Edenbridge Leisure Centre has taken delivery of 12 machines that provide an alternative, low impact way to exercise for those with health conditions or mobility concerns that limit their basic routine or quality of life.

The ‘power assisted’ equipment is suitable for people who feel uncomfortable within a traditional gym environment and, although suitable for all ages, the aim is to support active ageing in older adults and those living with a wide range of long-term health conditions.

Unlike many exercise regimes that can strain the body, the toning tables are biomechanically matched to it and offer an all-round exercise regime that is effective but also, and importantly, kinder to joints.

“The crucial thing is that this isn’t a gym; you don’t even have to change clothing,” says Sencio Community Leisure chief executive Jane Parish. “This isn’t about ‘fitness’ as many of us traditionally view it, it’s about a variety of low impact exercises ideal for people with joint problems, osteoporosis, poor posture, mobility concerns and other health conditions.

“The machines are power assisted, so users do some of the work while the machines do their part. It’s a relaxed environment designed for use by anyone, although they will appeal to people who feel the gym isn’t for them but who want to improve their overall health, may be self-conscious about exercising in a traditional setting or who have a range of health issues.”

Developed in consultation with doctors and physiologists - and used by physiotherapists and rehabilitation facilities around the world – the machines offer exercises devised for those suffering from spinal and brain injuries, Multiple Sclerosis, strokes, and cardiac illness patients as well as people whose lives are affected by diabetes, fibromyalgia, arthritis and other conditions.

The Feel Good suite can be used at Edenbridge Leisure Centre for £31 per month. The cost includes unlimited sessions and the services of on-site, trained instructors who will explain the operation and benefits of each machine and advise on a routine appropriate to the individual. Free use of Edenbridge’s swimming pool is also included in membership.

Start with a no-obligation FREE 7 day trial!

For further details, go to:

https://www.sencio.org.uk/edenbridge/feel-good/

“Believe it or not, people do sometimes think we personal trainers are miracle workers. And, yes, it’s not unknown for someone to ask us for a six-pack or a bikini body three weeks before hitting the beach!” And, as James Arnold, Wellness Manager at Sencio Community Leisure, adds “all that leads to is disappointment”.

“First-off, diets and quick fixes don’t work, and many can be expensive and not necessarily effective so let’s put those aside. What does work is consistency, and with that, 12 weeks is enough to see and feel a difference,” says James.

“People want to get fit for various reasons. It might be because of a health concern, or it can be a desire to look and feel better on the beach or to fit into a new outfit for a special occasion. The secret is planning and sticking at it. And, with that, you set-up a habit for the long-term rather than a fad for the short.

“Please ask our team for help as that’s what we love doing. We place the highest emphasis on our gyms being safe, supportive and motivating environments. And, as always, if you have any health concerns, you should always consult your GP before starting any exercise regime,” adds James, who we asked for his top tips.

Start a food diary

You don’t have to be obsessive, but it can really help. If weight loss is your goal, then the simple mantra is “calories in, calories out” – you must expend more than you consume. You don’t have to deprive yourself, but becoming aware of what you eat, when and in what quantities can be really empowering. Fitness trackers and apps such as My Fitness Pal can be extremely helpful.

Take photos!

Scales aren’t always an accurate indicator of weight, which can be impacted by more than what you ate last night and by factors such as how hydrated you are. Record your weight every two weeks. And remember muscle weighs more than fat so, you might not be getting lighter, but you may well be getting leaner. And don’t get fixated on the scales. Often, we instinctively know ourselves if we’re carrying some extra weight through our clothes and how we feel generally.

The first four weeks

Don’t overdo it. Go for a mixed programme of weights (no, we don’t mean body building, unless that’s your thing). Quality and consistency should be your goals. Start by lifting weights and get a trainer to write you a whole-body workout to do twice a week. Then, on the days in between, focus on cardio. Whilst your muscles recover, cardio can be great to help any muscle soreness and keep your metabolic rate high. One of our team will be happy to help you with a whole-body workout you can do twice a week.

