CORONAVIRUS: A message from our Health & Fitness Manager
Dear Members,
I am not sure where to start. This is a disorienting time, things are evolving so fast that when I started writing this, the gym was still open. Remember the last time we watched a sporting event? Feels like a long time ago, not just over a week. I know it got bad last week when I was gutted to hear Eurovision was cancelled. I’d take any live event to watch right now.
Several of you may have been exposed to war, sanctions or poverty and some of the current Coronavirus climate may, sadly, feel familiar. Against the helpless feeling there was always a way to escape, to do something productive to make yourself feel better. That was sport.
We continued to try very hard to make our club as safe as possible for you to work out in. We maintained constantly cleaning, sensibly washing hands and following the guidelines of social distancing or self-isolation. We have deeply appreciated your support throughout this surreal time, and we will do our best get through this together.
Even though we are now temporarily closed, we will not forget you. As we all end cooped up at home, we still want to help you somehow. We will be sharing workout at home videos for a variety of demographics to keep everyone ticking over. From beginners to more intense regimes, to the older members and stretching routines we will have you covered. Regular exercise will become trickier but finding a way to do it will be valuable. We hope you will find the circuits and routines fun too.
It will be stressful time and exercise can help us regain a sense of control whilst fighting off anxiety and depression. The eternal benefits of physical activity also include it boosting your immune system with the increased blood flow transporting white blood cells around the body. In addition, it acts in combatting chronic cardiovascular disease risk factors or asthma, which will make you more vulnerable to Covid-19. If any of these apply, please take it easier with your intensities and contact a member of the gym team about what you should do
The Hogarth has always aimed to be more than a club. We are run by a family with our staff and members feeling as an extended family too. Helping each other has been a cornerstone of our 38-year history. Even without a total lockdown many are already in quarantine, and we want to reach out to them immediately.
We have launched a Hogarth Helpers group that will have our team go beyond our premises and into the community to help those in need. You can join this list too and get involved directly on Facebook or email us for more info. If you are lonely and need some help with your shopping, a prescription to be collected, require your dog walking or even if you are quarantined and want a chat, a phone or video call will be available.
We will all need to help those heroes in the NHS who will put themselves in harm’s way for the rest of us. We shall support the key workers too as they make sure our society runs efficiently as the virus is fought.
Many of you will be anxious, just remember none of us are alone. The stress of this moment can be alleviated by exercise. It has always been a perpetual tool for our physical and mental health. It will not surprise you that we believe it helps tackle most problems, even now. We hope you continue to find it beneficial. We will explore ways to get you working out regardless of the situation so please follow us for updates.
The insecurity of the moment may, understandably, not make you want to train or even feel safe to do so. Exercise will help us cope and at some point, it will help us thrive again.
We are with you.
Voj x