A KEEP fit group is offering new courses for people who hope to become trainers for classes throughout Essex.

South East Essex Keep Fit Association, is a non-profit fitness group offering classes in Southend, Canvey, Basildon and Billericay but are hoping that they can build a larger group of members and trainers to join the group.

The group are offering a free taster day in Basildon on Saturday, October 7 for new members who would like to become trainers themselves.

The association also hosts classes for people who are visually impaired and wheelchair users too.

They are also celebrating the work of fitness guru, Eileen Fowler, who helped make keep fit popular with women.

Eileen died aged 94 in 2000, but 17 years on from her death, her influence is still felt by the Association’s members and teachers.

Elaine Smith, 68 from Pitsea, a leader of the Association, feels that Eileen’s importance within the keep fit fraternity is still prevalent 50 years after she was first in the public eye.

She said: “Before keep fit, women would not do anything like this, they would perhaps daintily play tennis but before then, it was not something that existed in women’s lives.

“When Eileen came along, not that many people had televisions, but hearing her on the radio with music behind her was so important.”

Elaine has been doing keep fit since she was 22 years old. She became a teacher just five years later and came to the South East Essex Keep Fit Association when she moved to the county aged 40.

Keep fit as a discipline was originally started in 1929 and the Association was founded in 1956.

Their training style comes from Slovakian dance artist, Rudolf Laban who Elaine describes as the ‘father of modern European dance’.

Speaking about maintaining the legacy of both Laban and Eileen, Elaine added: “I think we are keen to keep it going and that is the reason we are putting on these classes.”

The Association hosts an annual event for its members at Mayflower High School hall in Stock Road, Billericay. The group hopes that with more teachers across all forms of classes that they will be able to continue growing in the coming years.

Elaine says that it does not matter how old you are, you can still do the classes and she is proud to have seen so many who have stayed part of the group for many years. She said: “We have a lot of members who carry on coming until they are in their 70s and even 90s.”