At Solace Gym, we have lots on for toddlers, children and teens and this is for a couple of
very important reasons. Article by Louise, co-owner of Solace Gym.
As a child and teenager, I often felt very uncomfortable and unhappy in my own skin and
was always far too shy and self conscious to work out in front of people that I thought were
very fit and knew what they were doing so barely ever set foot in a gym or worked out with
other people. This carried on for me well into my 20s and early 30s as it was a pattern I'd set for myself. As a result my health and fitness levels were far below what they should be
and I battled with body image for many years. I also had a lot of trouble sticking to anything
consistently and forming good habits, made worse by not wanting to exercise with others,
which led to a lifelong battle with my yo-yo-ing weight and self esteem.
A huge part of what we are doing with Solace is getting people comfortable within a gym
environment and that starts at any age, the earlier the better in our opinion! It is also a brilliant opportunity for them to see a wide range of body types and people embracing fitness at any age and ability level. With HIIT style classes just for teens, weight lifting for beginners classes to show them the correct stances
and holds (for when they inevitably give it a go in their bedrooms unsupported!) and the
opportunity to work out alongside their parents, our teen membership is for 11-15s. At just
£20 per month on a rolling subscription basis (no contract, no joining fee!) we feel like it’s a
perfect investment in your young person, especially with the school summer holidays
looming and the battle with inactivity beginning! Sign up for the teen membership here.
But we start even younger than that! Our soft play sessions on a Tuesday and Thursday
morning between 10:15 and 11:30am are the perfect way to meet other mums, dads and
grandparents in a relaxed environment. We have an inflatable ball pit, mini bouncy castle, soft play blocks and ride ons, a baby zone, train tracks and books in the cafe for anyone that needs a quieter chill out zone. The motivation behind these is slightly different
though, it has the added bonus of getting very little ones comfortable in the gym but for me,
a big part of these sessions is for the caregivers. As a new mum, I suffered from postnatal
depression and found it very difficult to feel comfortable at baby and toddler groups,
especially being new to Cheltenham. My son was very active and had a lot of energy to burn
and I’d have loved somewhere to go where I could let him burn off some much needed
steam and meet others in a relaxed and friendly environment so that's just what we've created!