Weeks four to eight

This is the time to up the intensity by increasing weights, adding in an extra gym session and, again, one of the team advise which exercises to do when. You should work on increasing the weight each set (called “progressive overload”) and, as you get stronger, keep adding as you go through your sets. Your muscles will respond to this and start to develop faster. Aim, if you can, for three weight sessions a week – a good split is to do “push” exercises one session and “pull” exercises the next as that ensures all body parts are exercised in a balanced way. You should also increase cardio to HIIT (high intensity interval training) – something like a Spin class is perfect.

Final stretch

In the final four weeks, just keep up the great work and – if you’ve followed these tips – you should start to see and feel a real change, physically and mentally. It’ll also give you a great platform from which to progress. Remember, this is the start of a lifestyle change, not a quick fix.

What next?

After the 12 weeks, your body will have changed and you will be stronger, fitter and feeling much more confident around weights and the gym generally. You’ve done brilliantly. But as we say, this is just the beginning! Keep going!

And finally, why weights?

Many people, including some women, can feel intimidated by working-out with weights so, first off, you will not end up with muscles! It can even be difficult for young males to put on size so the chances of your average lady doing so are, frankly, non-existent. So, why weights? Well, here are some of the benefits. They won’t all apply to everyone, but they give you a general idea:

• You’ll be physically stronger, generally making you more able to undertake life’s daily tasks and - in later years - a stronger body can help reduce the risk of falls.
• You’ll look and feel better.
• Your metabolism will increase and that aids weight loss.
• Your self-confidence may well increase.
• You may sleep better.
• There is some evidence training with weights can improve heart health.
• And, like most forms of exercise, it can be as good for us mentally as well as physically. Those “happy hormones” from being active really are a thing!

Get a free personalised fitness programme with regular reviews and support from our Wellness team with an All-in-One membership. Sign up in centre or contact [email protected]

Dear Sevenoaks Customers,

I would like to start this update to apologise for the disruption of services you have all been experiencing at Sevenoaks Leisure Centre. I think it’s beneficial for us to share with you what has been happening behind the scenes so you can understand that we are all working extremely hard to keep the centre operational but at times we have no option but to reduce services or remove sessions in order to comply with Health & Safety.

You may have read in the news that the leisure industry has been hit extremely hard by covid and as a result, we have lost staff and recruitment has not been easy as courses have not run during lockdown so there is a shortage of life guards within the industry. We have multiple vacancies across the organisation, this impacts on the services we are able to offer. We have been utilising staff from White Oak Leisure Centre to aid us so we can provide a service to you. We have had to increase the pay for these staff members as this is not their normal place of work. Myself and other staff are picking up additional shifts in order to support each other and provide a service to our members but I have to make sure we have sufficient staff levels to comply with our Operational Health & Safety requirements.

As the centre manager I have put out job vacancies for life guards and have been working with external organisations (Loan a Life Guard) to get staff, unfortunately, both of these avenues have not been successful but I will continue to work towards a long term solution to this problem.

I review the rotas daily and move staff so we can provide the best offering possible but at times we have had staff inform us that they are unable to attend the workplace, this is due to sickness or if they have been informed to isolate. We understand that this can be very frustrating to all parties concerned but we need to think of our staff & customers safety and wellbeing. I would ask for your patience and understanding when speaking with staff as this may not be their site or working additional shifts to support the centre.

I have managed to sort staff to allow us to open as follows for the remainder of the week:

Thursday 9^th December 2021

Main pool will open as per timetable
The teaching pool will be open from 09:30-10:30 only

Friday 10^th December 2021:

The main pool will open in session throughout the day
06:30-07:30 Fitness Swimming
07:45-08:45 Fitness Swimming
09:00-10:00 Fitness Swimming
10:15-11:30 Fitness Swimming
11:30-12:15 Aqua
13:30-14:30 Primetime Swim
16:00 - 18:00 Lessons
21:00-22:00pm Fitness Swim

The teaching pool will be closed all day to public, swimming lessons will run from 4-6pm.

