A GROUP of mothers from Ongar are urging people to work up a sweat in the New Year after a disappointing turnout at the town's new £19,500 open-air gymnasium.
Having spent ten months pushing for the new outdoor fitness centre, which opened at Love Lane park in November, campaign group Ongar Mums (OMG) is hoping the guilt of Christmas indulgence will be enough to make people quash the calories on the all-weather equipment.
Turnout for the six weekly free training sessions, which finished last month, and more generally, has been "very disappointing," according to OMG member and mother-of-three Claire Bodiam.
The 39-year-old said: "In January you feel, right start of a new year, get your act together and get fit, and that's what I am hoping people will do.
"After Christmas it's about getting that weight off and cracking on with getting healthy. That's certainly what I am aiming to do."
She added: "I spoke to a woman the other day and she didn't even know the outdoor gym was there.
"We did work really hard to get that up there so we want people to make the most of it."
The facilities, which include cross-trainers and cycles, are run by Ongar Town Council, which has raised the funds to pay for a qualified instructor from Epping Forest District Council (EFDC) to run another six taster sessions, starting on Monday, January 7.
James Warwick, the sports and health development manager at EFDC, said: "The main aim is to encourage people to lead a healthy and active lifestyle and in the current economic environment, this offers a resource for local people to do that for free.
"There is also evidence to suggest that people get a heightened sense of wellbeing from exercising outdoors."
The training sessions will be run from 9.30 to 11.30am for six consecutive Mondays from January 7.
