New exercise class aims to reduce gender gap.

A new exercise class aimed at reducing the gender gap is due to launch in Havering this Monday, February 7.

Award-winning leisure operator Everyone Active will host This Girl Can sessions at Harrow Lodge Leisure Centre as part of Sport England’s campaign of the same name.

The classes, created by Sport England in partnership with EMD UK, the national governing body for group exercise, seek to encourage those who are new to physical activity.

And with the most recent Active Lives Adult Surveyshowing that women remain less likely to exercise than men, it is hoped the new classes will help to redress the balance.

Everyone Active, which runs its Havering sites in partnership with Havering Council will stage hour-long This Girl Can classes.

The hour is split into sections which include a warm-up, two 10-minute exercise blocks and a cool-down.

The exercise blocks include any combination of dance fitness, boxing fitness, move, tone or yoga-inspired stretch, so participants can experience a variety of activities. Everyone Active membership is not required.

Class leaders have undergone a This Girl Can training course with EMD UK, which is endorsed by theChartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity.

Tom Fletcher, Everyone Active’s area contract manager, said: “It is vitally important that we play our part to close the gender gap when it comes to exercise.

“We want to offer opportunities for more women to get active and have fun in a supportive environment and believe these classes provide an ideal route into regular physical activity, for those who wish to take it further. 

“The classes are accessible and are designed to appeal to women who would like to dip their toe in the water and see how their local leisure centre can help them exercise and improve their fitness.

“We hope women from the community will come down to their local centre, take part in a class and begin to enjoy the state-of-the-art facilities on their doorstep.”

Shelley Meyern, Head of Operations and Projects at EMD UK, says “It has been brilliant to work with Everyone Active on launching these classes. The centres and instructors have a great enthusiasm and desire to assist the women that the classes have been designed for. From the physical and mental benefits that being active can bring, to the social connections we can make, every woman deserves to feel the benefits of getting active.  At This Girl Can Classes, you can be reassured that there are no wrong moves, and everyone can take it at their own pace. We want women to come and do their worst.”

For more information and to book, visit:www.everyoneactive.com/this-girl-can/