Saturday 11^th December 2021:

The main pool will open in session throughout the day
07:30-08:45 ½ Pool Fitness Swim
09:30 -11:30 ½ Pool Fitness Swim
12:00-13:00 Public whole pool
13:30-16:00pm ½ Pool Fitness Swim and ½ Pool Public Swim

Teaching pool open 11am-2pm

Sunday 12^th December 2021

The main pool will open in session throughout the day
07:30-08:15 Fitness Swim
10:45-11:45 Fitness Swim
12:00-13:00 Public Swim
13:15-15:15 ½ Pool Lane Swim & ½ Pool Public

The teaching pool will open in sessions:
8:30-11:30
12:00-14:00

Monday 13^th December 2021 the Pool will be closed for essential maintenance works. The pre works have already started and we are on track as per the schedule and will update you all as the works progress. We will be open on the 2^nd January and will confirm the pool programme nearer the time. The new term time pool programme will start from Monday 3^rd January 2022. This will all be shared via social media, and please do visit sencio.org.uk/sevenoaks/swim for updates and the latest pool programmes.

Karren Halil
Centre Manager
Sevenoaks Leisure Centre

Hello,

Firstly, I hope this finds you and yours safe and well and looking forward to a relaxing and enjoyable festive season.

As many of you will be aware we have, for some time, been experiencing problems with the air handling system in the swimming pools at Sevenoaks Leisure Centre. This has made it difficult to control comfort levels, something that becomes even more of a challenge as the weather gets colder.

We’ve been in talks with Sevenoaks District Council who, as you know own the building, for some time and I am pleased they have now agreed to address the problem as part of their asset maintenance responsibilities. They have secured a contractor and will replace the old system.

Whilst we appreciate there is no good time to close parts of any leisure centre, we’ve looked closely at how a major piece of work such as this can be carried out with the least disruption to our customers.

Christmas is our quietest time of the year, as it is for the entire leisure and fitness industry, so the pools will be closed between December 13 and January 1 inclusive. Swimming lessons will also have to cease one week earlier than scheduled.

To have delayed would have meant greater disruption as we enter the busy New Year period – and may have put additional strain on an old system that’s become increasingly unfit for purpose, especially with the plummeting temperatures of the past week.

We also wanted to choose a time when customers could - should they choose and assuming it’s convenient- swim at one of our other facilities. And, with White Oak Leisure Centre closing on January 9 (and the new centre not opening until February 12), we didn’t want to leave the wider community with only one available pool (at Edenbridge).

These essential works will enable us to control humidity and keeping air temperature at correct levels to help reduce condensation. This will vastly improve the overall swimming experience for customers of all ages, especially for babies and small toddlers in the teaching pool who’ve had to contend with conditions being colder than is ideal.

As I said, your membership will allow you to swim at White Oak and Edenbridge leisure centres during this short period of closure. You can find timetables on our website at the links below.

I hope you will appreciate we’ve made the decision around timing to cause the least disruption and to get these essential works completed as swiftly as possible.

Thank you – and best wishes.

Jane Parish
Chief Executive
Sencio Community Leisure

Edenbridge Pool Programme

Sevenoaks Pool Programme

White Oak Pool Programme

Sevenoaks Leisure Centre has passed a tough assessment by Sport England’s leading national quality scheme, Quest, demonstrating it has robust Covid-19 control measures in place for both customers and staff.

Quest is the best-known improvement programme within the leisure industry and its rigorous assessments challenge even the very best leisure centres in the UK. The new assessment, Quest Prime, has been set up in response to the current climate, helping leisure centres to prove they have sufficient processes and procedures in place to minimise the risk of transmission of Covid-19 within their buildings.

In order to achieve Quest Prime, Sevenoaks Leisure Centre underwent an assessment by an external assessor across core areas of pandemic management, as well as a mystery visit.

Ranking highly in several areas including community engagement, cleanliness, hygiene, and the “customer journey”, Quest assessors ranked the facility as “very good” overall and “excellent” in team management.

