New ways to get fit, prepare for sport and enjoy a healthy lifestyle

IN the midst of gloom and doom, a â€Ëœgood news' story for Co. Galway and indeed all of the West, and beyond. Tuam is getting a new state-of-the-art fitness and leisure centre - Total Fitness Solutions, at Airglooney Business Park, Ballygaddy Road. It opened to the public last Friday and has already been acclaimed for the remarkably wide range and scope of its services and facilities. Undoubtedly it is a huge addition to the West of Ireland's growing health and fitness scene.[private] The development of this major new business initiative was undertaken by three local promoters, all driven by a determination to beat the Recession blues and show that life must go on. Their own work ethic is nurtured by the power of positive thinking. The three men behind the Total Fitness Solutions project are Brian Roache, Damien Burke and Bernie Hynes. Brian and Damien will run and manage the business day-to-day, while it is based in the large business park developed in recent years by well-known Tuam businessman Bernie Hynes who, in the 55th year of his working life, is investing considerable resources in two new directions: energy conservation and the sports and leisure industry. Brian Roache, who worked as a civil engineer for eight years, is a star footballer with his parish club, Cortoon Shamrocks, and is noted for his spirited, totally committed style of play in defence. As an engineer, Brian had responsibility for projects worth over €10 million, while directing up to 60 workers, so he has the experience required to run a new business while bringing to it the freshness of a sportsman still playing competitively. In his final year of study to qualify as a sports injury therapist, Brian also has valuable experience from working in gyms and leisure centres, and from coaching and training at all age levels. He is hugely excited by the setting-up of Total Fitness Solutions, and in recent weeks he could hardly wait for the doors to open to the public. Damien Burke - like his namesake who plays for Galway - is living in Corofin but is a native of Loughrea, and he has a big interest in all sports. Getting involved in Total Fitness Solutions seems a natural move for Damien, for he has worked as a physio with teams such as Corofin, Loughrea Hurling Club, Connacht Junior Rugby and Galway Ladies Football, to name but a few. Damien was the owner of Galway Lawn Health and Fitness Club which he operated successfully for 12 years, and he also has successful sports injury clinics in Corofin, in the Loughgeorge Football Centre and in Galway city. Using three floors, Tuam's new fitness centre has a large commercial gymnasium with changing rooms and sauna; four treatment rooms specially equipped for a physiotherapist, nutritionist and personal training; an Aerobics studio; a fully fitted Cryotherapy ice bath and hot tub, and (on the third floor) a 4000 sq ft elite performance team training area and fitness studio: facilities which will also be used by the local ÃÂrd Rí Boxing Club and Pete Foley's Black Dragon Kickboxing Club. Moving with the times, the new centre has a children's drop-in area (on the second floor), where qualified staff will take care of youngsters while their mums and dads enjoy the gym facilities or take part in exercise classes. Brian Roache explains the emphasis on providing an in-house sports injury clinic, the first in Connacht with such a comprehensive range of services: 'This is a very important aspect of our specialised services; we have special equipment to deal with sports injuries and to help the process of our clients' rehabiliation from injury. With the Cryotherapy ice bath and hot plunge bath, we have an accompanying sauna to speed up the recovery process for injuries. Our aim is to provide the best operating practices in the West of Ireland for the journey from first treatment of an injury to our client's complete rehab.' Brian has particular advice on the use of Cryo Spa facilities for the treatment of sports injuries such as tendons and ligaments, hamstrings and soft tissue injuries: 'In the first 48 hours after injury, the physio can't touch it; they have to wait for the swelling to go down. In those 48 hours the Spa can be hugely beneficial because it reduces the inflammation, thus giving the injured sports person a vital headstart for recovery.' For one-third partner in Total Fitness Solutions, Bernie Hynes, this is a business venture but he's always had a keen interest in sport. He's played squash all his life and in more recent years got involved in the coaching of boxers; while for Brian and Damien it is also a business, but a labour of love too. These two lads simply love sport, but their interest now is focused on what they're qualified to do in sport â€â€ not only the training and playing and the personal enjoyment it gives, but the scientific side of sport: the correct approach to fitness, treatment of injuries and rehab. In general, small gyms have much to offer, including the intimacy of working out with your friends and having a chat through it, but they don't suit teams or large groups. What the new Tuam centre offers is something spectacularly different and ideal for all sports clubs - the sight of a Gaelic football panel (men or ladies), hurling, athletics, rugby or soccer squads, or groups from any other sport, training together, 30-to-35 people, indoors, in an environment expertly created for deriving the maximum enjoyment from getting fit. Plus the benefits that will accrue for the purpose of enjoying a healthy lifestyle. 'There is so much to â€Ëœworking out' that it is now a sophisticated part of the whole approach to both competitive sport and fitness for good health and well-being,' says Brian Roache. 'It can be as serious as any individual or team wishes it to be, or simply great fun. Working out and getting fit - that's for everybody, of all ages, and we're here in Tuam now to provide the most modern facilities to help people do it. 'Our doors are open; there's free parking; our hours are flexible, and everybody will be welcome.'[/private]