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Exercise for all - Learning As We Battle - Part 3


This blog aims to highlight exercise alternatives anyone can try, but also to suplement athletes sporting skills in an imaginative and creative way that can reinforce and support your journey to good physical health through the pandemic. Are you missing your normal exercise or sporting activity? Tried to weave through the ever increasing you tube workouts but not found the right one? Not sure if they are real instructors? Fancy something different or unique to try? Are you finding it hard to motivate yourself to exercise whilst on lockdown? As an athlete, are you finding it hard to fill your day and want to add something fresh? No matter where you sit on the spectrum of exercise or sports participation from the very beginner of someone stuck at home and ill or or disabled to Paralympic Athletes and able bodied athletes, there is something here that EVERYONE can access and enjoy with the bonus being that the same activity can be used to meet all of your needs. These activities aim to convey to you some unique ways to supplement your current training programmes as athletes as well as supporting those who are limited in terms of what they can do. So, knuckle down and let’s do this! Sit back, and enjoy the ride and see where you go! For example have you ever thought of trying speed stacking to improve your reaction time as the whistle goes at the beginning of a race or juggling to help your hand eye co-ordination? Or embraced the art of visualisation to bring you closer to your normal training plan than you thought? We are taking you on a whistle stop tour of activities at all levels and with the qualified instructors you need to stay safe, have fun, learn something new and challenge yourself to endeavour to participate in something that you can continue and enjoy beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic! Even though there are people now beginning to return to work, others trying to reintegrate into society there are still plenty of people who could try this and with people realising how important mental and physical health have been with work/life balance etc it’s still an opportunity to try something different. So, have fun with it, adapt it but take the basic ideas and turn them into your ideas! The activities and programmes are in our eyes very imaginative and creative. They offer great flexibility and the opportunity to learn new skills and learn about your own capabilities and where the basics of the activities can take you to.

Please remember to select the right level and if you are new to exercise contact a GP or if you are an athlete with a coach have a chat with them to make sure the are on board with what might seem like easy and fun it can have a profound effect on your abilities to do daily tasks for some and for others it really could give your reaction time to the start of your competition down by that tenth you really need! 1. Juggling with Cirque Du Soleil Our journey begins with Cirque Du Soleil and I LOVE this concept! Juggling can be for anyone. Now ‘I can’t juggle’ I can hear people say or others unlike us will say yes we can! But if we start basic and move up the chain we can all participate in something. Why choose juggling? Well there are so many benefits to this activity. Here are just a few of the reasons that juggling is the ultimate exercise! Click on any of the benefits of juggling to learn more. ‘Juggling is a truly portable workout. It makes you smarter. It sharpens focus & concentration. It’s an exercise that doesn’t ‘feel’ like exercise. You can juggle where you are, no travel required! Juggling maintains and increases range of motion in the arms and shoulders. It is one of the best ways to improve coordination. Juggling is beneficial for all age groups and body types. Juggling makes exercising with family and friends easy’. http://jugglefit.com/jf_benefits.html

In this process we are going to follow the charismatic and superbly talented Vernard Hazen. The link to the first video takes you from how to start with just one ball and then progresses to 3 balls. He actively encourages you to try one ball first and then to pause, practice and return when ready for the next step which is fantastic! https://youtu.be/ajZ88LO7WoM

Once that’s done you can watch one of his incredible performances in what is possibly the best ever cirque productions (in our opinion anyway!) Nouba. https://youtu.be/vnV4Vy7wiNE

2. Wheelchair Circuit Training Some people will automatically hone into this as wheelchair - Yeah that’s for me! Others may be tempted to skip past BUT please don’t! Not only will this still be a great workout theres a huge opportunity for athletes and coaches and providers of physical activities. Coaches - ever wondered if you could incorporate disabled people or those with long term medical conditions that mean they need to use a wheelchair when out and about? Well this is your chance and top athletes, well what a different way to focus on some different skills. Don’t worry about sourcing a wheelchair, any old chair from around the house will give you the idea of what its like and hopefully make your sessions more accessible to all! Not only that you may learn a few exercises that are different to what you currently do standing that you can transfer. The programmes are endorsed by Sport England and WheelPower so are safe to follow. Remember to stay within your limits. Fancy a try? Just click the links below! Ella states that “During these workouts, I hope to make exercise fun and exciting, whilst simultaneously working on exercising our upper body muscles, helping to keep us fit and active. You do not need any specialised equipment to take part in these exercises, all the props used in each video will be readily available in every household.” As she mentions above nothing fancy is needed but be prepared to use some tights and brooms in ways you wouldn’t expect! Part One https://youtu.be/RMahBRVhGZM

