Darling DYBO family, in the midst of this madness, sadness, shock and grief, I want to reach out to you, to help you back on to your emotional feet. To remind you that the change in Covid measures is not to ‘Punish us but to Protect us’.
Daisy and I have planned wonderful Christmas themed classes, choreography and music in this final push to Christmas Day. There is no need to even leave your house! You can stay safe, fit and entertained when you join our classes as we Zoom from our Studio straight to your home. You are always welcome with a virtual hug and a big smile.
I also want to congratulate you for doing so well at switching from face to face classes to joining the world of Online Fitness and Dance!
41 weeks ago I took the decision to cancel our Monday Night Class following an announcement from our PM – I was literally walking out the door to drive to All Hallows when I received a message that caused me to cancel classes and threw me in to turmoil.
‘Did I over react? Was I doing the right thing? Will the DYBO family be cross with me for cancelling?’
The following day, after reaching out to the fitness governing body for official guidance, the decision was taken out of my hands as All Hallows closed to all hirers, initially for one month! As its turned out I wasn’t over reacting and the entire country locked down 2 weeks later.
I’m so proud of how quickly we all reacted and adapted, our classes were transferred to Zoom (accounts opened, links created and emailed to class members, laptops mirrored to the TV, lights, cables and so on sourced and set up with a test session organised, Thanks Jo Hobbs for being on the other end of that first Zoom session – all within 2 hours!)
Our first night was a big learning curve as we got a handle on settings, muting pins, spotlights, and lighting and by the next day we had put in place pretty much close what we have now, with a new Mic, I stole the sitting room TV so I could have a good view of you all, professional lights, ethernet, HDMI cables etc as I Zoomed from my sitting room.
We should all be proud of each other and ourselves, high fives all round, the DYBO family was at the front of that learning curve.
Declan forgave me for nicking the telly and cracked on with making my new Gym, which was just a shell initially, into a space that I can now use as my TV studio. If you go back over our timeline photos on our Facebook page, the daily progress is evident in the pictures. Now I’m in the new Gym Studio fully – personal training, giving sports massage and coaching by day and Zooming classes across the UK and world by night!
I want to thank you for your loyalty and supporting us as we do our absolute best to support your physical, physiological and emotional health.
I pray that we will be together face to face some time soon, but I also know that our bespoke and personal Zoom classes are providing unexpected benefits for many of our DYBO family such as convenience, time saving, it’s better for the planet (reduced travel and cost of fuel) no requirement for child care, clear view of demonstrations and for those who are shy or self conscious it’s been of benefit to be in the privacy of home. For those who feel isolated, the class chats, banter and interaction have been a comfort, the bespoke class content and individualised coaching (not available with YouTube platforms, Facebook, Instagram or pre-recorded sessions) has helped many improve their technique and fitness levels (combined with being able to attend more sessions).
The membership holders are enjoying the bonus of on-demand class recordings, giving them the opportunity to participate at their convenience, to repeat sessions and try out new ones.
Thanks for the words of ‘thanks’, support and encouragement and for letting me know that what we are doing is making a positive difference.
Thanks to Steve for all of his IT and Tech support. I really would not have been able to pivot DYBO to ‘DYBO online’ as quickly or professionally without it – Steve we are all very grateful!
I’m thrilled that Daisy has joined the teaching faculty for regular classes, I know that she is itching to get back to dancing full time but also that she is loving teaching you guys. Her classes and teaching are fantastic and I know you are loving it too.
2021
Looks like it will start the same way that 2020 finished but we are closer to greater freedoms again as the vaccine is rolled out across our population. After today (21st December) days will be getting longer and nights shorter, Summer will be on its way, and we will all feel more positive when we can get out and about again and feel the sun on our face.
Daisy and I are planning more fabulousness every week plus ‘pop up’ classes and workshops (we are open to your requests).
Karen and I hope that our I’ndependance Day’ event with guest Jo Ali, will be able to run in June (12th) plus more events, so pop that in your diary.
