WORDS HANNAH EBELTHITE
Uninspired by the gym? Fed up with dull, repetitive classes, or lonely on your solo runs? Many of our perceptions of what fitness needs to be just rob the joy from it – isolating, plonked on machines in soulless rooms, standing shoulder to shoulder but never talking – but it doesn’t have to be that way. Indeed, a growing movement of fitness fans are rediscovering how to be more carefree and finding new ways to connect while still getting the physical activity we need to achieve optimal health. It’s called… having fun! Why did we forget that? ‘Fitness used to be based around two models – sports and body transformation,’ says Sam Holliday, a course leader at Future Fit training providers. ‘But these days there’s a third element emerging that’s a lot more motivating for most people: fun. Fitness is moving outside the gym, becoming less structured and more sociable.’