#YourActiveStory - Vicky
I have been a UoS employee for 2.5 years now. I only joined the gym last September and started really going in October. I was never really into gyms and “keeping fit”. I got into cycling just because those cyclists looked like they enjoyed themselves. This was my only form of exercise for a few years, commuting to and from work by bicycle, which I love and still do, but now I just cycle through the campus and back home without stopping.
I began to feel a bit silly not taking advantage of the fact my workplace has a gym on site and a couple of my colleagues seemed to enjoy the fitness classes so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to give it a go. I could probably count the number of times I went to the gym on one hand, I like the gym but I get bored easily just using machines. I started going to fitness classes during lunch times and I started to really enjoy them as a way of keeping fit and to take a proper break away from my work, helping to keep stress levels down. They soon became a welcome part of my daily routine and one of my favorite aspects about working at the University.
Lockdown happened and the first couple of weeks is a blur. I was so pleased when the Sports and Wellbeing team started posting online fitness classes. Seeing and working out with familiar faces made me happy and I was excited to show my partner the kind of workouts I did during my lunchbreaks at work. This lockdown situation is unsettling to say the least but doing the virtual fitness classes gives me a welcome sense of normality and a feeling that things might turn out ok in the end.
I get embarrassed to struggle in workout classes in front of people (silly I know) so one advantage to this lockdown is I am trying out other types of fitness classes UoS offer which are above my levels of workout comfort (I also have no coordination). My hope is to get my fitness levels up to a point where, once lockdown is completely lifted, I can try out these other classes in real group settings, without floundering about on my mat and shouting “that’s not physically possible, how can they even do that!”
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Like Vicky, if you're finding it difficult to work from home. Remember that Sport & Wellbeing have FREE online fitness classes available live on Facebook and fitness class archives Youtube. You can also receive fitness advice from the team by using #DYGCoach on Twitter. All of this information and more can also be found on our dedicated #DoesYouGood page.
Thank you for getting involved with #YourActiveStory, Vicky. FREE headphones and a water bottle are on their way to you.