Honiton Leisure Centre: Supporting the community coming out of the pandemic

Honiton Leisure Centre has been a pillar of the community since 1986. Now, in a new partnership with Honiton Nub News, it's investing in the community and helping people improve their mental and physical wellbeing after the Covid-19 pandemic.

We're going to be bringing you regular updates and news about the leisure centre, including upcoming events in our What's On section.

What's on offer?

Honiton Leisure Centre has a wide variety of activities, classes, and facilities to help you improve your physical and mental wellbeing.

In a recent study, Honiton Leisure Centre alone was reported to have generated £2.3 million worth of social value, particularly with regard to health, wellbeing, educational attainment, and reducing cases of depression.

Here are its top three features to help improve your mental and physical health:

1. A spacious, modern gym with something for everyone

The leisure centre's large, multi-purpose gym has recently been extended. It's spacious, modern, and features a variety of different fitness machines and equipment for visitors.

What's more, the gym's large windows to the rear overlook green playing fields, and St Paul's Church is just a stone's throw away on the high street.

The large gym is ideal for general gym-goers, and the facilities allow not only for those who want to focus on strength and conditioning, but also for people who want a purely cardiovascular workout.

Also on offer is a tailor-made gym induction, regular reviews, and dietary and nutrition advice – all done to suit your individual needs.

Teenagers can come in with a parent to learn foundational skills either for team sports or for individual fitness as well.

Speaking about the gym's specialist fitness equipment, Leisure Manager Chris Duchenski said: "These aren't like your normal gym kit. These machines will improve your power, speed, endurance and agility with concentrating on your control and technique.

"The multidrive technology will help on the skillmill to maximum activation of glutes and hamstrings. These bits of kit will provide you with some different workouts and is brilliant for all fitness levels. It's an awesome mix of functional training equipment and can be achieved individually or within a small group."

2. Group exercise classes – from intense workouts to calming mind and body activities

The centre offers a wide variety of group exercise classes, from Bodypump and spin to pilates and yoga, and has a large dance studio downstairs to accommodate socially distanced groups.

Its studio has huge windows to the side and rear, also overlooking the playing fields to give it an open, airy, and calming feel.

The Bodypump classes are designed to give you a full-body workout to music, focusing on the chest, legs, and back. The spin studio cycling sessions are ideal both for first-timers wanting to lose a bit of weight, and seasoned cyclists and triathletes in the winter months wanting to escape the rain.

Chris added: "We cater for everyone. The class timetable is catered for mums who do the drop-off in the morning, we start classes at 9.15am to give them an extra 10 to 15 minutes to get here.

"Every class has a 15-minute shutdown after to make sure all the equipment is cleaned and Covid-safe."

3. A 25m swimming pool, with classes for all ages

The leisure centre offers a deck-level 25-metre pool with five lanes and is kept at a comfortable temperature at all times. It caters for children aged eight and up to older members.

In addition to public and lane swimming and lessons for all abilities, there are a number of pool-based low-impact exercise classes such as Aquacise, Aquacise 50+, Aqua Flex and Aqua Zumba. These classes don't require you to swim - an added bonus for beginners and the elderly.

Added bonuses

The leisure centre prides itself on its excellent customer service, and also offers free parking.

Leisure Manager Chris said: "When you walk in, there's always someone on reception. It's a laid-back environment with a community feel.

"I can come in with my son, he can go and play badminton, and I'll go to the gym and have a workout. We're a leisure centre, and we've got it all under one roof."

How can I join?

Honiton Leisure Centre offers a variety of memberships to cater to individual needs, starting from just £34.75.

Click here to go to the LED Memberships webpage to find out more.

You can find Honiton Leisure Centre just off the high street on School Lane opposite Honiton Community College, or here on Google Maps.