No I’m not referring to the little darlings being off school (but you might be thinking that, ha ha), I’m referring to the strange but fun celebration of Halloween. I am by no means a worshiper of the occult but rather love to have an opportunity to play and have some light hearted fun and my goodness don’t we all need a bit of that! So to this end I have created a special Halloween dance class that everyone can enjoy. Do come along in person and in costume if you can – even a white sheet with eye holes cut in it, or dress in all black with cats whiskers drawn on your face with eye pencil, or a witches’ hat will do, no need to spend £’s. You can also join us on Zoom.
The rest of the week’s classes are at usual times and venues.
Please remember to book ahead – info below and at the bottom of this Blog…
Keep it up!
You guys are doing so well with your Fitness and Dance classes and sticking with the Covid safety protocols that we operate under, thank you – everyone’s safety is my primary concern so it really eases my mind.
The only area that things are slipping is remembering to bring own equipment (mats, bands, weights, balls etc.) – to be certain that we reduce the risk of contamination I ask that you use your own.
I’m not lending equipment at this time for both my own and others well being. Sanitizing products also damages the equipment over time, making it unsafe or useless in addition to the expense of the sanitising products themselves and replacing equipment.
If you need help sourcing equipment let me know.
I’m negotiating a special rate for a bulk order of hand weights (which are used in several of our classes and ideal for home workouts) so let me know if you need some and what weight.
I can also supply mats, bands and balls (all of which I’m selling from class stock at half price i.e. Bands £3, Loops £2, Chi Balls, £6 and Yoga Mats £10, or small Mats £4 (when things go back to normal I will re-stock.)
I can also source brand new if you prefer.
Immune Boost
As I sit and write to you I am recovering from a head cold, which is infuriating as I’ve been so careful! It’s the first one for a few years obviously because I’ve not come in to contact with many people!
I’m recovering well and quickly probably because I’ve been boosting my immune system with a good diet, supplements and following the tips I’ve been sharing with you over the past couple of weeks. My immune system will be strengthened as a consequence to protect me against the next cold bug that passes by.
This week I’m going to explain the importance of the Gut Microbiome to immunity!
We grow a good Microbiome when…
- We eat a high fibre diet full of colourful plant based foods (I aim for 30 different plant based foods across the week, it’s very easy to eat the same foods all the time and variety is key).
- Include fermented foods such as live yogurts, sauerkraut (in water or oil), olives, kimchi, kombucha, kefir, pickles etc.
- Exercise and Sleep – our gut needs movement to assist with motility and ease of passing waste, exercise helps to manage stress hormones, digestion and assist with the hormones that aid good sleep
- Avoid alcohol, which can damage the microbiota and increase sugar in the gut and blood stream messing with hormones and body fat levels.
- Keep simple sugar and starchy carbohydras consumption minimal as these can grow and feed the bacteria in the gut that dominate and damage the good bacteria in the gut. Good bacteria breakdown food in to smaller and useable particles, create vitamins, assist with assimilation and absorption of nutrition and influence hormones that circulate throughout the body, the balance of which is key to maintaining health. Sugar, alcohol and starchy carbs increase inflammation through the body resulting in painful joints and damage to bones.
- Avoid highly processed foods, which do not provide healthy and life promoting gut bacteria, often damaging them. They provide little nutrition, only calories.
- Eat organic wherever possible, pesticides and chemicals will damage our gut bacteria
- Don’t over sanitise, this is a toughie at this time but over sanitising can damage the good bacteria in out bodies as well as the bad, so I recommend that we wash our food with fresh water (noting that tap water is chlorinated) and heat sufficiently to cook but not destroy the nutrients our food provides.
- Drink water, as mentioned before, our entire system relies on water. Filtered is better to remove harmful substances that can live in the water supply from the filtration processes, pipes, taps etc. only use water from the cold mains not hot tanks.
- Supplement especially when fresh food is in short supply. Not all supplements are created equal and there are many on the market that are of poor quality. I have done my research here and purchase from a just few companies and not from supermarkets etc. Next week I will outline the key immune boosters.
Early Bird for Independance Day
After the success of our recent return to Independance day we have organised our next one with the ever popular and brilliant Nikkie Riozzi as guest presenter.
Book now – early bird offer finishes on Sunday!
Gut Healing Vegan Broth (found on Walflower Kitchen)
- 12 cups / 2.75 litres filtered water
- 1 tbsp coconut oil, or extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 red onion, quartered (with skins)
- 1 garlic bulb, smashed
- 1 chilli pepper, roughly chopped (with seeds) – avoid if you have a very sensitive stomach
- 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, roughly chopped
- 1 cup greens, such as kale or spinach
- 3-4 cup mixed chopped vegetables and peelings, eg carrot and peelings, red cabbage, fresh mushrooms, leeks and celery
- 1/2 cup dried shiitake mushrooms
- 30 g dried wakame seaweed
- 1 tbsp peppercorns
- 1 – 2 tbsp ground turmeric (or to taste)
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos, (soy sauce alternative)
- A bunch of fresh coriander, or other herb of your choice
- (Optional) 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes, for extra flavour and vitamins
Pop in a pan bring to boil and simmer for 60 mins, strain and serve for a broth or blend together for a soup (use soup maker instructions if using soup maker)
Have a fab All Hallows Eve week!
