fitness regimes for over 50s teach them to take it easy, but the fact of the matter is that strength training will build up the muscle mass you need to delay the frailty, aches and pains of old age, and you have to work harder, apply some stress, to make that happen.”
Karl’s modality is backed up by Geriatrician and Conjoint Associate Professor, Dr John Ward, who at 77 years young and an expert in sarcopenia is well placed to have an opinion. Sarcopenia is the decline in muscle strength and mass that accompanies old age and is one of the most significant factors in the loss of independence, falls, and social isolation suffered by the elderly.
Dr Ward and Karl met to discuss the benefits of his form of training, and initially, John took some convincing that weights and strength training was better than general fitness alone for older people. Dr Ward and his wife became members at Groundwork Fitness to try it for themselves.
“The benefits in just a few weeks have amazed us,” enthused Dr Ward. “My strength and balance have improved; I can get off the floor easily whereas I struggled before. And I have energy, even at the end of the day. What is different about Karl is the quality of his equipment, his skill in training older people and his obvious interest in their welfare, rather than just making money.”
“I believe that tailored exercise is probably the most effective strategy for many of the health problems faced by older people, both physical and mental. I see my role now to convince the Local Health District and Primary Care to invest in this modality.”
Karl knows it works because he’s lived it. The average age of his members is 63, his oldest is 77, and the youngest is 27. There are ladies and men as well as people living with chronic illness, those with mental health issues and tradies with injuries. Mostly though, they are ordinary people who realise they can reverse their physical limitations through Karl’s specialised training regime and have a great time doing it.
“I’m so proud that some of my oldest members are lifting really heavy weights,” said Karl.
“It’s changing lives every day. My dream is to roll this modality out across the whole of Australia to stem the growing tide of frailty in old age. I want to make older people strong and fit enough to be able to maintain their independence and stay in their homes, enjoying life to the fullest.”
