Health & Fitness

Saturday 13th April will see two Northampton based Fitness Businesses run a free fitness day at Hardingstone Village Hall, as part of their aim to tackle the growing ‘stress related’ health problems faced by a growing number of people. The fitness day, which will be run by ‘Prana Yoga’ and ‘Zumba with Chantal’, are offering free stress-busting taster sessions, for those that may have always wanted to try these types of exercise, but never quite got round to it. Stress awareness month - which runs every April, has a new theme for 2024 which is #LittlebyLittle (a little becomes a lot) highlighting ‘the transformative impact of consistent, small positive actions on overall well-being’ – Stress Management Society. Chantal-Lawren, owner of Zumba with Chantal said of the day: "We know that there are increasing numbers of people suffering every day with stress and we want to help by offering people the..

Looking to kickstart your fitness in 2024? Lots of us look to start a new routine in January which includes eating healthier and getting fitter. Whether you're looking for a new gym, a fitness class, or a fun dance class, these places have all got you covered. Here are some gyms and classes in Northamptonshire that you can join this January... Gyms Trilogy Gym Trilogy Gym is made up of five gyms around Northampton - Duston, Danes Camp, Cripps, Lings Forum and The Mounts. Their membership allows you to attend all five gyms which includes classes, pools, health suites, gym equipment, and lots more. They have a huge range of classes and all of their gyms have equipment that will suit everyone. Find out more here. ETC (Empowerment Training Centre) ETC is a gym based on Freehold Street in Northampton. All members start on a 90 day program which allows..

Manisha Morgan is a nutritionist and PT based in Northampton. In 2019 she started an Instagram account help raise awareness for menopause and the importance of changing what we eat and how we exercise. She works with women to improve their health and well-being through menopause, and has recently been in the spotlight for winning the health and fitness inspiration category at the SHE awards. We caught up with Manisha to talk about how she helps women, how we can look after ourselves better, and what to expect with the menopause. Hi Manisha! Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do... Hi, I'm 52 years old and I'm married with twin girls aged 11 going on 22!! I am of Indian heritage, my husband is British and as a family we love to travel. I love food - especially cream cakes! I'm an early bird, I prefer to..

Lakeside Healthcare, which runs three doctors’ surgeries in Northamptonshire, is encouraging patients in the county to switch to dry powder inhalers to help save the planet this World Asthma Day. Switching patients with asthma from a pressurised metered-dose inhaler (pMDI) to a dry powder inhaler (DPI) will reduce the carbon footprint of treatment without worsening symptoms, according to research by the University of Manchester. According to figures from Asthma UK and British Lung Foundation, collectively known as Asthma + Lung UK, there are an estimated 5.4 million people with asthma in the UK. Although some of these may grow out of the condition, around half will use an inhaler regularly. In the UK, roughly 70% of all inhalers prescribed are metered dose inhalers (pMDIs) and most of these are Salbutamol. pMDIs contain very potent greenhouse gases called hydrofluorocarbons, which are more harmful to the planet than carbon dioxide. Overall, around..

For the last four years, Sue Adkins and her husband Phil have hosted a summer Afternoon Tea Weekend to raise money for good causes. This year, the couple raised a fantastic £3,240 for Northamptonshire Health Charity in aid of The Heart Centre at Northampton General Hospital. 170 delicious afternoon teas were booked for the event over the first weekend of June. As the collection/delivery options proved so popular when things couldn’t go as planned due to the pandemic last year, Sue decided to offer them again for 2021 and people snapped them up very quickly. It’s no wonder with all of the gorgeous home-made tasty treats being offered. So much hard work goes into this event, with all the preparation, the event itself and the clear up afterwards. All this while recovering from a knee replacement operation Sue had 3 months prior made it quite the challenge. It’s not just..

An outdoor family health and wellness event to raise money for a cancer charity is being held in Northampton next month. Soo Yoga’s Kristina Rihanoff, and local pilates expert, Suneil Khakhar, will host a ‘Family Wellbeing Fair’ where people will get to experience different styles of yoga, meditation, sound baths and outdoor fitness classes. The event is set to take place on Sunday 18th July at the tennis courts in Becketts Park, Northampton, and will also include presentations from specialist speakers about all aspects of physical and mental wellbeing. £2 from each ticket sale will be donated to The Lewis Foundation – a local charity which provides free gifts and support packs to adult cancer patients. “We’re very excited to be collaborating with Suneil, as we share the same passion to help people take better care of their minds and bodies during these challenging times. Especially as the pandemic has..

