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About Helen Palethorpe

Helen started her career in the fitness industry when she moved from Melbourne to Canberra with her family in 1983. She became accredited as an instructor and quickly developed an interest in working with older people.

In 2000 Helen applied for, and was successful, in winning a Churchill Fellowship to study the development and implementation of physical activity programs for older adults in the US, Canada and The Netherlands. Helen returned to Canberra ready to introduce new programs for Canberra’s older population.

At the heart of the development of these programs lies the building of relationships with allied health professionals such as physio and occupational therapists, the falls clinic and rehabilitation at The Canberra Hospital, working with Diabetes Australia, Arthritis ACT, the National Heart Foundation and many other such bodies.

In 2006 Helen was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for services to the community in building the development and delivery of physical activity programs for older adults. She now manages 80 classes a week, in 25 Canberra locations, trains fitness students and aged care workers and supervises some 22 instructors.

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