The Fitness Culture is here to stay!

Fifty years ago the Fitness Culture didn’t exist. Now it’s a vast multi-million pound industry with something for everyone. The Fitness Culture is here to stay!

When I was young the only place you ‘did fitness’ was at school. Rounders, netball and hockey for the girls, football, rugby and cricket for the boys. Once a week you went swimming at the local swimming baths. On wet days you played Pirates or chased bean bags in so-called team games in the school gym. Group fitness classes were unheard of.

Leisure Sport and Fitness

In the 1970’s a brand new leisure centre was built in my home town. It was amazing…suddenly we had access to badminton, volleyball, squash, five-a-side football. Strangely gyms as we know them still hadn’t made their entrance, but the idea of leisure sport and fitness was being born.

Fitness for Fun

By the 1980’s and 90’s a whole new era of fitness class was rolling into view. My generation will surely recall those agonising legs, bums and tums classes or kicking an aerobic step across the room trying to do repeaters …… not to mention legwarmers and lycra!

Every celebrity under the sun was making a fitness video for your home workout. Who didn’t have Jane Fonda looking fabulous in the video collection! And breakfast TV gave us the Green Goddess, Mad Lizzie and Mr Motivator – were you squatting and lunging your way through your breakfast cereal?

These days, of course, the industry has exploded. Our awareness of the benefits of exercise and diet is much greater and the variety of classes and workouts is enormous. So too, the types of venue – from vast multinational chains to the tiny local studios and community venues. There really is something for everyone, and venues like De Ville’s Studio are small and friendly community classes – perfect if you find the bigger clubs a bit daunting.