“Achieving this qualification is welcome recognition of our staff’s hard work and dedication through a difficult time” said Karren Halil, Centre Manager. “Our customers can have assurance of our ability to provide fun, inclusive and effective leisure facilities.”

Quest’s Operations Director, Caroline Constantine, said: “By meeting Quest Prime’s high standards, Sevenoaks Leisure Centre has shown its commitment to reduce the risk of virus transmission through robust control measures, giving both the staff and customers confidence. Like all Quest assessments, the standards for Quest Prime are demanding and challenging for the management team and staff, and it is an achievement to succeed in Quest at any level. In these unprecedented times it is more important than ever that local leisure facilities can demonstrate their safety procedures and the value they bring to the local community, and Quest helps them do just that.”

Sencio Community Leisure chief executive, Jane Parish, said: “After the seismic events and challenges for the entire leisure sector over the past 18 months, I am thrilled for our staff that their hard work in such difficult circumstances has been recognised and rated so highly by an industry leading accreditation scheme.

“Of course, we don’t always get things right, but this is an independent assessment of just how well we have done during an incredibly difficult period.”

Editor’s notes:

1. Sevenoaks Leisure Centre is one of three leisure centers managed by Sevenoaks Leisure Limited (operating as Sencio Community Leisure). Sencio Community Leisure is a non-profit organization serving local communities across Kent. We are dedicated to providing fun and inclusive sports facilities to our local communities and our core values are that we are PASSIONATE, PROFESSIONAL and COMMITTED.
2. Quest is the UK Quality Scheme for Sport and Leisure. Managed on behalf of Sport England by Right Directions, it is a tool for continuous improvement, designed primarily for the management of leisure facilities and leisure development. Quest defines industry standards and good practice, and encourages their ongoing development and delivery within a customer-focused management framework. questnbs.org

July 9, 2021

Hello

We know many of you will have seen press reports of Sevenoaks District Council’s decision to no longer consider any further financial support for Sencio Community Leisure.

This comes at a time when the entire UK fitness and leisure industry is facing huge challenges.

Some 400 facilities in the country have permanently closed and as many as half could face closure in the next six to 12 months. And we would also like to let you know that one of our neighbouring local authorities has supported its leisure operator to the tune of £1.2 million (more than twice the amount we have received).

However, as the saying goes, “we are where we are and not where we want to be” – and the purpose of this newsletter is to let you know that as far as the Sencio team is concerned it is business as usual. Your favourite class, gym session, round of golf or swim are unaffected by any of what you may read in the press or hear within the local community.

There are though some points I’d like to mention.

Firstly, a huge “thank you” to all our customers for their patience and understanding over the past 17 months.

We know it’s not been easy, and we also know we won’t always have got it completely right, but I am absolutely chuffed by the many comments and letters we’ve had from people telling us about the hugely important role their leisure and fitness routine is to both their physical and mental wellbeing. Something, following the past year or so, with which I’m sure many of us will identify.

Secondly, I want to thank our staff. None of this has been easy – for any of us – but it’s especially challenging in an industry such as ours that has been so devastated by events. Our aim has always been to offer whichever services we can in line with the current legislation whilst, at the same time, offering as safe and inclusive an experience as possible.

With regards to the redevelopment of the White Oak Leisure Centre site, we are currently working with Sevenoaks District Council and the operator of the new facility, Everyone Active. We (and they) will keep you updated as the work progresses and looks to completion in January 2022.

Finally, we have lots planned for the coming months, both in enhancing existing services and reintroducing certain activities that we had to halt due to the pandemic.

If you don’t already, please do sign-up to our mailing list to receive all the latest information, offers and news.

Thank you again for your understanding – and enjoy the rest of your summer.

Jane Parish

Chief Executive

How much will exercise affect your weight?

By Bryce Hastings for Fit Planet

If you’re starting a new exercise regime with visions of dramatically dropping dress sizes, we don’t want you to be disappointed. So here’s the truth: adding exercise to your life won’t lead to a sudden shedding of pounds – but that doesn’t mean exercise won’t help you achieve your weight loss goals. You simply need to have realistic expectations, while celebrating the many and varied ways that exercise will change your body and your life.

