Keeping healthy is as important as ever. Our Head of Employee Health and Wellbeing, Rachel Murray, shares her thoughts on staying active during lockdown:
We all know that keeping fit can bring a whole variety of benefits. Physical activity has had a huge impact on my life and has dramatically improved my mental wellbeing.
As someone who used to beg my dad to get me out of having to do cross country at school, I discovered these benefits pretty late. Following a project working on the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics and, in hindsight, a bit of a breakdown, I slowly began to take control of my wellbeing. I took myself on a week’s bootcamp and tried yoga, kickboxing and more. They weren’t all my thing - I quite often fell asleep during the yoga. But through exploring different types of activities I discovered what I did like. I genuinely enjoyed getting up early for circuits classes full of burpees, crunches and deadlifts. I also discovered the massive buzz I got from hiking and climbing mountains - also a great excuse to travel once I’d conquered the UK’s Three Peaks. I now tolerate running (mainly so I can eat more cake) but, importantly I realised how good being active was for my wellbeing overall.
So when lockdown happened, the loss of my routine and ability to exercise in ways that I enjoy, I was worried about how I’d cope. And I’ve certainly experienced the corona-coaster during this time. I couldn’t get hold of an affordable kettle bell and while I kept going with the running, I’ve really missed the variety and outlets that had previously given me so much positive energy.
Bupa have recently partnered with Gympass, and over the last month I’ve been trying it out. With a Bupa subsidised subscription I’ve had five 1:1 personal training sessions (using gin bottles as dumbbells!), given ballet a go (I won’t be buying a tutu anytime soon) and really valued the flexibility of this new platform. With PT sessions near me usually costing about £50+ per go, I’m also making a huge saving!
Being active is so important to wellbeing, regardless of ability. Whether our colleagues are seasoned triathletes or just looking to improve their fitness levels through a dance class there really is something for everyone. And best of all, you don’t have to go near a gym to get value from joining. I’m also looking forward to using it together with our new Be.Me app so I can keep my overall wellbeing on track during these challenging times.
Bupa guest author
