10 forms of exercise you may actually enjoy
Football
Whether you’re a guy or a gal, football is a great team sport that pretty much guarantees you get a good run around. Why not start your own five-a-side team and look for others in your area? Or get 10 mates (plus a couple of reserves) together and make two teams to play each other?
You might be au fait with five-a-side rules, you might not. If you are, you could compete against other teams; if you’re making the rules up as you go along, however, it might be best to stick to your two teams! The beauty is that you can usually find a leisure centre where you can play indoors – and then, in the spring and summer you can find a pitch at a local park and keep it up!
Netball
It’s making a big comeback, so if you haven’t played netball since your schooldays, forget shivering in a stupidly short skirt and secretly wishing you could play attack instead of defence – netball these days is all grown up and loads of fun. Back to Netball provides coach-led netball sessions you can join with your mates at leisure centres throughout the UK. When you take part in a session, you become registered as an England Netball Back to Netball participant.
This means you can access information and support from England Netball about how to set up a team or club, where your local leagues are, coaching and umpiring courses and funding.
Pilates
If you’re looking for something a bit less aerobic and ‘bouncy’, have you thought about Pilates? OK, yes, it does help to build your core strength – and if you’re struggling with a post-baby belly or a touch of middle-age spread, it can help to tone up that elusive muffin-top – but Pilates focuses on whole-body strength to improve balance, muscle power, flexibility and posture.
The system, which was created by German-born Joseph Pilates in the early 1900s, incorporates elements of yoga, martial arts and more traditionally Western forms of exercise. You can find a class near you by logging on to the Pilates Foundation website.
Walking with a friend
Did you know that a fast, 4mph walk (where you can still talk but are breathing harder than normal) can burn off around 150 calories per half hour if you’re of average weight? Why not buddy up with an office colleague or pal and make walking your exercise of choice?
All you need is a sturdy pair of walking boots or suitable trainers and a bottle of water. You can find organised walks near you on the Walkit.com website, or plan a route you can cover in your lunch break. A walk every weekday would fulfil the government-recommended two-and-a-half hours’ exercise per week.
Aqua aerobics
For a fun aerobic workout in water, which incorporates resistance training to strengthen your muscles at the same time, you can’t beat an aqua session. It’s good, clean fun and there’s no need to be able to swim. Classes are led by specialist instructors and you’re never usually more than waist-deep in water.
If you’re a new mum, it’s a fantastic way to get some of your tummy tone back; if you suffer with back or other joint pain it’s less high-impact than ordinary aerobics – but it’s equally good fun for anyone!
Zumba
Everyone’s been talking about Zumba for a while, but have you tried it yet? If not, why not?? There are all sorts of classes, from small, intimate sessions held in church halls to large-scale affairs in leisure centres, so you’re sure to find one that suits you.
Zumba is a Latin-inspired dance fest of exercise, which also incorporates some truly exotic rhythms and moves. It’s great fun, and you can have a laugh with like-minded funsters. Find a class near you at Zumba Fitness.
On yer bike!
Not for the faint-hearted, but a great option if you prefer your exercise to be fast, furious and sitting down! Spin classes are performed on a fixed bike and vary in intensity levels. Did you know that the larger muscles (including the thigh muscles) burn the most calories when exercised? It’s not just your thighs that will benefit, though – your overall cardio fitness will improve as will the tone in your bum, tum and arm muscles.
Contact your local leisure centres to find a class near you. If, on the other hand, spin sounds like too much hard work in one go, why not take to the roads with a spot of cycling, either with a friend or a cycling club? You can make the course as hard-core or gentle as you like and it’ll cost you no more than bike maintenance and some sensible high-vis and protective riding gear.
Circuit training
If you’re bursting with energy – either nervous or otherwise – circuit training might suit you. Classes are held in local leisure centres and gyms, and are built around short bursts of intensive exercise, both resistance and aerobic, across lots of different disciplines. You might, for instance, find yourself skipping with a rope for half a minute, then doing squat thrusts for another 30 seconds, then lifting weights, running the length of the gym and back, doing push-ups, bench dips, working out on resistance machines and so on.
It is high-intensity, but you’ll feel yourself getting fit fast! Best check out with your GP that you’re fit enough to undertake circuit training before you start, especially if you have any pre-existing medical conditions.
In-line skating
If you’re inspired by ice-dancing TV shows, you can introduce yourself gradually to the concept of skating off the ice with a course of in-line skating lessons. Anyone of any age can do it and classes range from beginners to more challenging sessions for the more experienced. You can skate on grass or progress to street skating, which is faster.
It’s great exercise and lots of fun. London and Brighton based classes can be found at Skatefresh.com, but you should be able to locate classes in other areas by doing a quick Internet search.
Boxercise
It’s not just about slugging the guts out of a punchbag. Boxercise is an all-over body workout that definitely works up a sweat whilst toning your muscles and burning calories – and there’s no fear of getting hit! It’s also a great stress reliever, as well as being great for hand-eye coordination, balance and timing.
You can find kids’ boxercise classes in some centres, too, so it really is a family sport. You can search for a session near you at Class Finder.
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