Photo: Drop in dance class at Harbour Dance. Source: Harbour Dance Studio.
Due to our unseasonably cold and wet spring, we thought we’d highlight 6 places around the Vancouver, Coast & Mountains region where you can stay fit and have fun – indoors.
1. Newton Recreation Centre – Surrey:
If you love swimming and want to experience something a little bit different from the standard aquatic centres, consider a visit to the Newton Recreation Centre in Surrey. Formerly called the Newton Wave Pool, this swimming facility is still as popular as ever for its ocean-like waves. The facility’s ideal for families too. Kids can play on their Pirates’ Water Fortress equipped with blasters, cannons, hoses, and slides. There’s a 63 m enclosed slide, a hot tub, steam room, and deck games such as giant checkers, chess, snakes & ladders, and even table tennis. While the Newton Recreation Centre’s popular amongst local families, the facility also offers programs for adults, such as public adult swims, women-only swims, women-only swimming classes, aquafit, and co-ed gym sessions. Of course, the Newton Recreation Centre is more than just a wave pool. If you don’t want to swim, they also have a gymnasium, a weight room, a youth centre, spin bikes, a fitness room, multi-purpose rooms and the only wrestling room in all of Surrey’s recreation centres. Wrestling? Yeah, I wouldn’t have guessed it either!
2. Richmond Olympic Oval – Richmond:
So what exactly happens under the roof of the Richmond Olympic Oval now that the Olympics are over? It turns out plenty. Once the home of speed skating events during the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Richmond Olympic Oval is now a multi-purpose sports and fitness centre. Participate in drop-in sports such as basketball, volleyball, table tennis, badminton, or drop-in fitness such as yoga, rowing, and cycling. If you’re wanting personal training, they’ve even got that too! And yes, they do offer ice skating but only until the end of May 2011. That’s okay, however. If you’re looking for speed, they have a 200 m running track that’s specially designed to prevent premature fatigue. For the fair weather runners looking for an alternative to the treadmill, we think we’ve found your calling.
3. Harbour Dance Studio – Vancouver:
Ever watched So You Think You Can Dance? and thought to yourself, “No, I don’t think I can dance… but that actually looks like fun.” Where do adults who have full time jobs go to learn how to dance the various styles like they do on TV? Harbour Dance Studio, that’s where. Located on Granville Street downtown, Harbour Dance offers both progressive classes (often ranging from 8-9 weeks in length) to daily drop-in classes for levels ranging from absolute beginners to professional. Classes are scheduled from morning to night, so it’s very easy to work it around your own schedule. As somebody without any dance experience whatsoever, I felt more than comfortable taking their intro ballet class a few years ago before trying the various drop-in classes. Street Jazz and Hip Hop were my personal favourites, but they have everything ranging from Belly Dancing and Tap, to Broadway Jazz. The classes start off with warm-ups before moving into choreography, so you feel invigorated and energized throughout. The instructors are all great and have their styles, and the best part is that everybody’s in the same boat: to stay ft and have fun while doing so.
4. Yoga By The Sea – Roberts Creek:
Whether you’re a yoga newbie or a yoga guru, Yoga by the Sea offers a wide variety of classes on the Sunshine Coast. They explain on their website, “The Moon studio is our larger studio space, and is home to our movement classes, like African Dance, Groove, Nia, Tai Chi and Yoga Dance, as well as workshops and special events. We also offer a Body-mind Therapy room, which is used by Certified Counselors. In our Bodywork room, we offer Reiki, Healing Massage, Thai Massage, and Yoga therapy. Our original studio, the Sun Studio, named for the warmth and the light of the Sunshine that blesses this room throughout the year, is home to many of our specialty Yoga Classes. We offer a variety of Kids Classes, Yoga for Backcare, PreNatal Yoga, Pilates as well as a variety of Hatha Yoga classes.”
5. Sportsplex – Langley:
The Canucks are in the Stanley Cup Finals and the entire province is hockey crazy! If Canucks fever is inspiring you to get out and practice your hockey skills, head to Langley’s Sportsplex. Whether you’re seeking lessons or if you’re just wanting a public skate, they have 2 NHL sized ice rinks and 2 professional sized roller hockey rinks. The facility also houses Total Fitness, a world-class training center; Offside Pro Shop, providing a full range of sports equipment and apparel, Future Stars Day Care, and the Offside Cafe.
6. The Core – Whistler
Whistler’s famous for its skiing and mountain biking, but what about indoor fitness? Enter The Core. As explained on Whistler Resource, “Whistler’s premier fitness center facility is home to The Wall: a 5500 square-foot (1676.4 meters) indoor rock climbing wall which offers crack climbing, a tricky slab and steep overhangs.” But it’s more than just a climbing facility. As described on their website, “Our unique activity zones feature a huge climbing area, weights, cardio, fitness, yoga and Kids’ Adventure Centre. So you can train for life in this crazy town, keep in shape while you’re visiting or drop off the kids for some supervised fun and let them climb the walls.”
Do you have a favourite indoor fitness activity? Let us know by leaving us a comment.
