The Wonder of Leisure Centres
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Leisure Centre’s are easily overlooked and some of them are drastically underused. That’s a real shame because Leisure Centres are unique in offering such breadth of health and fitness activities all under one roof within easy reach of so many people. A catch-all of the exercise world.
A typical leisure centre serves so many purposes, from housing libraries and council offices, to offering a swimming pool and gym. Many leisure centres also run fitness classes like pilates, aquafit or static cycling and become genuine community hubs. Some of the better centres will have sports halls, football pitches, and squash courts too. The beauty of leisure centres is that, with so much going on, there’s bound to be something that suits everyone.
With the nation facing an obesity crisis, too many of us are ignorant of just how easy it is to get fit. Ok, I’m not pretending that losing weight is easy – it isn’t – but most people don’t realise just how accessible exercise can be. Most local authorities have centres dotted around their area and charge on either a per session basis or as part of a monthly subscription. To access every single gym, swimming pool and fitness class across the whole of Northumberland, an adult can expect to pay £32 per month. That’s just over £1 per day or about three times less than the price of a cup of coffee per day. And the coffees aren’t going to make you any slimmer, or stronger, or more flexible, or healthier in any other way, come to think of it.
Most centres have trained staff on hand to help guide you through their facilities and reach your own personal goal. Perhaps they’ll draw up a fitness schedule for you to help you keep on the right track, or even improve your skills in your chosen sport.
You needn’t be worried about feeling alone either – you’ll meet plenty of people at the leisure centre and you’ve all got at least one thing in common – a desire to keep active.
For those of you in and around the Newcastle/Gateshead areas, here are a couple of links to help you locate your closest one. If you are in Newcastle click here and if you are in Gateshead click here or if you reside in Northumberland click here.