Exercise through Play

We actively promote Exercise through Play for children of all ages.

Our play equipment is not only energetic and great fun it increases activity levels creating healthier, happier children.

Recent research has found that not only are one in ten pre-school children obese, but they're spending less time playing outside. Studies carried out by the Early Learning Centre have revealed that while most parents (87 per cent) strongly believe that outdoor play and physical activities are very important to a child's development, only 11 per cent of children spend up to two hours a day during the weekend playing outside.
The National Diet and Nutrition Survey (2000) found that 40 - 69% of children over the age of six spent less than the minimum of one hour a day doing Moderate Intensity Physical Activity. 'Moderate' being defined as raising the heart rate and a shortness of breath.

Make sure your children include outdoor activities in their daily routine, for better health, a great social life and lots of fun. You're also setting the foundations for your child to enjoy an active, fit adulthood.
Child psychologist Richard Woolfson comments, 'Outdoor play is as important now as it ever was, and children today can enjoy a great variety of outdoor toys, games and activities which are not only fun but also beneficial to health.'

Drag the children away from the TV and the computer and help them get some fresh air and exercise. Try the best outdoor activitiy - TRAMPOLINING!!

As well as great fun for children, adults too will get hours of enjoyment and a good general full body workout. We are sure that you will get endless hours of use year after year.
Studies by NASA scientists show that rebounding is 68% more effective than jogging, and yet requires less effort! You can also develop both upper and lower body strength just as effectively as weight lifting--without the strain or threat of pulled or torn muscles. Rebounding has been shown to out perform swimming as an all round exercise.

The benefits of trampolining are:

• Exercise through Play - It's great fun and your body is benefitting!
• Balance - trying to bounce in one place on a trampoline means you have to develop a keen sense of balance
• Co-ordination - closely related to balance is the need to coordinate arm and leg actions
• Muscular strength and endurance - not only the lower body muscles but also the upper body muscles and your core muscles are worked when trampolining
• Improved lung and cardiovascular efficiency - bouncing on a trampoline increases the pulse rate
• Moderate Intensity Physical Activity - the recommended level of intensity
• Bilateral motor skills - the action of bouncing whilst trying to maintain balance and coordinate bodily extremities calls on both sides of the body and, indeed, the brain to become engaged
• Rhythm - the need to bounce in tune with the trampoline to achieve optimum height for least effort.
• Low impact - although bouncing is an impact sport the period of acceleration and deceleration is much longer than with activities such as jogging where the surface used has no give at all.

Trampolining is extremely easy and fun. Besides the obvious fitness benefits of trampolines, it works many major muscles, increases your heart rate and flexibility, and improves your reflexes. It develops your body balance and physical fitness,  strengthens the body muscles, ligaments, tendons, and improves body movement. Most importantly trampolining can eradicate obesity and promotes good health, which can also reduce the risk of arthritis.

The Benefits of Table Tennis

Many people will have played a gentle, recreational game of table tennis but at the elite level the game takes on a new dimension with spin, placement and skill being combined with dazzling speed. Although the table is only 5 feet wide by 9 feet long the players often have to stand 15 to 20 feet away to be able to cope with the speed and accuracy of returns. Although often thought of as a gentle sport the top level competitors are extremely fit often spending up to four hours at the table each day working on drills. In addition they will also undertake weight training to build muscle strength, footwork drills for agility, and flexibility training to remain limber. Top performers will devote a great deal of time to mental training to make sure they are “in the zone” when it comes to competition time.

As table tennis is a physically demanding sport it has major health benefits even for recreational players. For people that may struggle to run or cycle because of boredom or not being able to push themselves table tennis offers the opportunity to exercise whilst playing a game. The running involved in table tennis has a goal: to reach the ball, make the return and win the point. As such there is a greater motivation to make the effort. The competion aspects along with decision making and the skill of execution help make table tennis a challenging and enjoyable passtime with the added benefit that cardiovascular exercise is being undertaking almost without the participant realising!

The Benefits of Outdoor Play for the Younger Children

While children are busy climbing, swinging, and being active outdoors, they're exploring the limits of their bodies and minds while developing motor and interaction skills! The range of swings, slides, climbers, playhouses, sandboxes and sprinklers are so much fun, kids won't even know they're learning and exercising through play!

Always consult your physician before participating in any physical activity or exercise.