Let’s do an experiment. Let’s take 131 sedentary, overweight university students and split them into two groups. Both groups keep their diets the same. Group One maintains their sedentary lifestyle. Group Two add exercise to their weekly routine for 16 months. This consists of mainly walking and jogging, with the option of doing some cycling and elliptical training. They start with 20-minute sessions, five days a week, gradually building the duration of each session over six months until they complete 45-minute sessions. They also progressively increase intensity from 60 percent of their maximum heart rate at the start, to 75 percent at the six-month mark. This added exercise results in Group Two burning upwards of 400 calories per session, that’s 2000 extra calories across a week for a total of 69 weeks.

You heard that right: 2000 extra calories expended each week for 69 weeks. We won’t even recognize them by the end of the study!

Well, not so fast. Although we may anticipate that burning more calories through exercise will result in significant weight loss for sedentary overweight individuals, unfortunately that’s not the case.

I’m sure you’ve guessed by now that this study has actually been done. During this Midwest Exercise Trial (named after the participants who were from Midwest Universities) 74 out of the 131 study participants made it to the end: 33 in the Group One control group and 41 in the Group Two exercise group. Those who remained in the exercise group did a great job of adhering to their new routine – they attended 90 percent of the prescribed sessions. Calorie expenditure was monitored closely in each session, with the guys burning around 670 calories and the girls around 440 (the guys were heavier, which meant they had to work a bit harder on the treadmill). Both males and females improved their aerobic fitness (a 20 percent increase for guys and 16 percent for girls).

At the end of the study they had lost some body fat – an average of 2.9kg for the males and 4.4kg in the female group (6.4 and 10 pounds). But weight loss was a different story. The guys lost a paltry average of 5.2 kilograms (11.4 pounds) and the girls lost no weight. None. Zero!

I know the question you’re screaming to be answered: “If they burnt upwards of 2000 extra calories per week for 16 months without changing their diet, what did it do if it didn’t reduce their body mass?”

The answer to that million-dollar question all comes down to something called ‘constrained daily energy’. This theory, described by Herman Pontzer, in his fabulous book Burn, illustrates that as we evolved in our hunter gatherer past, we became experts at controlling how much energy we spend on a daily basis – meaning we do everything we can to keep it constant.

Being a hunter gatherer, as you can imagine, demands a very active lifestyle. For example, in the Hadza tribe in Tanzania, men will typically walk around 8.5 miles a day in search of game, while women will walk around 5 miles. In order to survive that lifestyle, the body must be able to control energy output so that we don’t overspend in our search for calories from food. Unfortunately for us, this can work against us during exercise.

To illustrate how entrenched this constrained energy effect is, Lara Dugas and colleagues compared daily energy expenditure of people who have sedentary occupations in industrialized countries with more active people who live in developing countries. Once the measures were controlled for body weight (the heavier you are the more energy you burn), the study found the average office worker in New York burned the same amount as an active individual in Nigeria or a hunter gatherer in Tanzania. We conserve energy as if our life depends on it, because for a long time it did.

This remarkable ability to control our energy output is what helps our body function consistently, but it is also what can make exercise frustratingly ineffective when it comes to shedding weight.

Quite simply, the most effective approach for weight loss is to balance energy usage with diet. Reducing the amount of calories we ingest and improving the quality of food we eat has far greater effect on our body mass than exercise alone.

Please hear me on this – exercise is REALLY good for you! I exercise six days a week and will continue to do so because it provides so many physical, mental and emotional benefits. And, although exercise doesn’t significantly alter the amount of energy you burn each day, it drastically changes the way you spend your calories.

When energy is scarce – like when we burn extra during exercise – non-essential metabolic processes reduce. The first of these is inflammation. Acute bursts of inflammation are an essential part of our repair and immunity response. However, prolonged chronic inflammatory responses contribute to allergies, arthritis, arterial diseases and other metabolic disorders. Exercise means we have less energy to spend on overzealous, harmful inflammatory processes and that is a huge win.

