[As of Friday 20th March]
We knew this situation would change rapidly! Please see below:
ALL CLIENTS
Please do keep an eye on your inbox, my public business page (Lovefit Women’s Wellness) on facebook and Instagram, and the private facebook groups. I will keep everyone updated as best I can, about how we are running things for now. Likewise, whenever things begin to return to normal, I’ll let you know how we are phasing stuff back into face to face.
If you are unsure about anything, please do get in touch however you wish. My main aim is to continue providing you with support, encouragement, and fun workouts.
1-1 CLIENTS
I am in touch with each of you individually by phone.
CLASSES
- ALL classes are now online.
- If you have an ‘unlimited’ membership, remember you can attend as many sessions per week as you wish, so feel free to book in for extra sessions. There have to be some bonuses to this situation, right!
- Please see HERE for details of how to book, and to view the timetable.
- If virtual sessions are not for you please let me know. I will of course pause your membership / extend your expiry date until such a time as we can get back to ‘normal’. I would just stress, however, that all you need is an internet connection. Don’t worry about space (I have the tiniest space), nor equipment.
- If you do own some equipment (bands, kettlebells etc) then have them to hand as I will offer suggestions for those who have them. And if we do end up doing things online for a while (which I suspect will be the case) then it might be worth trying to buy a band or two, depending on what class you attend. For now, I’ll be focusing on workouts without equipment, while we all find out feet!
- FYI – you can opt to turn off your video so that I can’t see you. That’s entirely your right! But it is helpful for me if I can see participants so I can check your form and offer corrections as needed.
- If a class says it’s full when you go to book in, please add yourself to the waiting list and I’ll expand the class capacity to accommodate everyone.
Pregnancy (“Bumps”)
- Class last week was able to run essentially as normal. I left everyone’s microphones on as we are a small group and it was great to be able to talk to one another and do our usual chat at the end of class.
- As above, if you have any bands, please have them to hand, but don’t worry if you don’t.
- Make sure you have a comfy space for relaxation at the end. You can get down onto an exercise mat, or even your sofa / bed. Treat yourself and make sure you have some nice cushions to hand.
Postnatal (“Babies”)
- Class last week was able to run essentially as normal, and it was great to be able to chat before / after class.
- I am going to suggest that everyone mutes their audio once we start exercising, otherwise a loud baby steals the screen time, which makes it hard for everyone to hear and see me properly.
- As above, if you have any bands, please have them to hand, but don’t worry if you don’t.
Barre
- You will need a chair, or you could use your kitchen counter, to serve as your barre.
- As above, if you have any bands, please have them to hand, but don’t worry if you don’t. Most of you won’t have light handweights at home, but a can of beans (or equivalent) or even your water bottle could come in handy to replicate the dumbbell section we sometimes do.
- Monday night group, as this will be a large group with lots of participants, I am going to try and set it up so that your audio is muted. With Zoom, the loudest participant wins the screen time. That’s usually me (!) but with so many of us in the ‘meeting’ I think it’s wise if we minimise the risk of distracting noises. I’ll then suggest we unmute at the end so we can all say hi properly. I don’t want it to become impersonal!
WOW
- As above, if you have any bands / kettlebells etc, please have them to hand, but don’t worry if you don’t. I’ll focus the sessions on bodyweight exercises while we are online.
- I will be indoors for the workouts, simply to ensure I have good internet connection. I don’t want to rely on 4G and then lose signal! You are very welcome to head outside though to keep things as authentic as possible. It’s so good to get outside if you can.
- I had really hoped to keep this running outside until we got locked down but it seems prudent to take this online for a number of reasons: 1) Although we can enforce extreme social distancing (even 5 metres apart), it is still a gathering and I just feel it is my responsibility to be as cautious as possible. 2) A large number of you are self isolating, either owing to symptoms in your household, or because of your job / caring responsibilities. Therefore, were I to keep classes running outside in person, many of you would not be able to attend, despite being fit and willing. Taking WOW online gives everyone a chance to keep their workouts going.
As always, thanks for reading, and for your amazing support during this time. Hopefully I can return the support by keeping you moving with a friendly face! I honestly cannot believe how much things have changed over the course of this week. Please stay safe, and stay well. X
DISREGARD INFORMATION BELOW THIS POINT.
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[As of Tuesday 17th March 2020]
Following the updates during the press conference last night, early evening Monday 16th March, I have had to abandon the below (that was an afternoon well spent!) and ramp things up further.
