The humble gym of the past where men threw around a few weights to impress each other has long gone. Now, health and fitness centres are populated by men and women of all ages and body types doing a surprising number of activities.

Staffed by experts

At a health and fitness centre, professional staff are available to prescribe a personalised fitness program to help you meet your exercise goal. Regular physical activity should become a habit – that way you don’t even notice you’re doing it! As long as the place you choose has a competitive fee structure, without any restrictive timeframes and penalties for dropping out, you will find yourself in a friendly, highly motivating environment.

Exercising and feeling better

We’ve all experienced the sheer exhaustion that comes after strenuous activity – free weights, rowing machines, cardio machines, and such can really take it out of you. But if you have done any hard exercise, you will also be familiar with the afterglow – that strange relaxed ‘feel good’ experience you get as your body starts to recover. We now know that it’s due to chemicals being released in the body that help it to relax. It’s like your body’s reward system for helping it become healthier.

The rise of the machines

A good fitness gym will be equipped with all the latest and modern gym health machines and ideally have someone specialising in biomedical science and the science of body building. Examples of machines readily found in fitness centres include health machines like treadmills, cross trainers, upright bikes and rowers. Health machines are not only modern and easy to use, but they also employ state of the art technology that reaps you immense health benefits.

A fun place for all the family

If your fitness centre has a pool, the kids can be enjoying themselves in the water, while you sweat it out in the gym next door, and older members of the family can enjoy themselves in the members lounge that many fitness gyms run. Many older people are reluctant to exercise, but fitness clubs offer a variety of low impact pool based aqua-aerobics or low impact classes that are gentle on the body.

Why not join a class?

• Cardio Classes help to strengthen the heart and lungs. They also help in burning calories fast, reduce stress, trim off fat, lower cholesterol, lessen risks of heart diseases and improve your health.
• Dance Classes are a great way to keep your body in perfect tone and revive your activeness. While you’re dancing, you can burn calories, enjoy the energy themed music, and keep fit at the same time.
• Yoga Classes can be a lot of fun as long as you choose the right type of yoga for your age and fitness level. Gentle stretching and a little quiet meditation can really give your day a lift.

Some fitness centres offer one or more highly specialised exercise and fitness options; requiring large scale installations or equipment. Such centres will often provide access to the facilities as well as equipment for sale or hire, as part of their operations. In addition, such specilisaed centres may operate one or more clubs or sporting teams from their premises.

Some things on offer at a specialised centre

• Abseiling and rock climing walls
• Aqua aerobics and swimming lessons
• Squash, raquetball and tennis
• Volleyball, badminton and even indoor soccer

The modern health centre is a combination of science, sport, relaxation and socialising. The services on offer can range from a standard gym program to a sophisticated program of exercise, diet and relaxation prepared by a health professional. If you want get fitter, then you should locate your local fitness centre.