3. Speed Stacking Looking for something that will work your brain and body as well as improving your hand to eye co-ordination? Then this is a great option. Speed stacking was something I first became aware of whilst working with schools in Westminster. One innovative teacher was looking for alternative activities for pupils when ‘wet/snowy’ days meant not enough indoor space for PE lessons and so some would be sat during theory work. He stumbled upon speed stacking and invested in a class set of stackable cups. It soon took over as not just a ‘covering’ session but an activity that supported the PE lessons and soon became a competitive and non competitive club activity that the students absolutely loved! Now it’s seen as an official sport and globally there are all sorts of competitions and programmes running. The great thing is this can be done at so many levels EVERYONE can benefit. Everyone needs to start at the bottom and work their way up so that means you can progress as far as you like or are able to. So the basic theory is you have 9 cups per person and you start with them stacked and then create pyramids with them starting 3 x 3 and then progressing. This is tricky to explain but thankfully, we are lucky to have unearthed a fantastic resource from the BBC which is going to guide us through the whole process! Plus the bonus with this is you don’t need anything fancy to get you started. Got some paper cups in the cupboard or a set of beakers on the side? They will get you going. Then if you want you can purchase proper sets at a later date. This research has even got me inspired to have a go so the party cups carer found are out and ready to go! I’m only ate entry level but interesting to see if it really helps hand control. The official ‘#MakeYourMove’ speed stacking challenge can be found at this link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5K6QMDpwmHQK999DtmvhGgG/the-speed-stacking-challenge-makeyourmove The official BBC programme is explained as: ‘This challenge is a fun way to improve your hand eye coordination as well as impress your mates'.


'The aim is to smoothly stack a pyramid of cups without knocking them over, and then dismantle your pyramid with no disasters’. This will test your nerves as well as your dexterity, but the cups are only plastic, so don’t be afraid to try and get speedier as you go along. Fear of failure doesn’t apply when things aren’t breakable'.

Follow Lee in the video as he takes you through the 3-3-3 formation and the 3-6-3 formation. When you are feeling up to it, try to follow Lee’s demonstration of The Cycle in the advance section below. These are actual Speed Stacking formations that are used in competition.

The idea is to have some fun while learning something new and getting your upper body moving. If you become an internet sensation at the same time, we applaud you’. BBC Website.


4. Exercise Bingo For this area of the list we have turned to the fantastic resource produced by Active Essex during the COVID-19. This video really highlights how everyone can be included in the activities through the Disability Sport Section of Essex Council. This first link is a fantastic place to get you started and encourage everyone to join in All Together. https://twitter.com/ActiveEssex/status/1258664157123051520?s=20

It’s a really simple way to build exercise into your day using simple activity tasks. You could just use it as a ‘game’ if you wanted and take it in turns to choose an activity, or you can just use it to ‘gap’ fill when the day is dragging and your brain fog is mounting. It can give you something positive to focus on and bring your anxiety levels back down again. Another alternative, especially if you are on your own is to FaceTime others and do this together, with each person involved in choosing an activity that you do for 30 seconds and then the next person chooses - play around with it and have a go. This link will take you to the actual bingo board that you can work from initially; https://sway.office.com/eH2ObE8QofcwjZon?ref=email

Then you can use this slightly more Difficult one; https://sway.office.com/eH2ObE8QofcwjZon?ref=email

Then, there is a blank chart for you and your family to complete together or on your own. Take the ideas on the charts to help you and see how creative you can be at finding other activities and using ones from the other boards that are helpful to you. https://sway.office.com/eH2ObE8QofcwjZon?ref=email 5. Sport & Exercise Psychology Now we take a less strenuous but highly valuable tool that encompasses various areas of sports psychology, which again is something that we can all do, no matter what exercise or sport you miss, acknowledge that times are hard and helping you to a new normal with whatever you are missing. You don’t need to be a high level performer to benefit from this. With gyms and swimming pools and other indoor / team activities likely to be the last thing that gets up and running we still have that much more time to wait for what we all enjoy ‘normally’ whatever level that may be. Swim England have produced a series of video’s relating to sports psychology which we will focus on for the purpose of this blog. Although, you may think they are just for swimmers they aren’t and can be easily adapted to suit your own needs, ability and depth that you want to go into. There are some great tips given by Hannah Stoyal and Helen Dowis who are Sports Psychologists for Swim England. Expressing Emotional Situations https://youtu.be/LNu4xUo2P50

Effective Self Talk https://youtu.be/xhRmx0k73XE Visualising is something we we at time to heal would really like to advocate. It’s simple to do once you’ve got the hang of it. Find yourself a quiet space and in your head place yourself in the exercise / sport setting. Think about what it feels like and how you get started. So as this links to the above videos we’ll use swimming as our example. Think about how it feels to be in the water, the lane ropes, the black line on the bottom of the pool, how the water feels around your body. Choose your stroke and length and simply go through the whole process in your head. How you start, the feeling of being under the water, the way the stroke feels…. you get the idea. But this can be done for absolutely any sport and exercise and hopefully help when we return to the pool. So there we have it! Our top 5! However, there are some additional links below that you may like to try, although there is so much content available we have decided to hone in on the five specific providers of our favourite five activities to show you what else these trusted sites have on offer to you. The one exception of the five is the BBC where we have chosen to bring in We Are Undefeatable’s instead which you may have seen in previous blogs. 1.Cirque Du Soleil There’s a ‘Stay Connected Programme’. On this site there are a huge range of resources and activities that are fascinating and fun to try. You can even learn how to do face painting or you could try the children’s section for more juggling, dance or the beginners ab routines! They are also showing 60 minute films of some of their Cirque Shows so you can see what it’s all about. https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/cirqueconnect

