A decorative garden in Old Windsor
Knowing that I would be staying in Old Windsor for almost a month, I determined to find some fitness activities nearby. The Old Windsor Workout meets bi-weekly in the recreation ground Tuesdays at 9.15, and Saturdays at 7am. I turned up for the Saturday workout to find they were already running. Also, Saturdays are Men Only, but they kindly allowed me to join in. Starting out with light jogging, squat thrusts and push-ups, I kept up quite well. When the men started sprinting, I started thinking about ways to sprint off the field, but the instructor kept shouting us along.
Old Windsor Workout (Men's Group), instructor Mark is third from right
“Come on lads, and lady, push yourselves,” he yelled from the side. “I know you hate me now but you’ll love me later.”
The instructor gave us a few 30-second breaks, during which the men made comments like, “We’re only doing this so we can go down the pub and pig out for the rest of the weekend.”
The Women’s Workout is on hiatus for the summer, as is the Pilates group. I’m not sure why the Workouts in Old Windsor are gender segregated, but when I looked further afield in Windsor this was not the case.
Some 4Motion Dancers at Windsor Firestation, teacher Jess is 2nd from left
4Motion Dance classes run at the Windsor Firestation on Tuesdays at 7.35pm. 4Motion instructor, Jess, displays an infectious love of dance in her classes. Jess started with some fitness, including running around the room, crawling, rolling, and running backwards. Then she did some yoga moves in a circle and ended with a choreographed dance. It was a fun routine, involving pushing away of limbs, falling, and covering a lot of space in the room. The 4Square dancers are a young group, and I enjoyed their vibe so much I went back the following week.
Windsor Fitness Pool
Next I visited Windsor Leisure Center, a sprawling complex with two swimming pools, a full gym, tennis courts, a spa and exercise rooms. I took a dance aerobics class and thought I would find it pretty easy. But then, veteran dancer Charles created a ten-minute routine by combining four sections of choreography, which he kept swapping around. Trying to remember all the moves proved futile, so I just kept moving, and occasionally my body synchronized with the routine.
Windsor Leisure Pool, including slides, waves and 2 jacuzzis
Pole classes at Windsor Pole studio are on hiatus. So I went back to Windsor Leisure Center to swim. The fitness pool is heated and each lane had plenty of space to do laps without bumping into anyone. The space was great, but it also reminded me why I moved to the city. Sometimes life is more interesting when you can’t help bumping into people. Peace and quiet have their place, but so does organized chaos.
4Motion!