Any exercise is better than nothing
Fitting exercise into busy life schedules can be tricky. The government advises adults to be active for at least 150 minutes each week. However, doing something is always better than nothing, and therefore, work you way up gradually until you feel comfortable and ready to reach government guidelines.
Taking time to yourself is also a great way to relax and relieve stress, so it is always worth setting aside some you time. To help you find local activities it can be helpful to see if your borough has any physical activity initiatives such as online activity finders.
Below we have compiled a list of our favourite organisations and apps to help you get active in a variety of ways and at a range of times to suit you.
Park Run
Park Run is a weekly 5k running event which occurs every Saturday in hundreds of parks. You can choose whether your time gets recorded or not allowing you to improve on your own time or compete against others across the UK.
What we like about them The community feel at Park Run’s is great. Everyone is so supportive and welcoming, encouraging you to turn up each week. As a reward and to increase motivation, you will receive a free running t-shirt at 50, 100, 250 and 500 runs.
NHS Fitness Studio
NHS Fitness Studio allows you can choose from 24 instructors who will take you through a range of sessions including strength and resistance, aerobics, Pilates and yoga. Each pre-recorded workout ranges from 10-45 minutes and is created by InstructorLive experts.
What we like about them Sessions are all free and easy to find on the NHS website and aim to raise your heart rate. Sessions for new mums are also available as well as sessions for a variety of health conditions.
Our Parks
Our Parks deliver sessions by fully qualified and registered coaches in local parks. Our Parks provide an extensive list of sessions including yoga, boot camps and HIIT. Sessions are both free and paid and delivered online and at physical locations.
What we like about them Sessions are suitable for all abilities and ages. A colour scale is provided for each class explaining the difficulty, making it easy to identify suitable classes.
Get Active
Get Active is an activity finder from London Sport which aims to help people find local and online activities. A range of activity types are shown and beginner sessions are prioritised. Get Active is ideal if you are just getting started or getting back into exercise.
What we like about it You can filter sessions by time, location and cost allowing you to find the perfect activity for you.
We Are Lupa
We Are Lupa is a digital running studio which guides you through your runs enhancing your running experience and increasing your confidence. Whilst exercising alone you will still have company in your ears to keep you motivated!
What we like about them The app gives you live route navigation, adapts to give you a more personalised coaching experience and gives positive energy to get you in the right mindset.