Secondly, spending energy on exercise dampens overactive stress responses. Again – a short burst of stress hormones during a crisis is good, but prolonged over production is harmful. Some reproductive hormonal activity can also be suppressed. That might not sound like a good idea – but too much activity in these areas is thought to contribute to reproductive cancers such as prostate and breast cancer.

Thirdly, numerous investigations have demonstrated that being sedentary causes us significant harm. The amount of time we spend sitting each day is a strong predictor of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and a range of other serious health problems. Although exercise alone may not result in significant weight loss, it definitely reduces the impact of our sedentary lifestyles.

And finally, people who lose weight through dieting are far more likely to keep it off if they exercise. One study on obese policemen assigned participants to dietary restrictions alone or diet plus exercise for two months. At the end of the study there was no difference in the amount of weight lost across the groups (as we should now expect). But once the intervention was over, only those who exercised maintained their weight loss.

We know weight loss is one of the main reasons people take action to improve their fitness. It’s understandable, for many years we’ve been led to believe that simply adding exercise is the secret to shedding those unwanted pounds. But the evidence doesn’t really support this.

There’s no doubt that a desire to lose weight can be a great initial motivator, but if success is measured by what’s happening on the scale it is easy for motivation to quickly wane. This is backed up by new findings* showing that when weight loss is the primary motivator we are less likely to stick with exercise but when enjoyment is the key motivator we exercise more often and for a longer term. With this in mind, it’s important that we seek exercise options that we enjoy, and have realistic expectations and celebrate the real benefits and changes to our bodies and lives due to exercise. These remarkable benefits can be much more life-changing than shedding a few pounds.

IN A NUTSHELL:

• The most effective way to lose weight is to balance energy usage with diet
  Exercise helps us maintain long-term weight loss
  If you start exercising to lose weight you will soon discover many other benefits
  Exercise can reduce harmful inflammatory responses (like allergies, arthritis, arterial diseases)
  Exercise dampens overactive stress responses, and lessens the risk of prostate and breast cancer
  Exercise reduces sedentary living and its associated serious health issues (heart disease, diabetes, cancer)
  Exercise alleviates stress and helps us become mentally stronger and more resilient
  And of course, exercise makes us fit, strong, agile and able.

*Motivational drivers of exercise: an analysis of the 2018 Global Consumer Survey (Hastings, Gottschall and Lee)

_______________

This piece originally appeared at https://www.lesmills.com/fit-planet/fitness/exercise-and-weight-loss

Get active with our All-in-One membership

Swim England release new fact sheet on swimming as part of Covid-19 recovery

Are you looking for ways to rebuild and recover following Covid-19?

Swim England have released a new health fact sheet which focuses on the benefits of swimming as part of Covid-19 recovery.

Our three swimming pools across Kent are open and we have been running pre-booked sessions of Lane Swimming, which is a perfect activity for increasing fitness in a safe environment, plus Family Swimming to keep children and adults active and enjoying leisure time.

While these sessions have been popular, we understand that some people may still be unsure about returning to swimming pools and rejoining activities. Swim England’s fact sheet has been developed to help “break down of the barriers” users have regarding swimming currently.

“Swimming pools are safe and secure environments and they can play a key role in helping the nation recover from this pandemic.

“There is clear evidence that swimming and being active in the water has a positive impact on a range of physical and mental health conditions and is an activity that can help improve the overall health of people of all ages.

“Many people have struggled with their health and wellbeing throughout the coronavirus outbreak.

“This important fact sheet offers a range of top tips on how swimming can help after a Covid-19 infection and important advice to break down barriers and increase people’s confidence as they return to the water.” - Swim England chief executive, Jane Nickerson

“Swimming and other forms of water-based exercise offer numerous advantages compared to land-based exercise due to the weight-bearing benefits of buoyancy and the friction of water offering greater resistance and calorific expenditure compared to similar movements performed on land.

“The pressure of being submerged in water has also been demonstrated to reduce swelling, improve circulation and modulate paid responses.