Hope you can make it to classes and training and our Halloween class on Thursday.
Love ya,
Helen x
————————————————————————————————-
DYBO Live & Online – This week’s Classes are as follows:
At All Hallows (Book in Advance only):
Monday
6.30-7.15pm: Boogie Fit ‘Funkin Fabulous’
7.30-8.15pm: Total Tone – Top to Toe
Tuesday
6.30-7.15pm: 5 in 1 Fitness
7.30-8.15pm: Dance Fit ‘Power trip’
Thursday
6.15-7.20pm: Contemporary Stretch
7.30-8.30pm: Dancespiration ‘ Commercial pop’
—————————————————————————————————-
Joining us at All Hallows? – Protocols and information
I’m so happy to be able to run classes again at All Hallows. My primary objective is to ensure that we all have a wonderful time with effective and fun classes that are engaging, relaxed and of course safe.
To ensure that is the case I just want to share with you our class protocols to inform and reassure everyone. Not everyone has been out and about much since last year and some of us are more anxious than others about getting back to ‘normal’ life and activities as restrictions are lifted. Please be patient with each other and me – I have the responsibility of keeping you all happy and safe whilst complying with governing body guidelines and providing the best experience possible.
*Denotes for you to do, the rest is just info
Preparation
1) *Firstly ensure that you have booked by sending us an email info@dybo.co.uk confirming all the classes you wish to attend plus your payment method, be it as a member, using your voucher, or pay as you go.
No on the door bookings or payments can be taken. Bookings are not refundable or transferable. I will keep records of all attending for track and trace.
2) *Preparing your kit bag/box. This depends upon the class you are attending.
Boogie Fit, Dance Fit and Dancespiration crew will only require your indoor trainers/dance shoes to change in to, your hand sanitiser, sweat towel, and drink.
Total Tone and 5 in 1 crew – currently I am not permitted to share equipment in a group exercise setting so you will need your mat, a resistance band and light hand weights/equivalent in addition to your trainers, hand sanitiser, sweat towel and drink.
Contemporary Stretch crew need a mat, band, chi ball and at times 2 x tennis balls and a sock!
On the night
*Please park in the playing courts and maintain social distancing as you walk to the studio.
*Participants are required to arrive, enter and be in their personal exercise space between 5 and 10 mins before the class, please wait outside to be called in so that we are certain the space is ready for you.
*Please change into your clean trainers for indoor activity as you enter, e.g. slip off your outdoor shoes, place in your bag, walk to activity area then put indoor shoes on, the same in reverse to leave. This is to maintain the hygiene and cleanliness of the space and protect the lovely new wood floor.
You will be directed to your exercise space filling the studio from the farthest side first, the class will be cleared in reverse i.e. those nearest the door first.
*The toilets will be open to use but please arrive changed, ready for activity so as to keep use time minimal and avoiding cues outside. 2 people max allowed in at a time.
I will be sticking to class times for sanitising and ventilation purposes. Doors and windows will be open for ventilation, irrespective of the weather, and if it’s warm fans will be used to blow air forwards out of the windows and open door (as per guidelines).
Our exercise space is much larger than the governing body requirements (double in fact) indeed the government have lifted all guidelines, so it will be easy to maintain 2m social distance but please do keep your distance.
I will maintain social distance, however I will have a visor/mask if I have to come close to provide first aid etc.
After an entire teaching career facing my class participants with my back to the mirrors I have made the change (for now) to face the mirrors, this is for my safety in this strange Covid world, but I assure that I will still be able to see everything you get up to and will coach, encourage and nag as effectively as usual!!!
*After a wonderful class and virtual hugs, slip off your indoor trainers and you will leave in order of those nearest the door first then slip in to your outdoor shoes at the threshold.
*Please clear the site a.s.a.p. after class, I know you will want to chat but this directive is part of my compliance and I am responsible for you until you are off site!
*Please tell friends and family about our wonderful classes, I now have to rebuild my group exercise business after 18 months away from face to face teaching.
—————————————————————————————————-
Joining us on Zoom? – Links and Information
Monday
6.30pm Boogie Fit
7.30pm Total Tone
Tuesday
6.30pm 5 in 1 Fitness Class
7.30pm Dance Fit
Wednesday
6.30pm Old Skool Step
7.15pm Barre Fit
Thursday
6.15pm Contemporary Stretch
7.30pm Dance & Perspiration
Friday
6.30pm Freestyle Fitness Yoga
****** All the above classes change and vary weekly! *****
How to prepare your Zoom 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 (to be used within 12 weeks of purchase)
Membership, unlimited classes, £50, plus a lockdown bonus of free access to all videos of the classes on our DYBO TV channel ! (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.
Disclaimer
I declare that all of the information I have given (both written and verbal) is accurate and truthful. I know of no reason why I cannot participate fully in any exercise programme and I do not deem it necessary to consult my medical practitioner/GP/specialist. I undertake to inform my instructor should any information change.
I understand that I participate at my own risk and that any information given is not intended to replace or represent medical advice.
Attending any DYBO class will assume agreement with above terms and disclaimer.
——————————————————————————————————————–