All indoor classes can no longer take place. It would be against the latest advice, and too much risk to the vulnerable. I shall be moving all pregnancy, postnatal and barre classes to an online, virtual setting.
WOW is outdoors and, until we are forced into lockdown, can still continue. Most of you seem happy to do this, on the basis that we are not using any equipment and all remain a good distance apart. As our groups are small anyway, not large bootcamp-style sessions, we can carry on… IF YOU WISH TO. If a significant number would prefer not to, WOW will also move to a virtual setting with immediate effect. *Please let me know.*
1-1 clients are on a case by case, individual basis. I now cannot touch you at all but, as I had previously said, this is actually fine and doesn’t limit us hugely. I will need to know from each of you whether you wish to:
a) continue face to face
b) hold sessions via Zoom / Skype
c) Move to a distance training approach (I write you some programmes to do on your own, and we check in each week to see how you’re doing).
d) Pause training completely for now.
If and when we reach lockdown (soon I guess), all face to face sessions will have to stop and we can implement virtual sessions if you wish.
Survival of my business aside, I hope that most people will be happy with some form of virtual / online / distance option. This situation could go on for months and no gyms, classes, yoga studios will be open. Doing no exercise is not a good idea! Not least for your mental health. Obviously heading out for a walk or a run is a good option, but for those who don’t run, or need something extra, I hope to be able to keep you going, one way or another.
Of course if you do choose to stop training for now, I will freeze memberships until we are out the other side of this thing.
Please stay in touch with me so I can advise you of next steps. XXX
DISREGARD INFORMATION BELOW THIS POINT.
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[As of Monday 16th March 2020]
Here is my current strategy for Lovefit with regard to Covid-19. Please note, as you are all very aware, the situation is developing day to day, so the below will likely change imminently. As per current guidelines, Lovefit remains open for the time being, but with a number of measures in place.
I would ask that all current members keep an eye on their inbox for further updates from me.
Please scroll down to the relevant section.
ALL CLIENTS
- If you have a cough or a temperature, I would ask that you do not attend your training session or class. As per the government guidelines, anyone with those symptoms should self-isolate for 14 days. The latest advice (as of Monday 16th evening) is that this applies to you if anyone in your household has symptoms, although at the time of writing this hadn’t been updated on the government website. I am obviously happy to pause memberships / extend expiry dates if you are affected by this and have to stay home.
- If I develop any symptoms at all, obviously I will stay away from everyone, and you would be refunded / credited accordingly. The same if my husband or son develops any symptoms.
- If you, or anyone in your household tests positive for Covid-19, then I hope it goes without saying that you should cancel your sessions!
- I will not be doing any hands on corrections during this time.
- Please wash your hands (or use sanitiser) before and after every session.
- Keep healthy! Never has it been more important to look after yourself: Take exercise, get outside, eat well, hydrate, sleep. I am doing everything in my power to continue helping you, without putting anyone at risk.
- I am currently gearing up to move everything online, and would appreciate your feedback on that.
- If you’re on facebook, you are very welcome to join my private group “Amber’s Lovefit Community” where we can all connect, and I will post some short home workouts. (There is also a huge back catalogue of 15 minute workouts on this free resource).
1-1 CLIENTS
- Please bring your own mat (and any other kit you own) along to your session.
- All my kit in the gym will still be at your disposal and – as I have already been doing – I will ensure every piece of equipment is wiped down after every use. Please let me know if you would prefer to focus on bodyweight exercises only if you do not have any of your own equipment.
- If weather permits, we’ll take as much of each session outside as possible.
- I will ask you to sanitise your hands at the start and end of each training session. I have provided some in the gym but, again, please feel free to use your own if you have it.
- It feels like 1-1 sessions can easily be managed if the situation worsens and I can coach you from 2 metres away without too much bother. However, if we are put on lockdown then I would be looking to continue your training online via Skype or Zoom. Unlike my normal “distance training” the idea would be to do a virtual session where I guide you through your normal session, just via the computer. If it comes to this, I’ll be asking you to let me know what equipment (if any) you have at home, so that I can amend your programme accordingly. As none of you are bodybuilding, we can still get great results using 100% bodyweight exercises if needs be.
