1Life Blog

Joining a gym can be a daunting experience, especially if you’ve never stepped foot in one before, but it really doesn’t need to be. Contrary to what you might think, they’re not full of body-beautiful individuals, dressed head to toe in lycra - just normal people working towards a healthier lifestyle.

Here are some top tips to ensure you choose the right gym for you and what you can expect from your first visit.

If retirement is fast approaching or you are already enjoying this exciting new chapter in your life, the change in routine can sometimes be a bit daunting. This new lifestyle change can mean making mental adjustments as well as physical ones to really make the most of your new-found freedom; allowing you to get on with enjoying a happy and healthy retirement.

If exercise classes and working out in a gym don’t appeal to you, there are other great ways to boost your physical activity – golf being one of them. Golf is not only great fun, research shows it also offers a wide range of physical benefits, such as improving strength, flexibility and endurance, as well as having a positive impact on your mental well-being. A game of golf can help players exceed the recommended government guidelines for physical activity and one study has shown players can burn over 500 calories over 18 holes. So grab your clubs and get out in the fresh air, just make sure you avoid the temptation of the 19th hole!

Flexibility exercises are one of the four key types of training that you should be aiming to incorporate regularly in your exercise routine, along with strength, balance and endurance. Just as you wouldn’t dream of eating the same thing every day, and understand the importance of a varied diet, the same applies to your physical activity. This doesn’t mean that each type of exercise needs to be done every single day but variety is key when it comes to keeping our bodies fit and healthy as well keeping our interest.

1Life is throwing open its doors to provide free activities for everyone as part of National Fitness Day 2018, Wednesday 26th September - the most active day of the year.

We all know that healthy eating and regular exercise are the foundations for good health, yet in the UK over 50% of adults are either overweight or obese. Research shows that to achieve the best long-term results healthy eating and regular exercise should be combined. If you’re working out five times a week but living on processed foods and takeaways the rest of the time, you’re not only limiting the benefit of the exercise when it comes to weight management, you could also be putting your body under unnecessary stress by not fuelling it properly.

Nobody can deny the endless benefits both physically and mentally of taking regular exercise and maintaining an active lifestyle when it comes to fighting the effects of ageing; from reducing the risk of heart disease and strokes to cancers and diabetes, there’s never been a better time to get out there and get moving.

The quiet rise in parent-child workouts has taken Matt Roberts (a London fitness guru and personal trainer to the stars) by surprise, he explains “There has been a real change with parent-child relationships becoming more social, with many now enjoying exercising together,” (Daily Telegraph, April 2018). Some experts suggest the rise in families working out together, is a backlash to all the screen time and scaremongering about technology creating a sedentary generation.

Let’s face it, as we age, there’s a temptation to take it a little easier – make things less painful. Instead of carrying heavy bags home from the shop, we do online shopping and have it delivered. We might swap the sports we play from physically demanding ones – and ones in which injuries are a real threat – for slightly more leisurely ones. Football changes to golf and netball to swimming, perhaps.

We’re so confident in our facilities here at 1Life that we are willing to let you come along and use all of them completely free of charge! That’s right, we are offering you a completely free one-day pass to come along and give us a test drive.