The closure of gyms, sports centres and clubs during the coronavirus pandemic has affected a lot of people’s motivation to work out, which is why Eastleigh Borough Council is encouraging people across the Borough to still exercise regularly to help their physical and mental wellbeing as the lockdown continues.
The Council recommends that residents exercise daily and are offering tips and advice through their newly developed Health and Wellbeing section of its website. The Council is also promoting the use of the NHS ‘Couch to 5k’ app, aimed at complete beginners; the app supports people who have never participated in running before and are trying to improve their fitness.
The app gives a week by week breakdown of what the individual should be able to achieve during this time, and each workout will be within the Government advised timeframe of one hour.
The Council’s Cabinet Member for Health, Councillor Tonia Craig, said: “Using the app is a great way to help beginners to start running and give them something to focus on during this difficult time of uncertainty. I think this is a great opportunity for people to start something that they might want to continue with once the restrictions are lifted.”
The Council’s Healthworks team have come up with some useful tips to help people new to running;
1. You may not be able to run with friends or family at this time but you could set yourselves a challenge, they can join you virtually as you work through the sessions. Sharing your achievements with others can be a great motivator.
2. Make sure you look after your feet by investing in good quality running shoes.
3. Be kind to yourself and listen to your body. If you take a little longer than the initial plan suggests, that is fine, as long as you are still exercising.
4. Having an end goal can keep many people motivated. This could be completing your local Parkrun - or maybe a Race for Life event later in the year.
5. Stretch! When you begin a new activity, it is normal to feel some muscle soreness, but lots of stretching at the end of the run can alleviate some of the next day’s aches!
The Health and Wellbeing team have put together key resources and activities to help residents maintain mental and physical wellbeing which are available on the website.
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