Something At a Higher Pace Perhaps? From the same site; ‘Hosted by Gold & Silver Medalist 2016 Olympics, Artistic Gymnastics - Laurie Hernandez, tune in and follow along with us every week as we go through different workouts with Cirque du Soleil athletes and their coaches’. You Tube. These are tough activities and not for the faint hearted but you could watch and see how they progress from beginner level to actual performance level as a matter of interest. It will certainly show you how much work they have to put it in order to achieve the performance level that they do! The whole process is fascinating to watch. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9RDgPtBc9anaTbIDdU5EZ0DiVJOHXljK

Enjoying stay connected? Then head to the main site link below. Join up, look and marvel at the incredible music, acrobats, singers, tumbling, circus skills and much more in the different shows, with loads of trailers. Plus why not make it an opportunity to plan to actually visit a show once they are all up and running with all your insider knowledge. Remember that by allowing yourself to follow this concept you are learning what it takes to be in the show and that in itself is a powerful tool into a new found hobby! https://www.cirquedusoleil.com

2. Wheelpower Ben Clark, a personal trainer and is a C7 quadriplegic hosts a series of wheelchair based exercise sessions for you. He comments that;- "In my workouts I really try to adapt them for all levels of ability and fitness, giving lots of ways to make the workouts easier or tougher and adaptions if exercises aren't possible to adapt and workout that's perfect for you. And all my sessions come with a smile.” https://youtu.be/oH43058VL9Q

3. Undefeatables So this is where we hit our alternative provider. ‘We are Undefeatables’ has been running now since August 2019 as a national campaign, lead by Sport England and funded through The National Lottery. It highlights the fact that there are 1 in 4 people in this country who are trying to manage at least one long term health problem and are working alongside 15 health and social care charities. Make physical activity part of your life and especially during the lock down. Find some inspirational stories through the link below and join us on our adventure. The TV Advert can be viewed at the link below, as well as host of other inspirational posts and ideas to try;- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xW8TWS8dbs Plus for the latest updates check out the link below. http://email.ageuk.org.uk/q/13V6f9xX1fORyoqsIJFfK/wv

4. Active Essex Council Programmes As well as the exercise bingo we have already looked at, Active Essex have a full schedule of structured and varied exercise programmes that you can use safely. There are helpful links to the You Tube Channel, the full schedule and most importantly the Active Essex Instructors and qualifications. They range from PE classes to children to pilates and seated exercise. Active Essex You Tube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9tcapECrxjrDHX_iDHgGeg/

5. Swim England. Cabin Fever looks like a great resource and for some this will now be recognised. Cannot imagine there is anyone who at some point feels this so try this out for some top tips! https://youtu.be/5x546oXgSWw Plus there are more videos available on shoulder work, different positions and activity sessions. Visit the You Tube page at the link below for all that you need! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbdK9FG_t6ENQRhds_NNtXQ

We really hope that this is helpful as a resource for participation in sport and exercise at this difficult time. As we move into mental Health Awareness Week look out for next week’s blog. The introduction can be seen below and you can revisit Learning as we battle and TV essentials on our blog page. So for now be safe, stay home if you can and of course get active in your own way and at the right level for you. But don’t be afraid to try something new. It can be a challenge but it might be worth a try. Trial and error is the name of the game right now and we are just sharing our best with you. Dazzle Box - Learning as We battle - Part 4 Do you find yourself at times wondering what to do with yourself? You’ve finished your planned activity and don’t know what to do next? Do you get anxious because there is so much choice around you? How about your family members? Perhaps the things you wanted to get done are all sorted and you are feeling lost and overwhelmed wondering what’s going next? This blog materialises from the concept we recently used to create a log book for children with Pituitary Conditions which has been promoted by The Pituitary Foundation as well as on our own site. It’s easy to set up and to use and will ensure that you and your family members can all have something that is personal for you and fills those difficult to do moments where you find your self with spacey eyes wondering where you begin.It’s like giving your brain a break and working out what to do next will come easier. Developed from a mental health perspective it’s great for all the family, from children up to grandparents and the over 100’s! Let us guide you to create a ‘Dazzle Box’. It’s a simple way to keep you motivated through these difficult times that we are facing. We guarantee that you won’t be disappointed! There really is something for everyone and we can hit exercise, reaction times, learning and calm reflection activities all into one....

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