'It gets them off their seats and moving around': Preston fitness centre brings family classes online

Preston's 'Everybody Fit' aims to make exercise accessible for all and, this morning, kickstarted its new remote family fitness class during the third national lockdown.

Owners Cheryl Hughes and Sally Stokes have been adapting online classes to be collaborative and interactive.

Sally, 47, said: "We wanted to offer interactive sessions for parents and their children - it is convenient at lunchtime for homeschooling because it is a stressful time for parents and kids have so much energy to burn.

"It is important to work with the mental health of children and their parents and that is what we are focusing on. After our first class, we had some amazing reviews from families as far as Germany.

"Our clients can interact with coaches and speak with them. They aren't just following a video, it is like being in a live class and we can encourage people and families taking part."

Charlotte Berry, one of the trainers at the Lytham Road fitness centre, has been working with Everybody Fit colleagues to create online classes and is now running the interactive family groups three times a week.

Following the Government u-turn to close schools again, parents are now encouraged to bring their little ones, as young as four, on to the virtual classes for the new 30-minute lunchtime session.

The short classes aim to get youngsters moving alongside their family during their lunch breaks from remote school learning.

Charlotte, 26 said: "It was a joint suggestion from the team to introduce these classes because we have been coming up ideas to help people during this difficult time.

"We wanted to get people on board and offer more variety to people who wanted to get fit online during this challenging time. These classes are mainly for children and families and want to give them the chance to have a break together at home.

"It fits well around children and their busy school schedules and gets them off their seats and away from their desks moving around. In our first session we did a lot of dancing and exercising.

"The class was really busy and had a great reaction. A lot of our usual members have been bringing their children on the calls and we have attracted new people too. We are hoping they make people feel brighter during this tough time because we really care about our community and the effects of this lockdown."

The free sessions will be run via video call service Zoom, three times a week on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12 pm.

And families are encouraged to get involved with the coaches during the interactive sessions.

More information is available from the Everybody Fit Facebook page.

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