Outdoor gyms are a great way of making activity easier. Companies like The Great Outdoor Gym Company have been installing these gyms around the country and making it easier for people to get active.

Find an outdoor gym near you.

 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games

• Almost two thirds (63.5%) of adults are slightly or strongly supportive of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
• 85.9 per cent of adults intend to follow the London 2012 Olympic or Paralympic Games; with 25.1 per cent of adults actively getting involved in the Games.
• A significantly higher proportion of BME participants compared to participants with a white background, said they were motivated to do more sport, voluntary work or cultural activities as a result of the UK winning the bid to host the 2012 Olympics.

Sport and active recreation

•  54.4 per cent of adults had participated in active sport at least once in the last 4 weeks.
• 44.0 per cent had participated in moderate intensity sport for at least 30 minutes once in the last week, an increase from 2005/06 (41.2%). 26.4 per cent of adults had participated in moderate intensity sport for at least 30 minutes three times in the last week, an increase from 2005/06 (23.2%).
• Since 2005/06, the proportion of 16-24 year olds participating in sport at least once in the last 4 weeks has decreased, while the proportion of people aged 75+ participating has increased.
• There have been significant increases between 2005/06 and 2011/12 Q3 for adults aged 25-44 doing 1×30 minute moderate intensity sport in the last week, (from 50.0% to 54.4%) and in the 45-64 age groups (from 36.8% to 41.8%).

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Despite having run a range of GP referral physical activity programmes, linked to weight-management, cardio rehabilitation and diabetes, Blackburn with Darwen still had some of the lowest sport and physical activity participation rates in the North West, according to Sport England’s Active People survey.

This, combined with high smoking rates, a prevalence of mental health problems, and low life expectancy, convinced the local authority and primary care trust that a radical solution was needed.

The approach

In 2007, the council launched re:fresh in partnership with local health organisations and the primary care trust.

It began with an awareness campaign that ran in the media, online and in public buildings. Called ‘Killer Facts’ the campaign was designed to help local people confront their potential health problems.

Longer-term, the emphasis, however, was not on concerning people about their health but on supporting them to make healthier choices by connecting them to their local leisure centre, encouraging them to take part in healthy activities such as cycling, walking and tennis, and working with local communities in the five neighbourhood areas to help them develop their own activities.

At the heart of the programme were free sessions at the council’s five leisure centres, introduced incrementally by age group, starting with the over-fifties. From September 2008, 16-24 year-olds were added, with 25-49 year olds the following April.

Participants said the initial health message got them interested in taking part, but it was the social and emotional benefits of sport and physical activity that kept them going.

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I developed these based on our existing segmentation workshop, and tweaked each of them based on Freedom Leisure’s needs.

The first workshop was for the central marketing team, who were already very competent in marketing techniques and were aware of the importance and the uses of segmentation. So with this team I focussed on a wide variety of case studies and some advanced techniques around choosing which segments to focus on and what to offer them.

The second workshop was for people responsible for marketing at their leisure centres. For this group I made the workshop more focussed on understanding how to choose a target segment then how to use the marketing plans to help with practically writing headlines, choosing media and implementing marketing techniques.

Both  workshops got good feedback. The first received a score of 9.4 out of 10, and the second was not tracked using our system but got a very positive response.

“John delivered two excellent segmentation workshops, the feedback from staff has been very positive. Thank you.”

Judith Scott, PR and Marketing Executive, Freedom Leisure

In terms of adult membership, more than one in four (28%) of clubs are experiencing growth whilst 15% are contracting in
terms of adult membership numbers. On balance, at an overall level, this represents growth in 13% of clubs. In 2008, a
higher proportion of clubs (34%) were growing and slightly fewer (13%) were contracting, resulting in a slightly higher overall level of
growth in 21% of clubs. This slowdown is indicative of the already identified difficulties which clubs have faced in the last
two to three years in recruiting and retaining members.

There is, of course, considerable variation across sports, with no evidence of contraction at all amongst athletics and cycling clubs, reflecting a current trend for the increasing popularity of more individualised sports.

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Many people are under the misconception that those with cancer are required to rest as much as possible and avoid over doing it. In the past, doctors did inform their cancer patients to stay in bed, not do anything strenuous and to take it easy. But that has changed; doctors are informing even their patients with the most rare forms of cancer, such as mesothelioma, to get up and exercise. The reason is that the health benefits of exercise for those that are suffering from cancer are numerous; fitness is a great complement to traditional cancer treatments. It is not a cure for cancer but it can make the treatment process easier for patients.

The first reason that fitness is so important for those with cancer is the overall health benefit it has. Every doctor on earth informs every patient – healthy or sick – on earth to get some exercise. The reason for is that exercise can improve a person’s health. The healthier a person is, the less they get sick. Exercise and fitness help to build a person’s immune system, which makes it easier for them to avoid common illnesses such as the col. A strong immune system makes cancer treatment more bearable. Additionally, a person that exercises has a fitter, healthier body from the outside as well as the inside; this is crucial.

The second reason that doctors want their cancer patients to exercise is that it will help to alleviate their treatment symptoms. Common cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation come with a number of side effects that include everything from fatigue to nausea and vomiting. Those that get plenty of exercise have stronger immune systems and can handle the treatment better, which minimizes their chances of experiencing these side effects. Even though it is likely that a person undergoing cancer treatment will be very tired from time to time, exercise is still important; even if it consists of a walk around the block. All it takes to get healthy is 150 minutes a week.

Perhaps the most important reason cancer patients should exercise while they undergo treatment is the effect fitness has on their moods and their quality of life. Those who exercise are medically proven to have a better mindset than those who do not exercise. A better mood means a better quality of life, which is something doctors want their cancer patients to have. Those with a better quality of life have better chances of beating their cancer. Additionally, 150 minutes of exercise each week can reduce the risk of suffering a reoccurrence of cancer by up to 40 percent in the future; there is no better reason than this to get up and get fit.

If you have any queries or need further information please get in touch with Andrew Power on Andrew.Power@durham.gov.uk.

The CPAL programme is supported by NHS County Durham and Darlington and County Durham Sport.

I’ve run various workshops for Active Surrey before, and their events are always fantastically run, so when Hannah Sprake got in touch I was very excited about helping out.

I developed a bespoke club marketing workshop to fit around what training they’ve run before. It included details on how to run marketing for free using Facebook, Twitter, Google, other search engines, partners and referrals.

We had lots of debate in the workshops, and great feedback from people who attended (first one 9/10, second one 9.1/10 and third one 8.1/10).

“Make Sport Fun delivered three great presentations at our club forums which attracted more people to attend then last year. One attendee commented, ‘I learnt more in the hour marketing session tonight than in numerous previous sport related forums’.”

Hannah Sprake, Sports Projects Officer, Active Surrey

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