Police admin clerk Joshua Gcilitshana, whose belly betrays a love for beer, managed two words when asked about a five-hour fitness regime for him and his colleagues: "Jeepers, man!"

Wiping sweat from his face, the amiable 44-year-old, wearing a black ANC "my vision, my future" T-shirt, needed to catch his breath first before revealing his talkative side.

"No, this is very good, I think it must happen rapidly now, every Wednesday," said Gcilitshana, who was in high spirits despite having to slip outside for a quick rest.

"The brains and bones are not the same as the young ones, hey."

He proudly used the opportunity to share that he knew world junior flyweight champion Baby Jakes Matlala, who kicked off the five-hour aerobic physical fitness programme for police officers at Orlando community hall in Soweto, Johannesburg on Wednesday.

Gcilitshana started off keenly at 9am, but as the exercise clock ticked, his boxing moves become slower and slower, although his face showed no sign of the enthusiasm wearing off.

The senior administration clerk from Linden police station described himself as a former boxer dreaming of training young boys in Soweto "to take them out of drugs", and was hoping to get some advice from Matlala.

Gcilitshana was in the front row with Matlala, who, in his blue boxing shoes, received a rousing welcome from hundreds of policemen and women, several of whom were still sporting smiles —, albeit slightly vaguer — two hours later.

'They're doing very well'

"They're doing very well. It's amazing," said Inspector Deidre Radley from Orlando police station, who was cheering and waving from the side, saying she could not exercise because she was pregnant.

Two women wearing dresses and make-up sitting behind Radley were obviously not planning to participate either, but happily pointed and laughed at their huffing and puffing colleagues in the stuffy hall.

Trainer Mpho Masinga, wearing tight grey ski-pants and a short top revealing her six-pack and rose-and-butterfly tattoo, had no trouble keeping up despite an injury to her leg.

Ever since Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa announced earlier this year that police officers needed to get fit, she had offered them fitness programmes four times a week.

"I really see progress... they didn't exercise at all and now some of them are even joining the gym," said Masinga, looking over the sea of faces from her rickety podium, some twisted in agony, others smiling bravely.

Matlala was one of a handful who did not struggle to keep up — but kept his focus on boxing moves, paying no attention to instructions from the trainer to clap hands in between the kicks and punches.

Sapa

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