SINGAPORE, May 1 — More older people in Singapore are signing up for strength and balance training to stay independent as they age, but the long waitlists are making access harder.

Popular community gym schemes now have thousands waiting, with some seniors facing delays of up to nine months for a place, Singapore-based news outlet CNA reported today.

“You want to go faster, but it’s a bit more difficult,” Miranda Hsieh, 63, was quoted as saying as she described how age-related weakness first became noticeable in daily life.

She joined a senior gym programme at Heartbeat@Bedok in May 2022 together with her husband and mother after finding road crossings, bending and standing more difficult.

Three years later, she said the sessions improved her strength, while helping her mother, now in her 80s, maintain mobility.

Her husband, Liew Shin Liat, 73, said his balance has improved through training.

“I noticed a few times, I almost tripped and fell … but I can rebalance myself,” he was quoted as saying.

One of the most sought-after schemes in Singapore – according to CNA – is Gym Tonic, a community strength-training programme first launched in 2014 for frailer seniors before expanding to preventive health.

The latest figures from Singapore-based philanthropic organisation Lien Foundation showed about 3,200 active users across 30 sites, but another 2,800 seniors remain on waiting lists, CNA reported.

The average waiting time is around seven months, with longer delays reported in high-demand areas such as Bedok and Holland Close.

Other groups like the Lions Befrienders and Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities said their Gym Tonic waitlists each hold around 100 seniors, with waits of about nine months.

The rising demand highlights how more older Singaporeans are treating exercise not as leisure, but as a key defence against frailty, falls and declining mobility.