The East St business precinct has become something of a Mecca for fitness and strength work. There are now five fitness businesses operating in the East Street and Mink Street area. They include the Springs Health and Fitness, Run with Me, Strong Space, Daylesford Cross Fit and Integrate Fitness.
Photos: Julie Higgs
Daylesford is a unique regional community in its focus on health and wellbeing. Health and wellness have been an ongoing feature going back to the Dja Dja Wurrung People and their connection to the local springs.
More recently, Daylesford became popular for ‘taking the waters’ from the 1850s onward, particularly with the establishment of the Hepburn Bathhouse in 1895. Daylesford’s contemporary wellness focus now incorporates the experience of the mineral springs, holistic health, alternative therapies, organic agriculture, meditation and increasingly fitness and strength work.
There is also a vibrant interest in nature tourism, bushwalking, trail cycling and for some, the unique opportunity for natural lake swimming.
Gyms are becoming more popular and more specialised, ranging from traditional circuit training to a much greater emphasis on specialist interests like strength and balance training for older people and the integration of physical fitness and mental well being.
