We try out various ways of getting fit to start the new year the right way.
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00:00January is a wet, dreary month when all you want to do is turn over and go back to bed.
00:09But it's scientifically proven that exercise actually releases endorphins, which in turn
00:13improve your mood. So we made a New Year's resolution to send our reporters out to find
00:16some excellent ways to exercise. And here they are, starting with George at bag company
00:21gym in Leeds.
00:22A new year is often when some of us like to try something new. But if you're a regular
00:28viewer of the channel, you'll know that we like to showcase all sorts of sports and activities
00:32right throughout the year. And just now, we can discover what to expect here at Bad Company
00:37Gym, which has recently moved to Bramley.
00:41Hi, I'm Richard Smith. I'm the owner and head coach of Bad Company Gym, which is now in
00:49Bramley in our new location, Bad Company 2.0, as we're calling it.
00:53The hardest thing about Thai boxing, in fact, the hardest thing about any sport, is walking
00:58through the doors and starting. Especially if it's something new, it takes a lot of confidence
01:03to walk in somewhere where everyone seems to know what they're doing. I think all you
01:07need to realise is that everyone's been in your position, so most people are sympathetic.
01:11Muay Thai is the science of eight limbs, and it's punch, kicks, knees and elbows. For juniors,
01:17it's no head contact up to 16, and therefore adults it is. We run both amateur and professional
01:23side of it. We have plenty of people, plenty of fighters, but we also have plenty of people
01:28who just come down to train and keep fit and have a bit of community, really.
01:32I was 13 years old when I walked into the old Bad Company Gym, and I was just addicted
01:35to it. I fell in love straight away. The first time I had a professional fight, I was 14,
01:41and honestly, it was like a drug that nothing else on earth could compare to. I was addicted
01:46to it straight away, and I knew that this is what I wanted to do with my life. 25 years
01:51later, I've had an amazing career. I've won eight world titles. I've fought all over the
01:55world. I've had 120 professional fights. So, yes, I'm very, very grateful for the life
02:00that Muay Thai has given me.
02:02It's New Year, new me. Everybody thinks you can run a marathon every day and do 500 press-ups
02:06and 55,000 burpees and all the rest of it. Whereas, really, if you can just work at your
02:10own pace, work around your injuries and stuff like that, you're going to be a lot more long-standing
02:17with it than you are if you go at it hell for leather.
02:20If you go down to the gym, you can still think about stuff that's going on in your life.
02:24If you go down to a structured session and you have to focus, particularly in a martial
02:29art where you have things coming back at you, you just forget. You can just park whatever's
02:36worrying you, you can park whatever's on your mind, and you can just focus entirely on that.
02:42And that's like a really big release.
02:44Every world-class fighter has had to walk through them gym doors for the first time.
02:48When I walked into the gym when I was 13 and I looked at all the British and European champions
02:51all training and kicking the pads, it was terrifying to look at. I'm like, whoa, what's
02:55going on here? But, honestly, 75-80% of this gym are fighters. People come down for the
03:02fitness, the social, just to train hard, to meet new people, to make new friends. And
03:06it's just a really good family environment here, as well as having some really high-level
03:11elite A-class fighters as well. So we've got the best of both worlds.
03:15We've also added BJJ, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, we've added MMA classes, we've added some
03:21strength training classes, and we also have now a permanently open actual strength training gym.
03:27We have so many people who say, well, I'm going to get fit before I go to the gym. And
03:31you're like, why don't you come to the gym to get fit? You don't need to prepare to do
03:36something new. You just need to step out and do it.
03:38Well, many thanks to Richard, Lisa, Liam, and all of those here at Bad Company Gym in
03:48Bramley. And if you'd like to feature your fitness group, sports team, club, or society,
03:53we may be able to get you on TV too. Just email youryorkshire at uklocal.tv with all the details.
04:02That looks like an excellent way to get in shape. But if you don't fancy getting kicked
04:05in the head, or if the cost of a gym membership might seem prohibitive,
04:08Duncan has an alternative fitness option in Ponteelham, Northumberland.
04:12January, dark nights, cold, wet weather. New Year's, get fit and healthy resolutions,
04:17already an expensive failure in the rearview mirror. Well, I'm out with Ponteelham runners
04:21to learn why running is such a cheap and easy way to stay fit and socialise with loads of
04:25friendly people in all weathers, and all just for the cost of a pair of trainers.
04:32A lot of people think to join a running club, you have to be a really good runner,
04:35or you have to be really fit. That is absolutely not the case. I was not when I joined the running
04:39club. I joined to try and meet people in a new area that I just moved into to find new running
04:45routes. And along the way, I did get a lot fitter. And now I do kind of do quite a lot of activity.
04:51Ponteelham runners was started in 2005 by a group of friends and neighbours who all loved running
04:55and wanted to run together. They became formally constituted through England Athletics and have
04:59grown into a club that contains triathletes, park runners and a cross country team amongst
05:03other groups. I swim and cycle as well and I coach swimming on a weekly basis. It's all just
05:11about being involved with the club, to be honest. I'm past my days of competing or anything. So I'm
05:17just more into coming along for the social side of it. Running is a great way to get fit for January
05:24because I think it's one of those activities that is really accessible to everyone. You don't need
05:29to spend a lot of money. You just need a pair of trainers and you can go out and you can do it.
05:32Running is traditionally a singular sport, but actually for cross country, you're part of a team
05:37and every runner who competes counts towards the team's effort. And it's just brilliant. And as
05:42we've already said, what makes cross country great is the cake at the end.
