Dean Mawby has returned to his Daylesford roots, bringing with him over 20 years chiropractic and over 40 years of strength training experience. He has been dreaming of returning to the shire for decades and finally his own family has made the move. Dean has strong ancestral connections to this area, through the Dwan (Irish) and Monico (Swiss Italian) families and both his parents grew up here in Daylesford.
His great passion is to help people live well and still be able to do all the things they want and need to do as they age. He launched his new strength studio, Stronger Longer in January this year. Many people move to the Hepburn Shire because they love the lifestyle, however rural properties require a lot of physical work and people downsize because they feel they can no longer manage cutting firewood, maintaining water systems and cleaning gutters. Many others here like to escape the winter and travel overseas or up north for some warmth. Lugging suitcases and walking those old European cobbled steps also requires a body that is strong, balanced, and fluid!
“There is so much solid research out there that reports how much strength training helps with premature wasting of muscles through osteoporosis, and degenerative illnesses etc, it’s really a no brainer” He says.
Dean created his first strength studio in Castlemaine from the ground up 7 years ago and with his deep understanding of how the body heals and functions, he developed programs that suit people from any starting point in relation to their level of health or current physical state. He also realised the need for creating supportive groups where people who trained together shared common needs and goals for getting stronger. The nature of strength training means you need to rest between sets, so there is time for a chat too! His method was the subject of a research paper that was published in the Journal of Women and Ageing which details how he breaks down the many barriers that keep women away from engaging in strength training
Dean went on to create the ground-breaking ‘Never Too Late’ program, a twelve-week introduction to strength training, where he coaches people who want to feel strong and vibrant again but are beginning from a place of limited mobility and/or recovering from illness. This program was the subject of another research paper that was published in the Austin publishing group in gerontology. All of these programs and skills are now here in Daylesford. There are women only groups, mixed groups, and ‘Never Too Late’ groups that still have a few spots available. Stronger Longer is conveniently located in East Streetand the average age of members is around 65 years but range from 15 to 85.
