The gym that gives tailored classes for seniors on Granada's Costa Tropical

On the Avenida del Peronné industrial estate in Salobreña there is a centre where a group of seniors are discovering are busy building up their strength and agility and are focused on looking after themselves.

Origen Trainer is run by Alejandro Guirado, a gym coach who has managed to get his class from "I can't do it anymore" for "look what I can do!"

Alejandro explains that he started with a small group, who attended classes two days a week in the town on Granada's Costa Tropical.

People with injuries, fears and years without exercising, but also with the desire to change. Alejandro goes on to say that in the end, they liked it so much that now they come three days a week and they are asking for a fourth.

"Everyone has their own discomfort," he explains, "but if an exercise hurts, I change it. I look for another movement that does exactly the same thing without it hurting them. They love that: knowing that everything adapts to them".

The classes run from 10.30 to 11.30am and follow the same pattern: a warm up to get the joints moving, strength work focusing on useful movements for everyday life - squatting, lifting something off the ground, placing an object up high - and a more cardiovascular session at the end to get the heart rate up and finish with laughter.

Sometimes they work individually, sometimes in pairs. The key to this gym is the way in which older people are treated. According to Alejandro, in a conventional gym nobody knows if your knee hurts, but here they do. He asks questions, takes an interest, knows everyone's name. "It's almost like a family relationship," he admits. "We care about the person, their progress and that they feel good.

This explains why the oldest member of the group, Paco, who is 77, arrived thinking he would never be able to walk properly again after a knee injury caused by a motorbike accident. He couldn't even jump ten centimetres. Today he jumps 60 centimetres. "It's impressive to see him", says the sports coach.

The stories of those who train here speak for themselves. Paqui Jerónimo, who was nervous about starting because she had given up Pilates due to back problems, says that it has changed her daily life: "I never thought I would like it so much. I started two days and now I do three and I'll tell you one thing: here I don't think about anything. Not about food, not about my husband, not about problems. I'm just doing my own thing. For me it's a kind of therapy."

Josefina Ramos recalls that before she couldn't open a large bottle. "Now I can open it without a problem," she laughs. "I used to get tired when I walked and now I walk more than before. I feel more agile, I breathe better and I have more strength. And the group... that's the best thing! We're having a great time, to be honest, we're getting better every day".

Pepe García started almost out of obligation - "my wife brought me", he don't do sport you lose everything. Here we do strength, elasticity, balanc admits with a laugh - but today he is delighted. "At our age, if you don't do sport you lose everything. Here we do strength, elasticity, balance... and it's very noticeable. Besides, you get on better in a group. Seeing others working hard encourages you".

The atmosphere of effort, friendship and humour is one of the main pillars of this centre. They talk about healthy food, exchange recipes in a WhatsApp group, tell each other about progress and support each other when someone is having a bad day. "The fountain of youth is sport", Alejandro says, adding: "Sport gives you health, less anxiety, less stress, better mobility, more well-being. There is nothing against it. There are benefits all around".

That is why he encourages everyone, especially older people, to take the plunge. "Let them try it here or wherever, but take care of themselves. If they don't do it now, the doctor will end up recommending it sooner or later. It's better to start because you want to, not because you have no other choice.

At this training centre they have shown that there is no age to get fit, no age to laugh as you work out, no age to surprise yourself. That at 70 or even older, the body can change, the mind can clear and energy can be reborn.