05:49Well, I'm not the quickest here, but I'm still going. So that's something.
05:56You never know, I might make a runner out of me yet.
06:00We've really got the full spectrum of runners and triathletes in the club. So we have got people who
06:05are trying the Couch to 5K for the first time. And yeah, we've got people who are kind of
06:10qualifying for things like Ironman. So there's something for everyone. There is a combination
06:15of things. It's about fitness and for some people it's competition as well, which is,
06:20you know, allows people to set targets and such like. The biggest thing is probably just the
06:24friendship and the social side, which underpins everything else. Whilst the club started with
06:28just a few friends, it now has over 200 members, but still has a friendly and relaxed ethos that
06:32builds and strengthens friendships whilst also improving people's health and fitness.
06:36Come along, find sessions that meet your needs, whether that be a park run, a 5K on a Saturday,
06:43whether it's just a slow jog on a Friday evening with people around the trails or a day like today
06:49out in the snow doing a bit of a long run on a Sunday morning. There'll be something for everyone.
06:55A lot of people come to the club because they're running on the road and they want to get fit.
06:59And then, you know, they're not making any improvements. And then as soon as you join the
07:02club, you find out other people are doing the same thing. You know, they want to just get fit.
07:08There's lots of different abilities. You don't have to be really fast.
07:12Pontylyn Runners, why you should join them in particular is because personally, I think it's
07:17one of the friendliest clubs I've ever come across. Everyone's so nice and so interesting.
07:22There's lots of different people there. There'll be somebody who's interested in whatever it is
07:26you want to do, whether that's an ultra marathon or whether you just want to get yourself around
07:30a park run for the first time. Well, whether you're looking to do your first marathon,
07:36train for the Great North Run or just improve your general fitness, Pontylyn Runners has shown me
07:40that joining a running club or even just going to a free park run on a Saturday morning is a great
07:44way to get fit and meet new people in a safe and friendly environment. A running club looks an
07:51excellent way to stay fit whilst at the same time getting out and meeting new people and also
07:55chipping away at your fitness goals. But if the January weather is a bit too damp and cold for
07:59you to go outside, Emily might have just the thing to get your pulse racing indoors in Kirby on Merseyside.
08:05What is your New Year's resolution? According to a recent YouGov survey, 39% of those making one
08:12have a health-related goal in mind. One in six are looking to get fit or exercise more,
08:18whilst other related resolutions included to simply be healthier and to improve mental health.
08:26It's that time of year again where we are all hitting the gym, but fitness looks like different
08:32things to different people. We are here at Babe in Kirby to find out about all of their classes.
08:39The gym opened its first site in Wavertree in 2024 and has now opened a new space in Kirby.
08:45So across both sites we've got reformer pilates, we've got hot pilates, yoga, we've got bar classes,
08:54we've got boxing, all types of gym classes, kettlebells, strength classes, high rocks,
08:59all that type of stuff. Then we've got spin, we've got pole fitness, we do aerial hoop classes,
09:05we now do silks. So if anyone wants to be a performing artist doing silks from the sky,
09:10they can learn how to do that with us. The NHS recommends that adults should do some type of
09:14physical activity every day. Exercise just once or twice a week can reduce the risk of heart disease
09:20or stroke. It's just so good for the mind, it's waking up in the morning and getting a bit of
09:26happiness by working out and doing something that's for you, get you healthier, makes you
09:32build healthy habits, makes you stick to it a bit longer. Exercise helps to release dopamine,
09:38also known as the happy hormone, not only helping us physically but improving on mental health too.
09:44You know, 15 years ago in the city, the women's area of the gym in the ones that we used to go to
09:50was absolutely tiny. It was like a school mat where kids used to read books, like it was tiny.
09:55And now we've got huge, huge facilities all over the city dedicated to women and dedicated as a
10:02safe space for people. I think it's amazing. Low energy levels and lack of motivation affect us all
10:08at some points. The reason we wanted to offer so many different types of things is because
10:14personally, I just don't like to run. I hate to run. Sian loves to run. Loves to run. And it's okay,
10:20like we offer different things because there might be, you might come and try loads of different
10:24things and go, you know, I hated that but I loved that and I'd maybe try that one again. And that's
10:29why we wanted to offer it where fitness can be a million one different things. It doesn't just
10:34have to be running a marathon or picking up really heavy weights all the time. Sian is putting me
10:40through my paces with a solo spin class. For those not familiar, this is a high intensity,
10:46relatively low impact workout, which is designed to test your limits. This kind of class is made
10:52to build endurance and strength through various interval routines on a specially designed bike.
10:58I'll tell you what, it's been a good while since I've done a spin class actually. Honestly, I've
11:03got a bit of a fear of them after I fell off a spin bike and badly sprained my ankle many years
11:09ago. But as they say, you've got to get right back on there. And I had an absolutely fabulous time
11:16doing that spin class. Thank you so much to Sian for encouraging me. I'm absolutely shattered now,
11:22but I feel great. Britons who regularly exercise are happier, less stressed, and more energetic
11:30according to data from YouGov. The more days a week someone does 30 minutes or more of physical
11:37exercise, the more likely they are to say they're happy, less likely to be stressed,
11:42and more likely to feel energetic. Emily certainly found a gym with a lot of interesting exercises
11:47there. And that spin class looked like a lot of fun. So that's three different people experiencing
11:52three very different forms of exercise, proving that getting fit really can be something for
11:56everyone.