Gym chain Anytime Fitness and mental health charity Mind have partnered to launch National Workouts & Wellbeing Week, which runs from 25th to 31st March and offers the chance for everyone to exercise for free in any of the 160-plus branches of Anytime Fitness across the UK.
As well as the free workouts, the gyms will be offering talks, wellbeing sessions and competitions, so there’s plenty to get involved in even if you don’t fancy a training session.
The week will highlight the link between exercise and mental wellbeing, with regular physical activity recommended by Mind and the NHS as a way to promote good mental health. Not only can exercise improve your mood and raise your self-esteem, it can also counteract a poor diet and being overweight or obese, which are more common in people who suffer from mental health problems.
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“We all know that being more active can improve our physical wellbeing, but it’s also great for mental wellbeing too,” says Hayley Jarvis, head of physical activity for Mind.
“We believe in the importance of making physical activity more accessible to people with mental health problems and it’s fantastic that Anytime Fitness is able to offer free access for people wanting to dip their toes in the water with fitness.”
Having a week’s free access to the gym is a great opportunity to try a few different kinds of exercise. Here at Coach we reckon everyone can find an activity they enjoy, so even if you’ve always felt that popular ways to keep fit like running, swimming and lifting weights aren’t for you, keep trying different things until you find something you do enjoy. That’s the best way to ensure you’ll keep on doing it and reap the benefits.
As part of National Workouts & Wellbeing Week, Anytime Fitness will also donate £10 to Mind for anyone who becomes a member during the week. You can find your closest Anytime Fitness gyms by searching by postcode on its website, where you can also register to get involved.
