When you head Up South and drive towards Daliburgh, your eye might be caught by the relatively new South Gym sign that hangs on the side of South End Hall.

For over 20 years, this gym has not only provided a space for fitness but has cultivated a culture of self-reliance and well-being that extends beyond its walls. Uist Beò caught up with fitness instructor Nicola Lindsay to find out what doing with them.

“We’re under the name the Comon Spòrs Uibhist a Deas, and we have a committee of ten people. It’s a really good committee because we’ve got a range of skills—two electricians, two nurses, a gym fitness instructor, an active schools coordinator, and even a publishing manager. It means that whenever something needs doing, be it electrical work, fitness guidance, or even health advice, we have someone on hand.”

Initially established as a youth club, it has evolved into a community gym after securing lottery funding 20 years ago. Since then, they’ve had a multi-skilled committee with people coming and going, but the commitment has never wavered. “It does take a lot, especially since we’re all volunteers, but we make it work.”

The South Gym recently celebrated its 20th anniversary and currently has 80 members—an even split of 40 men and 40 women. As well as this, the gym sees over 200 pay-as-you-go users, a boost in engagement that highlights its importance within the community. Much of this rebrand and recent growth is credited to treasurer Felix Criado.

“Felix has been a huge asset to us. He’s rebranded the gym, brought in the green and black color scheme, and taken on the role of securing funding. So in the last two years the gym has completely changed for the better. We’ve made such huge improvements and upgrades as well in terms of the equipment we have including new treadmills and weight lifting stations.”

A gym like South Gym relies on a delicate balance of community support and funding. As some turned to banana bread, others turned to fitness during the Covid times and the pandemic unexpectedly helped strengthen its reach.

“Covid actually did us a favour,” Nicola says “Everything went online, and Felix took charge of our advertising. Now, all our bookings are done online, and we have measures in place like CCTV and emergency systems to keep our users safe.”

The South Gym operates with an online booking system, which is important to show the stats of users while the committee applies for funding to keep the gym at a high standard.

‘We’re really quite a busy little gym. So for pay as you go, it’s only £4 a session, or 3 sessions for £10. The membership is £20 per month or £200 for the year and we’re open from 5:45am until 9.45pm. So, there’s plenty of time for a workout.’

The South Gym operates with a huge level of trust from the community. The gym isn’t manned and users are welcome to come and go as they please, while leaving the place in good order as they found it.

“When people from the mainland hear about how we function, they’re often in disbelief. I once had a caller who couldn’t believe that people could just come in, work out, and leave without anyone monitoring them. But that’s the beauty of living on an island—we trust each other, and we hope that trust is never broken. It’s really safe to use and we just rely on the honesty of the users to look after it and clean up after themselves. ”

Nicola, who works in Liniclate Sports Centre, is an active member of the South Gym team and often helps our locals with their training programmes. She’s been involved in the gym for 15 years now and she’s been a fitness gym instructor for nine years. Her work at Liniclate has put her through various courses and she’s qualified as a spin, circuits and Metafit instructor and can run lots of different kinds of classes. While working with new member she says that:

 “A lot of people feel anxious about starting out, so I meet them at the gym, guide them through the equipment, and even give them workout plans. It’s all about making them feel comfortable. And I’m happy to meet them as often as they want.’

 

Nicola goes on to say that:

“Strength training is particularly important for women as they age.

“It’s fantastic to see women gaining confidence in strength training here. I was in the gym the other day, and there were four women lifting weights while two men ran on the treadmills—it’s a complete reversal of traditional gym expectations. It’s just, it’s fab.

The aim for me is to have women and girls coming in and being confident in using the gym. So just even a couple of sessions with myself then you know, they feel that they can walk in and they know what they’re going to do and they don’t feel shy and embarrassed about it.”

For new users, Nicola advises to start off slow and build up your strength in the gym. Some start off by turning up once a week then as they get more confident and start enjoying it more they maybe up it to two days a week. “There’s so much training in the gym that you could do. You know, there’s cardio and strength. I’d advise you to break up the training sessions. You could do a lower body exercise day, an upper body day and that way you’re not going in and doing full body all the time and not recovering properly. Recovery is important as well.”

As we know, not only is exercising good for the body, but it’s good for the mind too. 

“The feeling once you’ve done a workout, when you come out, is great. If you’re feeling sad or depressed or you know, you always say get out for a walk, go into the gym, lift weights. I guarantee you’ll feel amazing after a workout. Just even getting out for one session a week has huge, huge benefits. 

And you’re never too old to exercise either. I had a 90 year old woman recently. She needs to strengthen her upper body to be able to get up off the chair. I was just like, gosh, this is incredible. 90 years old. So that is amazing. Yeah. I hope I’m here in the gym when I’m 90.”

The South Gym is more than just a fitness facility—it’s a beacon of community spirit, proving that with dedication, trust, and collaboration, a community can create something truly powerful. “I love the way the gym runs. It’s fab, you know, it kind of runs itself.  I’m always on hand, I’m always on the end of the phone, a message, you know, for guidance and help, which is important.’

To sign up to the South Gym you can do so through this link and join the fitness community: 
The South Gym

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