The days are longer, and the weather's warmer. Time to get your swimsuit on and jump on the bike. Catherine Clearytakes the pulse of some new fitness options - including aqua spinning, where you can do both at once.
I am all for the joy of doing things in water, swimming in it, relaxing in it, even labouring in it. But the latest exercise craze sounds like a twist on the old feminist slogan about women needing men like fish need bicycles.
Welcome to hydro-spinning. And yes, this is as surreal as it sounds. As with any normal spinning class you are on a bike and peddling like the clappers, only here you are wearing swimming togs because you also happen to be up to your chest in water.
Christina Feldkirchner, fitness manager of 1escape gym in Smithfield, Dublin 7, is adamant that the benefits of putting the special rust-proof exercise bikes in the pool are justifiable. "It's similar to spinning at one level, but it feels nothing like spinning. The amazing thing about exercising in water is that the heart rate slows down by about 10 beats. You can work out much harder than you can out of water. So there's none of the pain or the huffing and puffing and there's nothing to make you stop."
The Italian hydroriders are part of a range of gym equipment in the 2,648 sq m (28,500 sq ft) gym in the north inner city area of Smithfield. If cycling in water is a splash too far, gym-goers can watch an image of a mountain road on their stationary gym bike. Feldkirchner says this can be changed with the seasons so the leaves turn golden or snow-covered depending on the time of year. The gym also has a high-altitude training room where those who are already reasonably fit can train at a higher intensity in an oxygen-depleted environment. And getting away from the image of pounding gyms with pumped-up music, there's a sound-proof meditation room for winding down afterwards.
It is the time of year when people start to dig themselves out of the maw of the sofa and emerge blinking into daylight again. On these spring evenings the tragically-few footpaths on country roads fill with women walking with a purpose, escaping into the new brightness with plans for sponsored walks, mini marathons or just an hour's peace.
Feldkirchner has good advice for people going back to fitness and thinking about joining a gym. "My approach is psychological. The biggest mistake is the all-or-nothing attitude. If you go from zero sessions to three or four straight away, the body will handle it and recover from it, but your head will not. Keep it realistic and aim for two sessions a week, with no excuses. It's not about dragging your gym bag to work and saying 'maybe I'll do it, maybe I won't.' Treat your exercise programme like a business appointment and all of a sudden it becomes do-able.
"Your only goal for the first six months should be attendance, and nothing more, because everything else falls into place." Membership of 1escape costs between €65 and €79 a month.
Another option is to use a personal trainer. Carl Cautley left a job in advertising to set up Fitness Together, a personal training gym in Rathmines in Dublin 6. "If someone signs up for a personal training programme there's increased motivation and less risk of injury, or of not using the proper technique," he says. "A lot of the super gyms are absolutely fantastic, but people use them as leisure centres, using the facilities without really knowing what they're doing."
His membership is broken down roughly equally between male and female members, with slightly more women clients. "Our rates are from €54 to €59 a session and that includes a warm-up period of about 15 minutes."
And does a personal trainer habit lead to dependency? "Some people enjoy it so much that they don't want to lose it. There is a certain element that with a personal trainer you don't have to think about it. You literally get worked out and that's it. It's for time-poor and cash-rich people who want to go and train and be done with it. Personal training used to be a status symbol only for the rich and famous, but for the price of a two-week holiday you can come and train with us for three or four months and change your life."
John Treacy, Olympic medallist and chief executive of the Irish Sports Council, has been running in darkness until recent weeks, when spring mornings have brightened his daily exercise slot. He runs five miles every morning and would advise anyone starting an exercise programme to visit their doctor for a check-up before they start. "Then you should start by walking for a half an hour a day and make sure to get a good pair of shoes. A spend of €40 or €50 should be enough to get you a good pair of shoes with good support."
Once the 30-minute walk gets easier "try a little bit of running in the middle," he says. "If you're coming from a zero base, build it up over time." Consistency is the key, he says, and if you can do a small amount four or five times a week it is better than longer but more sporadic bursts. "Structure it into your day. Do something convenient for you and fit it into your day. What I would say to anyone, and particularly a woman, is do it with a friend. It's always better because you're committed to that other person. Otherwise it's easy to talk yourself out of it."
After four or five months, someone starting from a zero base should be able to build up to a gentle running programme, Treacy says. "Don't worry about the speed and if the speed never comes, don't worry about that either. Do it at your own pace. You don't need to be knackered, a pace where you can still hold a conversation is what you're aiming for."