Activity Suggestions

Here are some outdoor activity suggestions for our customers put together by our physiotherapy team

Orienteering – an excellent outdoor activity for all ability levels which can involve walking or running around a course using a map and compass. High levels of fitness or skill in map reading are not required for beginners and many clubs offer a community orienteering club night where novices can be trained.

Orienteering can take place in all sorts of environment from open country, forest trails to urban areas and parks.

Great sport to improve aerobic fitness, cardio vascular function and increase confidence in navigation and self sufficiency

See British orienteering website for more details:  www.britishorienteering.org.uk

Cycling

Perhaps the largest explosion in the middle aged both for men and women with increased interest in all age groups due largely to our olympic and tour de France success . Cycling benefits a whole range of people and can be performed at any level from a gentle flat ride to a competitive etape . Cycling can be seen as an individual sport for the person who wants to get away from it all and exercise in solitude or a group sport at social or competitive club level.

Great for improving both aerobic and anaerobic fitness, calorie burning, leg and core strength, cardio vascular function

Cycling can be suitable for those with joints or spinal problems  that can no longer tolerate running on hard surfaces and can offer a new challenge and a new lease of life

See British cycling website for more details:   www.britishcycling.org.uk

Walking – many groups exist offering weekly guided walks of all abilities and ages ranging from flat urban and parkland walks to hill walking – good for increasing general fitness and low level aerobic fitness. Walking over rough terrain increases balance and awareness and challenges core strength.

See British walking federation website for more details:   www.bwf-ivv.org.uk

Running – There has been an explosion in local running groups where experienced runners offer their advice and coach beginners slowly increasing their fitness and confidence and often leading to new relationships and social contact. Night running is a new urban craze.

See :

www.britishathletics.org.uk/grassroots/runbritain

www.runbritain.com

www.runengland.org

Running increases aerobic capacity, cardio-vascular fitness and builds leg strength and stimulates improved metabolism and weight loss.

Here are some indoor activity suggestions for our customers put together by our physiotherapy team

Badminton -  is a rapidly growing fun sport suitable for all levels of fitness and ability. Most areas have a network of clubs and facilities with many based in local schools and local authority leisure centres in addition to private clubs.

See :

www.badmintonengland.co.uk         

Squash – for those who want a higher level of exercise and who are moderately fit at present squash may be for you. As with tennis squash brings out that one v one competitive instinct that many of us have

See :

www.englandsquashandracketball.com

Rollerhockey – for those looking for a real buzz and who can rollerskate why not take a look at this fast exciting sport

See :

www.englandrollerhockey.com

Futsal -   a modified form of five a side football played with five players per side on a smaller, typically indoor, pitch.

See :

www.englandfutsal.com      

www.thefa.com/my-football/player/futsal/what-is-futsal

Swimmingwe are all aware of the benefits of swimming, exercising in water whose buoyancy reduces stress on the joints and skeletal system

See :

 www.swimming.org/britishswimming