CLASSES
As at this point in time, classes are still going ahead with a number of changes in place. However, I suspect that I will need to move (at least some) things online in the near future. I have been looking into various options for streaming classes live (at their normal time) so that you can join in at home. The idea is that all classes would be saved / stored so that you could do them at an alternative time (say, for example, that your normal 7pm class clashes with kid’s bedtime and so wouldn’t be possible if you were at home).
Right now, for as long as classes continue in person, please be advised of the following:
- Make sure you continue to register / unregister online so I can monitor class numbers and proceed accordingly.
- Please bring your own mat to ALL classes. If you do not own one, I will have spares with me and will ask that you wipe them down after use (I am providing spray and paper towels).
- No equipment will be used in class for the foreseeable future. Perhaps this is a blessing?!
Pregnancy (“Bumps”)
- Please bring your own mat to class (see above).
- If you have your own bands, then please bring them along. I shan’t be using any of mine in class.
- As class is not full at the moment, we can easily spread out and keep a good distance from one another.
- There will be no partner work (touching one another) until things calm down.
- I am not providing snacks for the time being. Herbal tea will still be available – I will wash mugs before use, and ask you to wash up afterwards. Please feel free to bring your own snacks though! I just feel that sharing food out of a bowl is no longer sensible, nor is bringing in my own homemade snacks to share.
- Current RCOG advice around Covid-19 in pregnancy is here and being updated regularly.
- As with all my sessions, I am looking to move things online as soon as we need to, so that there is minimal disruption to your sessions and I can continue to keep you fit and educated throughout the rest of your pregnancy.
Postnatal (“Babies”)
- Please bring your own mat to class (see above).
- If you have your own bands, then please bring them along. I shan’t be using any of mine in class.
- As class is no longer full, we can easily spread out and keep a good distance from one another.
- There will be no partner work (touching one another) until things calm down.
- I am not providing snacks for the time being. Squash will still be available – I will wash cups before use as an extra precaution. Please feel free to bring your own snacks though! I just feel that sharing food out of a bowl is no longer sensible, nor is bringing in my own homemade snacks to share.
- Current advice around Covid-19 and breastfeeding can be found here if you have any concerns (you needn’t have – keep feeding)!
- As with all my sessions, I am looking to move things online as soon as we need to, so that there is minimal disruption to your sessions and I can continue to keep you fit and educated during this important postnatal period.
- For anyone who is worried, but keen to keep moving in person, you might be ready to move on to my WOW sessions which take place outside. If this is your preference, your existing “babies” membership will enable you to book into WOW instead. Please ask me if you’re unsure. An overview timetable is on the homepage of my website www.lovefittraining.com.
Barre
- Please bring your own mat to class (see above).
- I shan’t be using bands / dumbbells etc in class until further notice.
- As class numbers will undoubtedly be lower than usual, there will be plenty of space for us to spread out and maintain a good distance apart.
- The Salvation Army has asked all hirers to wipe down surfaces touched (chairs, door handles, light switches) so they are doing their bit. They are providing spray, as am I, and I would kindly ask that you all wipe down your chair back at the end of the class, along with your mat (if you borrow one) at the end of class.
- I will wipe the barres at the Cottenham studio before and after class.
- As the situation is likely to worsen we have a number of possible options over the coming weeks:
– Barre-less barre (i.e. we still do class but all in the centre, not using the chairs / barres).
– Like most of my sessions, I will likely move to an online streamed class.
– There is an option to switch Monday night barre for either WOW or al-fresco barre as we should have light evenings in a fortnight.
WOW
- This is likely the class with the least impact – hooray for outdoors!
- We can spread out as far away from each other as you wish 🙂
- I shan’t be providing any equipment for the time being, but please do bring your own kettlebells as normal, and / or bands if you have them, so that I can give options for using them. I’ll be focusing workouts around bodyweight exercises, with options for those who have their own KB etc.
- There is a chance that I will temporarily reinstate Monday night WOW (or some kind of in-person outdoor barre) – TBC!
Thank you everyone for reading. And thank you for continuing to support Lovefit in whatever way you can during this crazy time. It’s very scary and difficult as a self-employed micro-business owner, but I also know it’s scary and difficult for everyone in one way or another. We are in this together. Please do reach out to me with any concerns, questions, suggestions. I am very open to doing whatever works to keep you all on track and feeling well, whilst enabling my business to survive its toughest time yet (and I set up during the 2008 recession)!
Sending love to all of you. XXX