Plus I will be presenting at more online conventions and events such as
Details and how to Register here
Use my special Discount Code!…FCWHC
DYBO Live & Online – This week’s Classes are as follows:
Monday
6.30pm Boogie Fit (Beginners/Returners)
7.30pm Total Tone (All)
Tuesday
6.30pm HIIT (Simple & effective fitness training)
7.15pm Core Power – Complimentary when attending HIIT or DF or £3.50
7.45pm Dance Fit (Intermediate)
Wednesday
6.30pm Old Skool Step (All levels)
7.15pm Barre Fit (All levels)
Thursday
6.15pm Contemporary Stretch (All levels)
7.30pm Dance & Perspiration (Fitness with a Dance focus, more experienced)
Friday
6.30pm Freestyle Fitness Yoga (Relax, Restore and Reboot)
****** All the above classes change and vary weekly! *****
How to prepare your environment
- You need space to move 2 side steps, 4 walks forward, 4 backward. Move trip hazards and furniture as much as you can (get help, be careful!) to give you maximum space for upper and lower body movement. Roll up rugs or secure them so they don’t slip or cause you to trip.
- Plugging your device in to your TV with an HDMI cable is brilliant as it gives you a good picture of you (like a mirror) and me – as well as boosting the sound if you go through the TV/Hi-Fi sound system. If you can place your device under the TV, then even better.
- I know some of you are using your phones – try to plug in to a speaker system (even those little speakers we have when we go on holiday would help) so that you can hear better as you move back from the phone. Angie has tried Bluetooth earphones and it worked well.
- Ensure you have maximum access to your Wi-Fi in the house and as close to the router as is feasible. Take phones off the Wi-Fi system and pop them on to your 4/5G network or place on airplane mode, unless that’s what you are using to join us, obviously. Ask family to do the same for the duration of your class – keep them off the internet whilst you need the bandwidth. The more bandwidth you have, the better the picture and sound and the less likely you are to lose the feed. Your health is a priority at this time and I’m sure they can do something else for that short time!
- Ventilate your exercise space, have plenty of water and towels to hand, keep your exercise equipment close – if you need anything, let me know.
- Wear correct footwear for your activity – putting an old pair of socks over the toes and ball of your trainers will help reduce friction when exercising on carpet (if they are a really old pair, cutting the toes open and then just having them over the ball of the foot is even better). It’s up to you if you want to dance or train in bare feet but be careful if you don’t usually do this as it takes time for the muscles and connective tissue of the feet and rest of the body to adapt to barefoot training.
- Make your own gym equipment. Save laundry liquid or milk bottles – you can fill them with water or wet sand/rice etc. to add weight and make a dumbell/kettlebell. I recommend you make a few in differing weights and you have written on them so you know what they weigh and seal the caps with tape to prevent leakage. Get a heavy duty shopping bag and put weighty items in it, check they can’t fall out and you have a kettlebell alternative. Make your own hurdles, put cushions, pillows, boxes, books on the floor to jump over. Use household items as floor markers for circuit activities. The stairs and outdoor steps are great temporary steps/benches for cardio and upper body work. The garden is a great open space to make an assault course or if you can get a signal, take your class or PT session outside, but do make it safe.
Fees, you have THREE options!
£6.50 per class. Paid in advance please.
10 Class Voucher £55
Membership, unlimited classes, £50 plus a lockdown bonus of free access to all videos of the classes!
(Valid first to last day of calendar month, paid on the first day of the month)
If things get so tight that you can’t afford it then please reach out to me, I want to keep you healthy and happy and help you through this tough time and trust that no-one will take advantage of me.
Bank details are UK Fitness Academy Ltd.
Sort Code 09-01-28, Acc No. 04284324
Please email me when you have made a payment and use your name and what it’s for as a reference.
eg. Jane Smith Class Voucher. As reference, I do have a Paypal account but it costs money to receive and move money.
So finally
Together we will get through this, lets also be proactive about making life wonderful for others and ourselves until things are a bit easier…
Remember I love ya!
Helen xxxxx