“The unique properties of water make swimming perfect for people of all ages to exercise, those with injuries, impairments, long-term health conditions and particularly those who struggle to exercise on land.

“However, a range of misconceptions still exist and some may have the view that because they have a particular health condition, swimming is not for them.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted on the health and wellbeing of many with existing health conditions and added to this are a whole range of new issues for those who have experienced, and might still be recovering from, Covid-19.

“This fact sheet will hopefully help those who are considering swimming again, or for the first time, to navigate some of the barriers and benefit from the ‘hug’ that only water can provide.” - Swim England water wellbeing specialist, Andrew Power

The new fact sheet is available on Swim England’s Just Swim hub. For further information on this or other fact sheets in the series, contact [email protected].

Swimming with Sencio Community Leisure

Swim Rules

Covid-19 Updates

Edenbridge Swimming Pool & Programme

Sevenoaks Swimming Pool & Programme

White Oak Swimming Pool & Programme

BOOK A SWIM ONLINE

Some simple tips for looking after your body while in lockdown:

2. Drink plenty of water

If you would like further help, you can contact us on social media for advice. We’re here to help you as much as we can.

Home Fitness Hub - workouts, classes and more: https://www.sencio.org.uk/homefitness/

We have published a collection of workouts and pre-filmed online classes for you to enjoy any time from home on our online fitness hub.

Completely FREE for everyone, this web resource provides all you need to get going again with your fitness.

As of the time of publishing this blog, we do not yet know when gyms and leisure centres can re-open. Until then, we will continue to post:

• Home workout programmes
• Bodyweight classes
• Weights classes
• Health advice

So that you can keep moving and maintain good habits ahead of returning to your usual activities.

You don’t need to be a member to use these resources or sign up with any of your details. We want to help as many people as possible during lockdown so we are keeping the page public for everyone.

Home Fitness Hub: www.sencio.org.uk/homefitness

Tag @Sencio_Community_Leisure on Instagram and use our hashtag #senciohomefitness to share your progress and feedback!

We are pleased to announce that Edenbridge, Sevenoaks and White Oak leisure centres are due to re-open on Saturday 2 January 2021.

You can read more details here but first, we would like to extend our gratitude for the enormously supportive response following our last email sent 30 November. Thank you to everyone who responded; your comments have been forwarded to our staff who have been extraordinary in the most difficult year of Sencio’s history. Your well-wishes are appreciated.

Many of our users have emphasised their desire to return to centres as soon as possible, regardless of exercise classes being unavailable under the new limitations. While exercise classes will not be returning until restrictions change, we are opening our gym and swimming pools for pre-booked sessions.

Customers who do not wish to use their membership from January can freeze at a charge of £5 per month. For more information on direct debit membership options, please see our diagram here.

Members who will be returning in January need take no action to resume membership. All memberships except Take Heart* will be resuming unless you request otherwise.

Non-members are also welcome to join activities by telephoning your centre to book up to five days in advance, and if you would like to become a member you can do so from our first day of opening.

To freeze your membership from January, please contact [email protected].

Best wishes,
The team at Sencio Community Leisure

*Take Heart memberships will remain suspended with no charge until the Take Heart programme can resume.

See our COVID-19 update page for more information and the latest updates: www.sencio.org.uk/re-opening

November 30, 2020

Hello

As we approach the end of what has been a year the likes of which few of us have experienced, I hope that - above all else - this finds you and yours safe and healthy.

Like everyone, we’ve had numerous challenges to negotiate these past months and I’m afraid I have yet another to address. And I have agonised long and hard before writing to you.

With Kent being placed in Tier 3 from this Wednesday, there is a significant impact on what we can, as leisure providers, offer to members and customers. Crucially, the restrictions mean we cannot run any group exercise classes or organised adult sport unless it is from a single household or bubble.

The government has pledged to review this on December 16 but, for the time being, this has presented us with an incredibly difficult dilemma.

The current situation is further complicated by the fact many of our customers have all-inclusive memberships across classes, the gym, swimming and dry sports such as badminton. This makes dividing up those activities permitted within the guidelines to deliver a situation fair to everyone a logistical challenge we’ve found hard to reconcile.

