Andrea’s story
Why I love group
exercise…

Be Well member Andrea explains how regular group exercise classes have helped her stay active while helping her deal with the stresses of everyday life…

I’ve never considered myself to be sporty, but I’ve always loved a group exercise class.

In school, despite being a high achiever in other areas, I was at best below average when it came to PE. I was too short to do well at netball, too bad at catching to succeed at rounders, and too worried about letting the rest of the team down to excel at hockey.

But one day in our final year, our PE teacher brought in a
tape recorder and led us all to the sports hall. I took part in my first ever aerobics class and I loved it right away!

It was like exercising on your own – but with other people too! There was no competition involved, so it didn’t matter how good or how bad you were, you could just enjoy it. And there was music!

It was the first time I realised that exercise did not have to
mean team sports; that I could improve my fitness gradually over time whilst only competing against myself.

Since then, group exercise classes have always been important to me. In my late teens, they helped me feel more confident about my body. In my early 20s, living alone in a small village in Germany, I joined the local aerobics class to help me feel part of the community.

I’d always focused on cardio classes, enjoying the feeling of pushing myself, burning calories and becoming fitter. But after Uni (and years of drinking, clubs, and all-night study sessions) I knew I needed to be kinder to my body and mind and introduced myself to yoga. Now in my 40s, with a busy life, I combine both.

I love a Body Combat class and the way that 45 minutes of punching and kicking the air can miraculously take away some of the stresses of the day.

Yoga is a way to be in the moment; you have to carefully concentrate on the different movements throughout the class, so there’s no space for whatever that week’s worries might be to creep into your mind.

My job means that I work from different locations: sometimes in the office in Wigan town centre, sometimes out and about, sometimes from home. Being a Be Well member means I can usually find a class to fit in with my day and I mix up my routine between Wigan Life Centre, Robin Park, Howe Bridge and Leigh.

I sometimes work in the evenings and last summer worked on a project that meant I had a regular evening meeting every other Monday night. At first, I was a little fed up about the prospect, until I realised that the meeting would finish just in time for me to attend a later yoga class. My Monday evenings were no longer just about work, they were my yoga nights!

Doing a class straight after work also helps me to take a break between work and homelife and makes it easier to transition more smoothly from one to the other, even if I’ve been working from home all day.

I still love the original appeal of a group class. You have your own space, and no-one is relying on you or judging you, but you’re in a room with lots of other people, so it’s somehow sociable at the same time.

Group exercise also means I’m in it for the duration of the class. I’ve tried using the gym before but am sometimes not motivated enough to stay for long. In a class the fantastic teachers and the other people in your class are your motivation and, even if you don’t especially feel like exercising that day, they get you through to the end.

Today I still can’t catch, am still on the short side, am not very co-ordinated, and still hate the thought of letting others down if anything gets remotely team based and competitive.

But thanks to group exercise, I do now think of myself as someone who enjoys fitness and the impact that’s had on my happiness, stress management, and self-confidence, means that I hope I’ll always be able to continue exercising, in some way, as I go through life.

Andrea – Be Well member

Unlimited group exercise for Be Well members!

If you love group exercise, you’ll get the very best value as a Be Well member – with all of our classes included as part of your membership, along with unlimited gym, swimming and sports sessions. Members can also book activities up to 8 days in advance.

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