Keeping Fit in Birmingham

In 1980, less than 10% of people in Britain were obese. Just twenty years on, that figure has doubled to over 20%.  That means that obesity rates are soaring in Britain, with nearly a quarter of adults now classed as ‘clinically obese’.

In Birmingham, the affects of obesity and overweight people are costing the Birmingham Health services more than £316 million a year, according to the NHS.  The latest NHS figures reveal 519 people in Birmingham and the West Midlands needed hospital treatment for procedures including stomach-stapling, a gastric band and having part of their tummy removed because they were dangerously overweight in 2007 and 2008.

This rate has soared by 25% from the previous year, and a shocking 1,341% since 1998!  This was when the need for obese hospital treatment applied to only 36 people across the Birmingham and West Midlands region.  Things have changed and the youngest generation are not immune.

With child obesity doubling in the last ten years, the current generation faces a far higher risk of heart problems and diseases like cancer later in life due to their unhealthy habits.  Nearly two thirds of men and over half of women in England are now overweight or obese, and soon Britain will be catching up with America in the obesity stakes.

So where are we going wrong?  And how can Birmingham and the rest of the UK turn this around?

A study of 2 to 6 year-olds found those spending just an hour a day longer in front of the television had on average 2lbs (1kg) more body fat.   This study shows that there is a direct correlation between lack of exercise and the rising obesity rates.
Despite Government warnings, we continue to ignore the ticking obesity time bomb.  No-one can help us but ourselves.  So how can we fight the flab and keep fit in Birmingham?

Gyms in Birmingham
There are countless gyms in Birmingham.  In Birmingham city centre, you will find many options including LA Fitness, Fighting Fit City Gym, Bannatyne’s Health Club, Temple Gym, Virgin Active and Canal Side Fitness Club.   There are plenty more within the city centre, and numerous gyms and health clubs in the suburbs and outer areas of Birmingham.  
Birmingham is utterly inundated with gyms.
But what are the advantages of joining a gym?  Going it alone to work out at home does save you money but joining a gym can give you the invaluable motivation.  When you first join a gym, a trial period and induction will give you a chance to familiarize yourself with gym equipment – this is the ideal way to ease yourself into regular exercise.  
Joining a gym as opposed to home fitness also gives you a sense of structure, routine and not forgetting the financial motivation to make sure you don’t get lazy.  If you’ve paid for your membership, you certainly won’t want to be wasting it.
Gyms in Birmingham can be the ideal way to spend quality time with friends, make new friends, and keep your body healthy and active.

More fitness clubs and sport centres in Birmingham


Dance classes in Birmingham
Dance groups, dances lessons and regular dance classes in Birmingham are a more creative way to keep fit.   Dancing is definitely a more sociable form of exercise, and if you want to lose weight and meet like-minded people in Birmingham then join a dance class.
Health secretary Alan Johnson wants TV personalities such as Strictly Come Dancing judges and contestants to promote the energetic pastime of ballroom dancing so the nation can “waltz their way to fitness”.  After John Sergeant’s hilarious TV performances on the dancing show, Alan Johnson insisted that dancing was a great way to get British people active and healthy again.  
Political broadcaster and commentator, John Sergeant shed two stone during his time on the Strictly Come Dancing show.  
Health Secretary, Alan Johnson said, “The point of dance is you don’t have to be brilliant on your feet, but it gets you moving and that is what all of us need. Modern life is killing us.”
So it doesn’t matter if you have two left feet as dancing is one of the most enjoyable and easiest ways of losing weight.  Fitness First in Birmingham offers a wide range of dance and fitness classes such as belly dancing, street dancing, aerobics, and Salsa.
There are two Fitness First gyms in Birmingham, one on Hagely Road and one on Pershore Road in Stirchley.

Read more about dance classes at Fitness First


Cycle Routes in Birmingham
Cycling is a good full body work out and the best thing about it is the price tag.  Cycle routes in Birmingham are free of charge and the only thing it will cost you is a little determination.
Cycle routes in Birmingham include Rea Valley Cycle Route, Ward End Route, North Birmingham Cycle/Walk Route, National Cycle Network, City Centre Ring Route, Newhall Valley Country Park and Cole Valley.

Request a Birmingham Cycle Route Map: