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York Leather Belt
by Danscomp
Weight lifting belts provide crucial lumbar support for mass building exercises. These are your typical bread and butter movements. Squats, deadlifts and the overhead press. York is the prime entry level player. Cheap, but not particularly nasty. And for many cash strapped weight enthusiasts, they represent a manufacturer that they will ... buy from again and again.
It is extremely important that a weight belt is worn properly. The wide section across the back needs to be perfectly positioned to provide the protection you will need. The best gauge for this is for the buckle to be over your belly button and tight enough to feel reasonably restrictive. If the belt is pressing into your ribcage, it is too high. You should be unable to get as much as a little finger in anywhere. This belt is nowhere near as easy to position as some that I have tried, but obey these simple rules and you should be fine.
The leather in this belt and metal hardware are both fit for purpose. I've had this belt a few years now, and apart from some discolouration and wrinkling of the leather, it is as serviceable now as it has ever been. There are a number of holes that can be selected, but you have to be careful - and honest - when choosing the size. There may be seven double-set positions available, but if none of them is just right for you, you may well end up paying for it.
Please note that this belt does not make you immune to injuries, particularly if you squat without a partner, as I have done in the past. It can give you a false sense of security, and ending up with a tear in your spinal erector muscles and spending a week on your back is no fun. I speak from personal experience. Bruce Lee once tried lifting without following his usual precautions and it almost spelt the end of his career. (For those of you that have seen the unintentionally howlingly funny "Dragon", it wasn't due to a secret Chinese underground fighting bout!)
If you don't train with a partner, using a smith rack for these exercises is a very prudent thing to do. As you can push things a little further, and not be in a position when you are unable to complete an exercise and have no way of dumping the bar. You will still need to ensure that you use correct form when doing the exercise, belt or no belt.
In summary, this is reasonable quality for a reasonable price. If you lift seriously, you should spend more in order to get something that much better.
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Peppa Pig Sports Bottle
by ladyradley
I bought this Peppa Pig drinks bottle for my granddaughter for Christmas. She doesn't always want to drink water and my daughter has problems trying to encourage her so I thought that this bottle would be a good way to help encourage her to drink it as it would seem more fun for her.
The bottle is pink so very appealing to ... little girls and to any Peppa Pig fan in general! It is pale pink with a picture of Peppa on it holding an icecream and with balloons in the background. It is really sweet and my granddaughter took an instant love to it right away, when she opened it on Christmas Day she instantly wanted it to be filled up! The lid is a dark pink and this unscrews like a normal bottle and is easy to put back on again. The actual drinking part of it is a sports cap that you pop up to open and then pop down again to close. My granddaughter can manage to do this by herself but does occasionally struggle but usually she is fine. This is a very practical type of lid to have for young children, it doesn't spill as easily and helps them to drink. When it is down it is tight, we haven't had any spillages.
The bottle is easy enough to clean, it's got quite a wide opening so getting a cloth in it to clean it well after using it is easy. I don't put it in the dishwasher or microwave.
The only problem is that it isn't the best quality, the picture is starting to chip away a bit already which is a shame.
My granddaughter loves this. She finds it easy to hold (we don't fill it up all the way to the top else it would be too heavy) and does definitely drink more water now that we have this.
It holds a lot of water too, it is about 25cm high and 7cm wide although it is narrower part way up which makes it easier to grip.
I think this is a lovely little bottle it is a shame that the picture will eventually chip away though.
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Fareham Leisure Centre
by Evie-x-
Fareham Leisure centre is found near the town centre not far from the motorway. It is a twenty minute walk from the train station and buses stop nearby. There is a large free car park (although this can get busy) with disabled and parent and baby parking.
The leisure centre is easily accessible with automatic doors and a gate ... for disabled users and those with buggys. In the large entrance there is a well equipped shop incase you have forgotten anything. The reception staff are very helpful and friendly they can book you into classes as well as taking payments for activities.
Swimming
There are two pools at the centre. There is a small children's pool which has steps into the shallow end. It is in here that classes are often held. There are baskets of toys and floatds for little ones to use. This pool is over looked by the cafe. There is also a large 25m pool which is often busy. It is in here that sometimes lane swimming takes place, aquafit, large inflatables and many more activities. It would be worth checking the timetable to make sure the pool is available. Also if you have little ones the pool can be very cold so it would be worth popping them in a wetsuit if they feel the cold.
Swimming lessons are available for all ages. I must say that I was not impressed with the classes. Each week my son would have a different teacher, 6 -8 children in the class way too many. My son would say no and the teacher would let him get away with not doing anything!
The changing rooms are mixed sex and plenty of cubicals including disabled and family large cubicles. There are plenty of showers male, female and family. There are lots of lockers which you will need £1 to use. There are also buggy lockers where you can safetly keep your buggy whilst you swim. By the exit of the changing rooms there is a larged mirrored area with a number of free hairdryers.
Cafe
The cafe has plenty of tables and seating some of which overlooks the small pool ideal if your children have swim classes. It serves hot and cold food as well as the usual tea and coffee.
Gym
The gym is very well equipped with very helpful staff who are more than willing to give advice. They always are adding and upgrading equipment. There are powerplates which are free to use as part of the gym. There are tvs to watch so remember to bring your headphones.
Classes
There is a dedicated room for Spin classes with plenty of bikes as this is a popular activity. There are a number of rooms used for exercise classes including a studio. There is a wide range of classes including body combat, yoga, Zumba, Pilates, circuits etc.
Sports Hall
There is a large sports hall where badminton, football etc is often played.
Squash courts
These are for hire for squash and at certain times they are used for parties.
Changing facilities for gym/classes
There are separate male, female and disabled changing rooms. Obviously this is based on the female changing rooms but in there there are plenty of lockers £1 which you get back, 5 changing cubicles, sowers, toilets and hairdryers.
Creche
There is a creche for babies up to toddlers. This is run by qualified staff although I only used this once as they didn't seem the friendliest and my little one was not happy to go back. The creche is always busy so always book beforehand.
Children
There are lots of activities for children. My son loved Active Ants which was 5yrs and under. This is held in the sports hall where they put out tunnels, ball pits, bouncy castle, climbing frames etc. they do a lot of classes for children including gymnastics, dance and trampolining. During the holidays they run an activity scheme. They also run children's birthday parties starting from £100. There is also a play park outside by the car park which is ideal in the summer months.
Prices
The leisure centre is quite pricey so if you are going to regularly it would be worth finding out what deals they have.
Gym session peak time £7.20
Exercise class £5.80
Badminton £9.95 per court
1 hour creche £4.05
Swim £3.65
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