According to an article by CNA (Channel News Asia), demand for strength training programs for seniors is rapidly increasing in Singapore.
Behind this trend is a growing awareness of the importance of extending healthy life expectancy and preventing frailty — the age-related decline in physical and mental function. As a result, community centers and senior care facilities are seeing a steady rise in requests to join exercise programs.
At the same time, however, program availability is struggling to keep up with the growing demand, leading to long waiting lists and restrictions on participant numbers.
Waiting List Issues in Gym Tonic
One of the most representative programs is “Gym Tonic,” a community-based strength training program introduced in 2014. Originally designed for frail seniors, the program has since expanded to include preventive healthcare purposes as well.
According to the latest data, approximately 3,200 participants are currently enrolled across about 30 locations, while around 2,800 people remain on waiting lists.
In high-demand areas, the average waiting period is about seven months, with some participants waiting up to nine months.
To provide opportunities for more seniors, some operators have introduced a system in which participants return to the waiting list after completing a fixed period of training (approximately 24 sessions).
However, concerns have been raised that this approach may negatively affect training continuity for users.
Challenges Faced by Participants: Loss of Continuity and Training Benefits
Some participants have reported that interruptions in training result in the loss of strength gains achieved through the program.
For older adults in particular, continuous training is essential for maintaining physical function, meaning interruptions can have a significant impact.
Additional concerns include:
- Difficulty maintaining strength training benefits
- Disruption of daily routines and exercise habits
- Reduced sense of community
- Difficulty maintaining motivation
Aging Population and the Importance of Preventive Healthcare
Strength training for seniors is becoming increasingly important not only for general health maintenance, but also for:
- Fall prevention
- Frailty prevention
- Maintenance of ADL (Activities of Daily Living)
- Support for independent living
Against this backdrop, participation in senior fitness programs continues to grow in Singapore.
The Gap Between Rising Demand and Supply Expansion
According to the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), participation in strength, balance, and endurance training programs for seniors has been increasing year by year. In addition, NTUC Health reported a 60% year-on-year increase in senior gym users, clearly reflecting the rapid growth in demand.
Efforts by Sport Singapore
To respond to this surge in demand, Sport Singapore (SportSG) has been actively improving exercise environments for seniors.
Specific initiatives include:
- Upgrading all 28 ActiveSG gyms to senior-friendly specifications (scheduled for completion within the year)
- Installing senior-focused training machines in 16 facilities already
- Increasing weekly users aged 55 and above to approximately 16,000 (more than 40% year-on-year growth)
- Expanding the “CALM” anti-muscle-loss program to 180 Active Ageing Centres
- Providing comprehensive intervention programs to approximately 5,500 seniors by the end of 2026
Notably, the CALM program adopts an integrated approach that combines strength training with nutritional guidance, recovery education, and functional assessments.
Growing Demand for Training Solutions
These developments highlight the increasing need in senior rehabilitation and training fields for:
- Safe resistance training equipment
- Senior-friendly designs
- Individually adjustable resistance settings
- Integration with healthcare and caregiving environments
- Efficient training programs that produce results in shorter periods
HUR’s pneumatic resistance training equipment is gaining attention as a solution that enables safe load adjustment while reducing joint stress, supporting continuous exercise interventions for seniors and rehabilitation settings.
Future Challenges and Outlook
Singapore’s case demonstrates that while demand for strength training among older adults is expanding rapidly in aging societies, two major challenges remain:
- Accessibility limitations
- Ensuring continuity of training
Moving forward, in addition to increasing the number of facilities, national-level initiatives such as those led by Sport Singapore, along with the development of safe and sustainable training environments within medical and rehabilitation sectors, will become increasingly important.
In this context, solutions like HUR are expected to play an even more significant role as part of the foundation of future senior exercise medicine.