A Chance To Live
Travelling gym helps residents to shape up
A TRAVELLING gym is putting residents through their paces in a quest to improve an area with one of the worst health records in the country.
The £1.1m Wellness on Wheels (Wow) initiative is taking exercise on the road, reaching villages and towns in Wear Valley, County Durham, that are miles away from the nearest facilities.
Pounding treadmills and pumping iron on machines tried out by Olympic athletes Colin Jackson and Daley Thompson recently, people can take part in phased exercise programmes with fitness instructors guiding and monitoring their progress.
The concept is based on a mobile gym used by Ferrari Formula One champion Michael Shumacher.
The Wear Valley gym was developed because of growing concerns about the low levels of fitness among the population and the impact of lack of exercise on general health.
It offers exercise to people in isolated communities where car ownership is only 50 per cent.
The three-year programme, led by Wear Valley District Council and the Durham Dales Primary Care Trust, is backed by a £641,000 grant from Sport England and the England Active Fund.
As the trailer makes its introductory tour of the district, coordinator Natalie Drew said she was pleased with the response.
She said: "We have put 370 people through induction programmes in the first eight weeks.
"Our aim is to introduce new people to exercise and encourage them to sustain an active lifestyle once the mobile wellness centre has moved on."
The Wow gym is at the Spectrum car park, Willington, this week, and St Helen Auckland from Monday. It is open from 9am to 9pm. Call (01388) 761938, 077685 53217 or 077689 40191.
2:14pm Wednesday 3rd August 2005
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