Stay Fit and Fantastic Over 50 by Jack Hay

Author:Jack Hay [Hay,Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Family
ISBN: 9780572035471
Publisher: W. Foulsham & Co. Ltd

Working out at a club

There's a wealth of choice of sports clubs and leisure centres of all kinds. Check out your Yellow Pages to find out about your local facilities.

Health clubs and gyms

Ten years ago, a gym was likely to be small and privately owned, with little space and facilities, full of dedicated muscle fanatics or boxers. Nowadays, what was your local 'sweat shop' is now a health club, offering an extensive selection of workout machines, free weights, aerobics and yoga classes, often a swimming pool, serving drinks and healthy snacks in a luxury lounge or juice bar. There may also be a beauty salon or 'spa', offering a whole range of specialised pampering treatments to seduce you.

But health clubs or gyms can still be frustrating places if you don't get what you pay for. For instance, if you join to use the gym and find that it is permanently packed with people on all the machines during your particular training times, you'll soon become disillusioned. Unfriendly staff can also be a problem - they should welcome you with a smile, not a sigh of boredom.

When you join, you should be invited for an induction session, where a fitness expert will assess your requirements and give you a programme to follow. It is then up to you to attend regularly to get the benefits. In many cases the novelty can soon wear off when there's a queue for popular machines, or it's difficult to get going after a hard day's work. If you have paid an annual subscription, you do not want to be wasting your money.

The best way to stay motivated is to find an exercise partner, then you can encourage each other. Then if you suddenly feel lazy or want to give the gym a miss, you'll be letting them down. It makes exercising a social event, too, perhaps with a drink afterwards. Also make sure you vary your programme at the gym and build enough time into your day so that exercise is not a last-minute rush or hassle. Set yourself goals relating to fitness or weight loss and body tone. Monitor your progress and reward yourself with special treats when you see or feel the difference. Keep reminding yourself of the fitness benefits.

Sports centres

A cheaper option than the full-blown fitness club is your local sports or leisure centre. Most of them cater for all ages, abilities and preferences, they offer a wide variety of activities in the same location, membership rates are much more reasonable than private clubs and there are always qualified staff on hand to make sure you carry out your chosen activity safely. Exercising with others is a great incentive and it is an excellent way of meeting people and making new friends.

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