Check out this article from Fitnet magazine for our new 'Top Toner' Lorraine from Hereford Leisure Centre's toning suite.
Halo Leisure’s spa-like toning suite with its state-of-the-art, power-assisted toning machines continues to produce success story after success story at Hereford Leisure Centre. In this issue we meet Lorraine Brown.
“It started with a nudge from a friend, as so many good things do,” says Lorraine, 54, who works in a secondary school in Hereford supporting pupils as part of the Student Services team. “Now, nearly a year on, it’s made me see things differently − and I’ve lost nearly three stone.”
But Lorraine says a whole number of things happened in between. “I had come out of a messy divorce, had hit the age when it was harder to keep extra pounds off, I was working hard, feeling unwell (it turns out I had an overactive thyroid) and had let myself go a bit. One day, I commented on how well my friend looked and she told me she’d been using the Toning Suite at Hereford Leisure Centre and invited me to join her.”
Lorraine was about 17 stone at that point and feeling unwell. She was relieved in many ways when the doctor diagnosed an overactive thyroid that could be treated with medication. “But it gave me an extra push to live better and eat better,” she says. Lorraine had tried gyms but didn’t feel very comfortable launching her programme in there.
But the Toning Suite proved perfect. “You are doing a circuit (three minutes on each of 12 machines) but in a relaxed atmosphere with other, like minded people,” she explains. “You can feel it working your body, but not to the point where you get hot and sweaty. And you can work out in whatever you are wearing and then go out and get on with your day. I like that.” “I’ve lost nearly three stone since I started (I’d like to lose another half stone) and gone down two dress sizes!
But it’s not just about the weight loss. It’s about feeling better, feeling in control, and feeling motivated to look after yourself. Now I work out two or three times a week, and enjoy a weekly swim too. I’ve made new friends in the suite, but love going with the pal who gave me that nudge last year. Then coffee aferwards in the Halo cafe.”
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Halo are so proud of how their Toning Suite is not just supporting people like Lorraine, who are reluctant to launch their tness programme in a traditional gym, but for many visitors to Hereford Leisure Centre who are living with conditions which a ect their mobility and ability to exercise easily. Reports have, for example, shown how a Toning Suite can support people living with fibromyalgia, a long term condition often diagnosed in people’s 30s and 40s. It is thought to affect around 2 in 50 people, more often women than men.
With symptoms including pain, fatigue and impaired sleeping patterns, it can have a real impact on the quality of life, but experts say exercise can help those symptoms. The Toning Suite can play a part in that because it delivers an individualised programme in a warm, relaxed environment, often starting with machines moving you without any aerobic effort. The intensity and the circuit then increase in line with your needs and ability. It is essential you talk to your doctor first about your planned programme, and to Halo’s Toning Suite experts who can design a circuit to suit your needs.
*Want to give it a go? Inspired by Lorraine's story? Call 01432 842 075, and we’ll show you around and arrange a free 7 day guest pass so you can have a go.
