West Dunbartonshire jogging course can help fitness

Nov 21 2008 by Laura McLachlan, Lennox Herald (main ed)

DO you want to lead a healthier lifestyle, but don’t know how to get started? Would you like to get enough confidence to go to your local gym or sports centre?

If so, then jogscotland could be what you are looking for.

Organised by West Dunbartonshire Council’s Sports Development Unit, the programme encourages people to gradually increase their activity levels to help improve their health and well-being.

It can also help in the fight against heart disease, high blood pressure, weight gain and stress.

Fiona Russell, Margo McEwan and Iona McCuish all started their groups as beginners.

Margo said: “I wanted to start feeling more healthy and also happier with myself for leading a more active lifestyle.

“I saw it advertised and decided that if all those other ladies can do it then so can I.”

The programme takes participants through weekly sessions of jogging/walking.

Each block is ten weeks long, the first starting with a series of 30-second walks and a 30-second jog, progressing up to 10-minute slow jogging after 10 weeks.

Fiona said: “As a result of joining jogscotland, I now have the confidence to go down to the local Cosmopolitan gym.

“I also recently completed my first 5K in June this year.

“The atmosphere was great and it made me feel enormously proud as it is something that I never really thought that I would do.”

The jogscotland programme has struggled to attract men to the original groups.

So, in an effort to try and get more men active, Sports Development, in partnership with Men’s Health, have established men-only jogging groups throughout West Dunbartonshire.

Find out more about West Dunbartonshire Council’s jogscotland programme by calling Sports Development on 01389 753557.

Jogscotland groups are at Alexandria Community Education Centre: Wednesday 6.30pm; Dumbarton, Meadow Centre: Monday 5pm (beginners only) Tuesday 6pm; Clydebank, Braidfield Campus: Thursday 6pm.