Dacorum leisure centres will host This Girl Can exercise sessions

A new exercise class aimed at reducing the gender gap is launching in Dacorum on Monday, February 7.

Award-winning leisure operator Everyone Active will host This Girl Can sessions at Berkhamsted Leisure Centre and Hemel Hempstead Leisure Centre as part of Sport England's campaign of the same name.

The classes - created by Sport England in partnership with EMD UK, the national governing body for group exercise - seek to encourage those who are new to physical activity.

And with the most recent Active Lives Adult Survey showing that women remain less likely to exercise than men, it is hoped the new classes will help to redress the balance.

Everyone Active, which runs its Dacorum sites in partnership with Dacorum Borough Council, will stage hour-long This Girl Can classes.

The hour is split into sections which include a warm-up, three 10-minute exercise blocks and a cool-down.

The exercise blocks include any combination of dance fitness, boxing fitness, move, tone or yoga-inspired stretch, so participants can experience a variety of activities.

Everyone Active membership is not required.

Class leaders have undergone a This Girl Can training course with the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity.

Steve Cox, Everyone Active’s area contract manager, said: “It is vitally important that we play our part to close the gender gap when it comes to exercise.

“We want to offer opportunities for more women to get active and have fun in a supportive environment and believe these classes provide an ideal route into regular physical activity, for those who wish to take it further.

“The classes are accessible and are designed to appeal to women who would like to dip their toe in the water and see how their local leisure centre can help them exercise and improve their fitness.

“We hope women from the community will come down to their local centre, take part in a class and begin to enjoy the state-of-the-art facilities on their doorstep.”