First impressions of Les Mills Lower Hutt

So on Sunday I rocked up to the first introductory meeting for the Bobyvive Trial for a 7pm start. It was already dark - thank goodness I got a car park close by.

The people on the front desk were friendly, helpful and expecting us newbies.

The manager running the Bobyvive trial was very enthusiastic and I appreciated her sense of humour. The other staff present were really knowledgeable, eager to help and friendly.

I met several lovely new ladies and there were a couple of really good in depth discussions to be had, as well as surface level introductions. There were even a couple of guys there. Very impressed with them! The staff served some snacks and drinks too, which was a nice surprise. I'd purposely had dinner beforehand though.

This initial meeting cleared up most of what I didn't know about the trial, going into it. (I joined last-minute.) We have to attend ideally three, minimum two Bodyvive classes a week, plus we can use the Lower Hutt branch of Les Mills as much as we want, which is AWESOME: they have longer opening hours than the Wellington city branches. We have to take at least two measurements regularly: hips and waist. I've also taken upper arms, thighs, under breast and breast (to gauge changes in back fat.)

I just wish I lived in Lower Hutt already* - I'd get to utilise the gym way more often! But perhaps this is actually a blessing in disguise. I tend to get obsessed with fitness, which would not be good for my family if I were ALWAYS running away from them to do it: I should be finding ways to incorporate them into it so this really is a lifestyle choice that's sustainable while my kids are still young! Plus I've got a lot of other things happening in my life work-wise at the moment, so I really need to consider the balance.

I found it odd that the Les Mills Kids World hours don't cover the times the Bodyvive classes are on. To be honest, if you're targeting your marketing to women who most likely have young kids, then you'd expect that to be taken into consideration. Mind you, that childcare costs (basically $15 per 2-hour time, if I put them both in or $8.50 for a single child), so I understand that families like mine might simply not be able to afford that. Evening classes means the partner or family can assist with the kids.

In saying that, there are a LOT of times a week you can go to these classes (6, I'm pretty sure!) and luckily for me with my weird, flexible part-time jobs, I have been given special dispensation to not be rigidly locked into the same three class times every week. I really appreciate Mid Thomas offering me that flexibility.

I wore my gym gear, because it wasn't clear to me if I'd get the chance to do some exercise whilst there or not. Unfortunately Les Mills Lower Hutt closes at 8pm on Sundays and I'd spent so long enthusiastically talking with people that I missed my chance! Oh well, I still want to be showed around to find out what's where anyway.

*We've been looking at moving to Lower Hutt in early November when our current lease ends