With National Children’s Day approaching (Sunday 16th May), a Milton Keynes children’s charity is urging people to walk, run, cycle, swim or roll 5km to raise funds to support vulnerable children in our region.  St. Francis’ Children’s Society (SFCS) are taking part in the 5k May Challenge, which is a national campaign led by charity donation platform Just Giving and Run For Heroes, a charity which raised over £7 million for NHS Charities during the first national lockdown in 2020.  The 5k May Challenge aims to make fundraising events more inclusive and accessible. Everyone can get involved, regardless of age or physical ability, and experience that great sense of achievement that comes from completing a challenge AND raising funds for a good cause.  Anju Chadha-McLean, Fundraiser at SFCS says: “We believe every child deserves to grow up in a safe, stable and loving family. National Children’s Day is just one..

Training to be a counsellor against a backdrop of a global pandemic obviously wasn’t the plan when Ellie Stokes embarked on her two and a half year part-time training course with Northampton University back in 2019. Opening up about our mental health is not something us Brits find particularly easy, but it is hugely important; Covid 19 has attacked our minds as well as our bodies and the extent of the damage is yet to be calculated. Counsellors like Ellie are there to help – and they practise what they preach, she told Sammy Jones. I think it’s very difficult at this early stage to anticipate what the full impact of the pandemic will be on mental health, but I sense we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg, with regards to services,” Ellie admits, “Being in lockdown, everyone is confined to their own bubbles and it is hard to..

As 2021 dawns, Pulse’s Sammy Jones checked in at Soo Yoga to see how the new business fared during an extraordinary year - and what the future looks like…. T he last time I spoke with Kristina Rihanoff she was buzzing; the Strictly Come Dancing star had just realised her dream of opening the first family wellbeing centre in Northamptonshire, and Soo Yoga was proving quite the magnet for those wanting to improve or maintain their health. Kristina and her partner, former England Rugby star Ben Cohen had poured their collective heart, soul, knowledge and finances into the venture, and the response had been fantastic. She was working crazy hours in her bid to ensure it was a success; often teaching half a dozen classes daily herself. It was early days, but things were going well. And then coronavirus bit. Like businesses everywhere, Soo Yoga had to pull down the..

Since launching in 2014, more than one million people have signed up to give Veganuary a go, and in 2021 the campaign is set to enjoy its biggest success – with an estimated 500,000 people set to ditch animal products. Veganuary is focused on changing behaviours and attitudes, and encourages consumers to ditch the meat and dairy in favour of a plant-based diet. The campaign serves as an online friend for participants – with tips and support and a website bursting with helpful resources to help make the ‘journey’ easier; recipes, a starter kit and meal plans are shared to take the hassle out of trying vegan. Today, vegan food is not all soya milk, nut roasts and pulses found hidden in the corner of your local health food store, although there is nothing wrong with that, of course. Things are changing. Whether..

Rutland Cycling has won the BikeBiz Award for the Best Omnichannel Retailer 2020.  The national award recognises all aspects of the company’s performance, from business growth, bike and product stock, workshop & repair services, customer service, delivery, packaging, staff training and knowledge across Rutland’s 14 stores and website operations.  Including the adoption of innovative retail strategies plus community and charity support. For over a decade, the BikeBiz Awards have served as a key event for the recognition of the very best talent from across the UK cycling scene. The scheme has prizes that honour local independents and distribution giants through to accolades for innovative brands and those providing essential services to the industry. Karen Archer, CEO, comments: “I am delighted that Rutland Cycling have been recognised as the Best Omnichannel Retailer by the BikeBiz Awards 2020.  This national award is testament to the hard work and effort that has been delivered by our teams across the whole company and I am extremely proud and honoured to..

Rutland Cycling are donating £6,000 to FareShare East Midlands which will provide 24,000 meals to the local community. For the month of November Rutland Cycling pledged to donate 50% of all hire revenue across their 14 shops to FareShare East Midlands, part of the UK’s national network of charitable food redistributors, which provides food where needed to children and families.  Karen Archer, CEO, says: “As an essential retailer during the pandemic we have been in a fortunate position to have been able to continue to offer our hire bike service across Central England during the November lockdown.  Being a family-owned business, we felt it was important to support FareShare East Midlands during these challenging times and are delighted to be able to donate £6,000 to the campaign that Marcus Rashford, the Manchester Utd footballer, has brilliantly raised the profile of during 2020.  This will provide 24,000 meals to help make..

It’s not been that long since you couldn’t find toilet roll for love nor money and now it seems that, with a recent rise in those leaping into their saddles to get around during lockdown, laying your hands on a new bike is proving to be just as tricky! So, with the passion for pedal power never higher, organisers of the county’s biggest annual fundraising bike ride, Cycle4Cynthia, held in aid of Northamptonshire’s Cynthia Spencer Hospice, are hoping that newer cyclists, and those who have been donning their lycra for years, will sign up for this year’s ride and help to ensure it is the biggest and best yet. Among those with first-hand experience of the recent push for pushbikes is Iain Noy, who runs ten Leisure Lakes Bikes stores across the UK, including one at Daventry, which each year generously provides technical support to riders at the event. Iain..