Eric my assistant enjoying the new online studio! Hello to all my wonderful ladies and Gents,
I hope this Newsletter finds you and your family in good health and safe.
I hope this Newsletter finds you and your family in good health and safe.
January started off normally with my group face-to-face classes being full, my Personal Training sessions were busy but gradually more and more people started to get ill and as March crept around the corner we went into lockdown.
Well what a year it has been, who would have thought that the world would have come to a halt. All businesses had to think outside the box and IT came into its own, I had to come out of my comfort zone and learn new skills that I would have not normally even dared to try.
Oil-lie wanted to join in on the Zoom session:-) The first two weeks of lockdown were crazy, two of my sons were trying to teach me how to use Zoom remotely via the phone. This was fairly stressful on both sides, you could have easily made a comedy stretch up about the conversations we were having…. ‘No not that button, hello can you hear me’! Then once I had grasped how Zoom worked I had to let my ladies and gents know about the classes I was going to be running. By the time I had spoken to everyone and helped the ladies and gents that needed support on setting up Zoom on their computers, I felt a lot more confident. Although not the same as face to face classes, it certainly was a second best. I just loved seeing the smiles on my ladies and gent faces when I looked at my screen; I have been able to to see their pets/children and other halves legs! One of my 1-2-1 clients cat (Oil-lie) came into the room and just sat and stared at me for over half an hour! Everyone got to meet my cats Poppy and Bella; Poppy would regularly comes in while I am teaching and jump on my back while I am trying to balance on all fours. I certainly have lots of happy memories that put a smile on my face.
Taking no chances with my ladies and gents. When things started to settle down I had to think of different ways to teach and adapt my methods so I was within the restrictions set, it was a blessing to have such wonderful weather, which helped. I started Personal training sessions outside, I started to get a tan although T-shirt shaped. Then I went back to teaching inside client’s homes and teaching smaller group classes in indoor venues with PPE kit on, a very odd experience to begin with but it became normal. I have taken lots of temperatures as clients came into class, gone through nearly 20 litres of sanitizer spray for equipment and forgotten how many bottles of hand sanitizer along with rolls of blue tissue I have gone through, but I was going to make sure all my ladies and gents felt safe coming to my classes.
Some of my Personal training ladies where shielding so I could not go into their homes, so I started to teach them while standing on their patios and they stayed indoors in their conservatories with the doors open. This was okay until it started getting colder and wet, but I invested in a golf umbrella/waterproof trousers/rain Mac and thermals… nothing was going to stop me!
 Staying nice and warm. |  Nearly staying dry, afterwards I invested in a big umbrella! |
Getting ready for our duties.
Sadly due to restriction a lot of the fundraising events that my partner and myself would have volunteered at did not take place, but St Barnabas did manage to run the South Down Trek in September. Both Alan and myself met the walkers at the end to congratulate them on their achievements and give them their medals; it was an honour to do as they had worked so hard and were exhausted. I would have gladly given them a stretching session, but sadly that was not allowed under Covid restrictions.
Sadly due to restriction a lot of the fundraising events that my partner and myself would have volunteered at did not take place, but St Barnabas did manage to run the South Down Trek in September. Both Alan and myself met the walkers at the end to congratulate them on their achievements and give them their medals; it was an honour to do as they had worked so hard and were exhausted. I would have gladly given them a stretching session, but sadly that was not allowed under Covid restrictions.
So as we come out of Lock Down 2 and into tiers in December, smaller classes have started again with lots of cleaning. Zoom classes will be carrying on for the foreseeable future along side face to face classes as they have worked so well for some of my ladies and gents. I have an 84-year-old lady that lives in Kent that attends my Staying Active zoom class; she loves the class as it keeps her active and mobile but she also enjoys the interaction with others as she lives by herself. So I could teach on line to anyone in the world from my studio at home, I could have never imaged that happening the beginning of the year!
With the roll out of the new vaccine hopefully when most of us are protected, life will resembled some sort of normality. Classes can then take more participants, so that I can get all my ladies and gents back into class, as I know they are missing the exercise and social aspect.
As a fully qualified First Aider I have been accepted for training as a volunteer vaccinator by St Johns ambulance, so I will be busy studying over the Christmas holidays and then into the classroom for face-to-face training in the New Year. It will be good to do my bit to help get the vaccine out to as many people as possible, making people feel safe again so they can start to get back to their everyday activities.
With the roll out of the new vaccine hopefully when most of us are protected, life will resembled some sort of normality. Classes can then take more participants, so that I can get all my ladies and gents back into class, as I know they are missing the exercise and social aspect.
As a fully qualified First Aider I have been accepted for training as a volunteer vaccinator by St Johns ambulance, so I will be busy studying over the Christmas holidays and then into the classroom for face-to-face training in the New Year. It will be good to do my bit to help get the vaccine out to as many people as possible, making people feel safe again so they can start to get back to their everyday activities.
Getting ready for a class! So what will next year bring? I know that we will all be working in a very different way to how we used to, maybe for the better? My office has now turned into a studio; my cats love it when I get my mat out! We have all learnt new skills, we have learnt to appreciate everything we have and appreciate the friends and family we love. I always look for the positives in life when something negative happens, I really think we have become better people for slowing down our life and taking in the things that really matter to us and appreciating them.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported me through out this challenging year; I am truly a very lucky lady to have such caring and kind clients who I now think of as my friends.
I wish you all a safe and healthy Happy New Year and look forward to working with you in 2021, when we are allowed again I will give you all a big hug.
I wish you all a safe and healthy Happy New Year and look forward to working with you in 2021, when we are allowed again I will give you all a big hug.
With Love
Lorraine xxx
Lorraine xxx
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