Bantry's Operation Transformation team are certainly pushing things up a gear now.
BANTRY’S Operation Transformation team are certainly pushing things up a gear now.
Last Monday night, Jason O’Sullivan, manager of Club Maritime Leisure Centre, visited and brought along his Circuit Training HITT session.
This high intensity interval training (HITT) burns more calories than jogging on a treadmill for an hour, and it was definitely felt by all those who participated!
With Lent just starting, it’s a great opportunity to use the time to take something up rather than give something up. BOT team member Maeve Murphy is taking up doing pull-ups everyday during Lent, for example.
There are gyms in most towns in West Cork that will give you a tailored programme to fit your fitness level and age, be they private, Council-run or community centres.
For the outdoor walkers and runners, try one of the free Parkruns. There are 55-plus Parkruns in Ireland every Saturday morning and we have four on our doorstep: Glengarriff, Clonaklity, Bere Island and Castlehaven, all at 9.30am on Saturdays, see www.parkrun.com for more details.
Local Athletics Clubs also have runs and training nights – Fit 4 Life is run by Bantry Athletic Club (every Monday at 6.45pm Westlodge). Check out Skibbereen Athletic Club and Clonakilty Road Runners too.
Or how about yoga – there’s bound to be a class near you, and a chance to find your own level of challenge.
To get the activity habit instilled in your kids, start them young. Bantry AC juvenile training is on Tues/Thurs, Skibbereen have a juvenile section too. Some teachers do teenage or juvenile yoga too, or pilates. There is also a BOT / West Cork Development Partnership leaflet of walks and cycles that show the very best of the West Cork countryside. Find them on the Active Bantry Facebook page or at the reception at the Marino Medical Centre.
Maeve from BOT said: ‘The most important thing about exercise is to find a class or activity that you really enjoy and then you will be more likely to keep it up. We hope that you are now inspired to aim for our advice to take 30 minutes of exercise a day.’
Next week is the final meeting night of Bantry Operation Transformation at The Westlodge Hotel. All are welcome. The Healthy Eating Talks Team will host a Healthy Lifestyle quiz with spot prizes. In the Ballroom from 6.20pm, there will be activities and information to help keep you physically fit in 2017 and the final prize draw takes place, for all those that complete five activities or more this week.
