Activate Your Life with Group Active at cityfitness

Activate Your Life with Group Active at cityfitness

New Zealand fitness group; cityfitness, have introduced Group Active to their range of Group Fitness offerings. Group Active is a program designed for people with a diverse range of fitness levels and people who are not regular exercisers and combines strength, cardio and flexibility into one class. In development for over a year, Group Active has undergone extensive testing to ensure the success of participants. The programme allows participants to go at their own pace with lots of options to increase or reduce the challenge.

cityfitness Director of Group Fitness, Allyson Donnelly says, “The music and structure of the class leaves participants excited about their next hour of Group Active. The environment is non-intimidating and because it is tailored to people of all fitness levels, it’s the perfect way to ease in to a fitter, more healthy lifestyle”

With all the recent publicity around rising obesity rates, increases in the number of people using anti-depressant drugs and also rising cases of osteoporosis in the elderly, it seems incredible to think that there are still people who choose to live a sedentary lifestyle when, research has proven that exercise is a key weapon in combating these modern day plagues.

There is evidence to say that fear of not being able to perform a particular activity once in the gym environment is a major barrier preventing thousands of people from living normal, healthy lives. With this in mind, Group Active is an ideal entry point in to a fitness club for many ‘new to exercise’ individuals.

In light of the statistics below, the need for accessible fitness programs is clear. Consistent with its goal of getting more kiwis 'moving', cityfitness has added Active to its suite of programmes to support this initiative.

Obesity

New Zealand is the 7th fattest nation on the planet – FACT, and we’re coming in only 4% below the USA. This is according to the World Health Organisation, and despite the global awareness of growing obesity rates, we don’t seem to be doing much to change it. The underlying reasons for this epidemic are simple: we are eating more and moving less.

Another fact according to Obesity Prevention New Zealand is that research shows that only half of the adult population is physically active for 30 minutes 5 times a week and 1 in 10 adults are active for less than 30 minutes a week.

Depression

It’s estimated that 1 in 5 New Zealanders suffer from depression at some point throughout their lives but there is evidence to say that once an individual begins to exercise regularly, they will discover many more reasons why exercise is so important to improving the quality of life. Reduction in stress, elevation of mood and a better nights’ sleep are among the benefits associated with increased physical activity.

Osteoporosis

We now know that keeping active and maintaining a regular exercise routine is key to staying healthy and strong as we age. In New Zealand: Osteoporosis affects more than half of all women and nearly a third of all men over the age of 60. In New Zealand more than 3,000 New Zealanders break a hip each year. This figure is expected to rise to 4,800 in ten years' time as the population ages.

Research undertaken by the International Osteoporosis Foundation has found that higher levels of leisure time, sport activity, and household chores and fewer hours of sitting daily were associated with a significantly reduced relative risk for hip fracture and that physical activity and fitness reduce the risk of osteoporosis and fracture and fall-related injuries. Intensive exercise training can lead to improvements in strength and function in elderly patients who have had hip replacement surgery due to hip fracture.

Specifically with these issues in mind and given the findings around self efficacy, Group Active was born. It is an ideal new-entrant class but also a satisfactory workout for those currently in a regular exercise regime.

For more information on Group Active, visit www.cityfitness.co.nz

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