Courtesy Of Judith Kelly, leader of Tottington Wildlife Watch Group (TWIGs), Chair of Incredible Edible Tottington and Chair of the Tottington Community Defibrillator Appeal.
In January, during a visit to the new Children's Centre in Tottington, I saw a poster for an I Will If You Will Burlesque class.
In May 2013, Bury was named by Sport England as the location for an intensive year-long sporting experiment to get more women and girls active and tackle the gender gap in sport. £2,383,778 of National Lottery funding was secured, with the council beating competition from other towns. I'd seen a few changes being made throughout the borough. Outdoor gyms were being built in some areas, but unfortunately not in Tottington. However, Tottington did have an outdoor table tennis table constructed in Town Meadow playground.
I thought it was all a great idea, but I never thought to give any of it a go. Seeing the burlesque class advertised though changed all that, and I turned up for the first lesson in January, dragging a neighbour along with me! It was brilliant. Great fun, good company, and good exercise thrown in too. The Bury Times even came along and wrote an article on the class (here is the article). I publicised the classes on Twitter and more people did start to turn up. I was delighted when I was asked to be an I Will If You Will Champion, to encourage others to join in and become more active. Hereis a link to my webpage on the I Will If You Will website.
Unfortunately I haven't been to burlesque for a few weeks as my job changed, meaning I wasn't at home as much during the day when the class was on. I already had the bug by then though. I can honestly say that whoever does the I Will If You Will PR is doing an amazing job. I invested in a super duper pedometer that I always have with me. If I've had a particularly sedate day I'm much more likely to go out for a walk later on to get my steps up. I get a big thrill from hitting the sought after 10,000 steps during a day.
The biggest change was that I re-joined the gym. It took me a few weeks to take the plunge, but I haven't looked back. I haven't lost even a pound, but I have re-discovered cross trainers and exercise bikes. I have also progressed from the small, lovely and warm leisure pool to the 23 metre proper pool and regularly have 25 minutes in there. The gym has better showers than my home one so that is an extra reason for me to go!
I'd encourage anyone to give it a go and attend one of the I Will If You Will sessions. There is something for everyone, from walks, jogs, pilates, boxercise, yoga; all levels of fitness are catered for. A mobile pool has even opened at Broad Oak Sports College, with women-only sessions and swimming lessons.
On the 12th and 13th April, there was a fitness party at the Castle Leisure Centre. There were free events for people to try, and even a crèche to give people the chance to join in. For more information click here.
The next Fitness Party is at the Longfield Suite on Fairfax Road, Prestwich on Sunday 11th May 1pm-3pm.
Have a look and see what you fancy. It can't do any harm, and I can assure you it is great fun!
