May 2020 news

Welcome to the monthly edition of we can move news. We hope this helps and inspires all of us in Gloucestershire to move more. 

This month:
- Are we more active than before the Coronavirus?
- Keep the changes you have made after lockdown
- Use the space you have to stay active
- Bringing the sport and physical activity sector together; join us
- Busy Brain Breaks; exercise videos for children
- Tweedy's challenge; get children moving and having fun
- Inspiring stories; championing movement during Coronavirus

Are we more active than before the Coronavirus?

The latest data on the effects of lockdown on physical activity.

Activity levels were at a record high before the Coronavirus pandemic according to the Active Lives Adult Survey from Sport England. Women, adults over 55, disabled people or those with long-term health conditions seem to be getting more active. You can see this report as well as what is happening locally on our insight hub.

How has lockdown affected how we feel about physical activity?

With exercise being one of the reasons we are now allowed to leave our homes, more of us seem to understand how important exercise is in managing our physical and emotional health. Of those surveyed, in recent Sport England research, 62% of adults said it is more important to be active during the outbreak compared to other times.

However, not all of us are getting more active. Older people, people on lower incomes, those living in urban areas and those living alone are finding it harder to be active. Active Gloucestershire, the coordinating body of we can move, has put together a response to these findings which you can see here.

We have resources to support you to be active, maintain your activity levels or encourage others to get active.

Keep the changes you have made after lockdown

How to carry on with the changes you have made to your routine after lockdown.

We are weeks into the lockdown and for some it's been an opportunity to exercise more. We're surrounded by messages on the importance of being physically active; whether it is the Prime Minister telling us we can go out to exercise, taking an online yoga class or doing a dance challenge.

As we look forward to being able to get out of the house more, how will the disruption of ‘normal life’ affect our new exercise habits? How do we make sure we keep building on our good habits and don’t go back to our old patterns?

If you have become more active, you have made a decision to act, acted on your decision and repeated that. Keep that up!

We have resources and suggested activities to guide you along the way.

Get active, get involved and together we can get everybody in Gloucestershire active.

Using the space you have to stay active

You may not have access to the gym or a garden. So what else can you do to stay active?

Fall-proof includes six daily movements you can do at home to help improve your strength and balance.

The exercises are easy to follow and can be done while you're waiting for the kettle to boil or chatting to a loved one on the phone – all you need is a chair!

Follow fall-proof on Facebook or find more resources and a downloadable exercise booklet here. 

Bringing the sport and physical activity sector together; join us for a video call.

Do you work in the sport and physical activity sector in Gloucestershire? Join us for a video call to discuss how the current crisis is affecting your work.

We want to hear about your challenges and understand what further support you might need. We can’t promise we can help, but we can share what we know, provide some mutual support and perhaps agree what we need to ask for.

Busy Brain Breaks; exercise videos for children

A Hartpury University PhD research project has created activities to improve the fitness levels of primary school children.

PhD student Alice Cline is helping to support teachers and parents while schools are closed during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Alice created the Busy Brain Breaks videos to help children take a break and move more during the day.. She's been working with 10 schools and over 1000 children in Gloucestershire to create something easy to use.

These videos are available for schools across Gloucestershire looking after the children of key workers and parents who are teaching their children at home. You can watch the videos on YouTube. Give the Busy Brain Breaks a go!

Tweedy’s challenge; get children moving and having fun

Tweedy the clown, the comedy and slapstick legend and star, will set a challenge every Tuesday morning in May to get children moving and having fun. All of the challenges can be done indoors or in your garden and no special equipment or clothing is needed!

This challenge is organised by Gloucestershire School Games, supported by Active Gloucestershire and we can move.

Inspiring stories; championing movement during Coronavirus

Want to feel inspired? Hear how the UK's youngest yoga instructor has been supporting others to stay active during lockdown. 

At just 15 years old, Flo is passionate about supporting and inspiring others to be active. Right now there's never been a more important time to help others build movement into their lives. 

With funding from Active Gloucestershire and Sport England, Flo has moved from face-to-face sessions to weekly online classes aimed at students and older adults of all abilities. She hopes these sessions can bring joy and light into someone's day and help them stay connected and keep moving. 

We hope Flo's story inspires you and others to help support people in Gloucestershire to keep moving. 

Active Gloucestershire is the coordinating body of we can move. Active Gloucestershire is a charity whose vision is that everyone in Gloucestershire is active everyday.