2019-05-01_Healthy_Food_Guide_UK

WHATISIT?TheGoodGym

startedlifein 2008 asa groupof

runnersfrustratedwiththe

conceptofthegym,whichthey

sawasa wasteofenergyand

humanpotential.Instead,they

wantedto‘dogoodwhilegetting

fit’.Thepilotprojectstartedin

London’sTowerHamletswith

memberscombiningrunning

withphysicaltasksthathelpthe

localcommunity,foranall-round

workoutandfeelgoodboost.

WHATWOULDI BEDOING?

GoodGym-ersrespondto

communityneeds,buttypical

workoutsinclude‘missionruns’,

whereyouruntohelpa local

olderpersonwitha one-offtask;

‘coachruns’,whereyoucommit

toa regularruntovisitanisolated

olderperson;or‘groupruns’,

whereyourunwithotherstoa

certainlocationtohelpwith

a communityproject,suchas

decoratingorgardening.Projects

areoftencommissionedbylocal

authoritiesandtheNHS.

HOWFITDOI NEEDTOBE?As

longasyoucanrunfor 15 minutes,

you’refitenoughtojoina group

run(andtheypromisenoonewill

getleftbehind).If yousignupfor

a missionorcoachrun,there’sno

requiredfitnesslevelandyoucan

getthereinyourowntime.

HOWCANI JOININ?Visit

goodgym.org,enteryour

postcodeandfindyour‘reason

torun’.It nowoperatesin 48

areasacrosstheUK,withmany

more in development.

It’stheultimateinfeelgood

fitness– multitaskingfora

betterworld.Here’showto

boostyourkarmathrough

exercise. By Hannah Ebelthite

Overone

million

people

aged 65

andover

admitto

feeling

lonely

alwaysor

often,and

17%of

those

living

alonesee

family

and

friends

lessthan

oncea

week

WHATISIT?If there’sonething

guaranteedtogetyououtdoors

andwalking,whateverthe

weather,it’sa four-leggedfriend.

Evenif youdon’thaveoneofyour

own,therearecountlessdogs

aroundtheUKinrescuecentres

orwithownerswhoareunableto

givetheirpetstheexercisethey

need.Takinga dogoutcanbea

brilliantincentivetogofurther

andfaster.It canmakewalksmore

funandhelpyoutoincreaseyour

ownactivitylevels,whiledoinga

goodturnfora dogthatmight

spendmuchofitsdayconfined.

WHATMIGHTI BEDOING?If

youregisterwitha rescuecentre,

it’slikelyyou’llhaveaninduction

onhowtosafelywalka dog.You’ll

learnskillsfromleadcontroland

socialisationtotheimportance of

poobags!Evenif you’rea

long-timedogowner,it’susefulto

havesomepointersasalldogs

aredifferent(especiallythose,in

care,thatmaybetraumatised).

Centresmayhavesetdaysand

timesforvolunteerwalksoryou

maybeabletoattendwhenyou

choose. For your own fitness and

thedogs’wellbeing,gettingintoa

regularhabitis best– butstaffand

dogsalikewillappreciate any time

youcanoffer.

HOWFITDOI NEEDTOBE?As

fitasthedogyou’rewalking!The

rescuecentreorownerwillbe

abletoadvisehowmuchexercise

a particulardogneeds,soyou

canmatchyourownneedstothe

breed,ageandagilityofyour

caninecompanion.Forfitness

benefits,keepthepaceasbrisk

asyoucanandconsiderwearing

anactivitytrackerorpedometer

tomotivateyoutokeepit up.

HOWCANI JOININ?Contact

yourlocaldogrescuecentreand

askif theyhavea volunteer

walkingprogrammeyoucanjoin

(tryrspca.org.uk,bluecross.org.uk

ordogstrust.org.uk,forstarters).

Fordetailsofelderlydog

ownerswhomayneedhelp,

contactTheCinnamonTrustat

cinnamon.org.uk.BorrowMy

Doggy(borrowmydoggy.com)is

anothernetworkthatlinksbusy

dogownerswithpeoplewilling

towalktheirpets(forfree) when

they’re unable to.

Researchsuggestspeoplewho

walkdogstendtowalkmore

overallandtakepartinmore

leisure-timephysicalactivity

than those who don’t

2

VOLUNTEER FOR

DOG WALKING

1

JOIN THE

GOOD GYM

MAY 2019HEALTHY FOOD GUIDE 93