We have been operating – when permitted to do so - at just 30% of our usual turnover – while during periods of “lockdown” it costs around £50,000 a month to keep one dormant centre running behind-the-scenes.

Regrettably, we have therefore decided not to reopen our leisure centres on Wednesday. We will, however, be monitoring the situation on a regular basis and in line with the latest government guidelines as and when they’re adapted.

This decision has been reached only after very extreme consideration as to the service we’d be able to offer you in this short term – and the costs of keeping buildings open at a time when usage is restricted by the law and impacted (as it always is anyway) by the festive season.

I fully appreciate this will be disappointing but, rest assured, it’s not a course of action we’ve taken lightly and that we will be doing everything possible to reopen our centres at the first opportunity. Assuming it happens, I will write to you again following any new government guidance issued on December 16.

With regards to your membership fees, I can advise you as follows:

As advised previously we will credit the November monthly direct debit payments taken. These will now be credited in January.

Annual memberships will be extended in line with the total closure period for November and December.

Everyone at Sencio Community Leisure is all-too-aware that exercise and fitness is, for so many people, an essential element of their physical as well as their mental wellbeing - and I am sorry to have had to write this letter.

Best wishes

Jane Parish
Chief Executive

P.S. For any golfers, Lullingstone Park Golf Centre will reopen on Wednesday (December 2). Some tee-times are already full, however, so do get yours booked in early

“Why wouldn’t you want to give your body all the help it needs – especially right now?”

The UK is in our second lockdown, meaning that leisure centres and golf courses are once more closed. In October, we spoke with Sencio member Nick about how they have been keeping fit both in and out of the centres and reflected on the importance of fitness during this time.

Nick has enjoyed decades of exercise activity, from school, onto pursuits such as football, squash, running and circuit training and then adapting to gym workouts, tennis and country walks as life moved on.

“Like everyone I’ve had to adapt this year. I introduced home workouts based on bodyweight exercises and the use of resistance bands (an invaluable, inexpensive bit of fitness kit) and, of course, we are lucky to live in a part of the country offering beautiful walking,” says the retired father of two. He does concede thought this year has been a challenge, even for someone with exercise in his DNA.

“It’s been pretty tough. Tennis is ‘my thing’ but, of course, it’s a very social, interactive sport and my home workouts haven’t kept me in as good a shape as I would have like – maybe it was the biscuit cupboard?”

He does, though, remain a great advocate for the numerous benefits of exercise, physically, socially and mentally.

“Whatever your fitness capabilities, making time to look after yourself is critical to long-term health. Using facilities such as those provided by Sencio Community Leisure provides you with so many choices of exercise - there really is something for everyone.

“And, on a more serious note, we know exercise, being active, controlling your weight and eating a balanced diet gives us all a better chance of fighting off illnesses. Why wouldn’t you want to give your body all the help it needs – especially right now?”

On 31 October 2020, the UK government announced that all leisure centres and golf courses must close as part of new national restrictions against coronavirus.

Swim England responded with an open letter highlighting that “As well as being a safe activity, swimming is vital for many people’s physical and mental wellbeing (1.4 million adults in Britain felt that swimming had significantly reduced their symptoms of anxiety or depression). This will be more important than ever as people try and cope with a second lockdown – at a time of year when it will be more difficult than before to be active outside.”

Swim England also explain how swimming pools are safe venues. “Figures from UK Active from over 1,900 facilities and five million visits in the week of 5-11 October, found just 156 customers reported attending a facility before being confirmed positive with COVID-19. This indicates an incidence rate of 2.88 cases per 100,000 visits whereas the UK case rate in the general population, as reported by the Government for 5- 11 October was 150.83 cases per 100,000 people.”

We are encouraging our community to support the following petitions to support the leisure industry:

Save Community Sports Clubs and Leisure Facilities with a Sports Recovery Fund https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/553619

Prevent gyms closing due to a spike in Covid 19 cases https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/333869