Firstly, today is International Women’s day and the official theme for IWD 2021 is “Choose to Challenge”, recognising the need to call out gender bias and inequality.
Even in 2021 inequality is still evident and the pandemic has highlighted it in terms of employment/unemployment. Occupations that are female employee dominant are those that are still closed for business and/or are not paid as highly as male dominant professions.
Most group exercise and dance teachers are female and many are not covered by the government assistance schemes, the same is the case for hair and beauty practitioners. Non-essential shop workers are predominantly female (a title which in itself is rather trivialising of their work) whereas there are still many more men at the top of industry or highly paid professions than women, I can’t think of an exception. The financial independence of women has been hit hard by this pandemic and will be born heavily by women for some time to come. The attitude of men as the breadwinner and therefore ‘it’s not so bad as long as they had work’ perpetuates the practice of unequal pay and opportunities. Women and men work hard equally, irrespective of what the pay packet says! The incredibly hard working Nursing and Care professions are predominately female and the NHS would have collapsed without amazing women juggling home, family and professional balls whilst putting their own own mental and physical health on the line. Credit and thanks of course to all front line workers male and female.
Women have and continued to support their families, whether working outside of the home or not, organising child care/home schooling, home management, cooking, shopping etc. I know of plenty of men who take over these roles and share the load but these are still in the minority and it’s perceived that they should be congratulated for doing so.
I am certainly not man-bashing, women are often responsible for perpetuating these ideas and practices so ladies, know and charge your worth – see your role as important as everyone else’s, stand up for everyone’s rights female and male and when you see or experience discrimination call it out – show your youngsters that we are equal and our gender should not open or close doors Allow us to abdicate responsability or take on roles that we don’t enjoy or are not suited to.
Classes
Week 52 online, and yes – a year!
To celebrate IWD, I am teaching a special anthemic female inspired class tonight for Boogie Fit – you will feel strong, inspired and uplifted (and of courses fitter)
Join me to celebrate each other and lift each other up!
6.30pm, Zoom.
Total Tone – Daisy is delivering a fresh new Total Tone class tonight, you will love it!
Dancespiration -Another women power themed class is planned for this coming Thursday. Strong, fabulous, choreography combined with inspiring music and a commercial dance style will boost your fitness and self confidence.
Thursday 7.30pm, Zoom.
All other classes are refreshed and evolved as always!
Sunday 14th March
10am, on Zoom.
Please join me for a 30 min ‘free’, 3 in one class, to thank all of you who have continuously supported DYBO by attending paid classes over the past year.
I want to celebrate all that we have achieved together! None of us had any idea we would be here still a year later and I’m honoured that you have trusted Daisy and I with your fitness, health and wellness (plus provided Sarah, Daisy and I with some income).
The class is aimed at and suitable for everyone no matter which class you attend usually.
Please have a glass or mug of something to toast us all at the end of the class before you go off and celebrate Mother’s day.
Please confirm your attendance by midday on Friday (12th March) and I will send out the Zoom links.
AND
I have got the go-ahead from the Zebon Centre (near me in Church Crookham) to run an outdoor fitness class on Tuesday evenings 6.30-7.15pm.
The government has instructed that as a Fit Pro I can run outdoor group exercise classes from the 29th March and if there is sufficient interest I would like to organise a cross-training fitness class suitable for all.
I hope to Zoom from there too, fingers crossed I can sort the technology to accommodate everyone.
I will be adhering to all covid secure compliance, which includes not sharing equipment, so I request that you have your own hand weights, resistance band and mat.
I plan on whizzing back here to HQ to teach the Dance Fit on Zoom (if there are sufficient numbers for that class too).
Let me know if you are interested, I will require firm commitment.
Email helen@dybo.co.uk
Garden Gym and One to One Studio
From the 29th March I can re-open my garden gym for one to one, pairs and small group training, let me know if you are interested.
April 12th
Is the date when I can welcome one to one clients back in to my lovely new and barely used Fitness Studio, which includes sports therapy.
As previously I will be operating under Covid safety compliance regulations.
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 ( 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! (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.
Fermented, Probiotic Honey Lemonade Soda
Recipe by Nourished Kitchen
Ingredients
For the Lemonade Soda
- 6cups water
- 1cup honey (organic Manuka is the best)
- 1cup lemon juice
- ½cup fresh whey (you can get this from health food shops)
Special equipment – sealed drinks container, e.g. flip top bottle
Instructions
- Warm the water in a saucepan over low heat, keeping it just warm enough to dissolve the honey – about 100 F. Whisk in the honey continuously until fully dissolved in the water. Turn off the heat, and remove the pot from the stove.
- Whisk the lemon juice and whey into the honey water until fully incorporated.
- Pour the lemonade through a narrow funnel in to drinks container/flip-top bottles. Seal the bottles, and allow the lemonade to sit at room temperature to ferment at least four and up to seven days. You can open a bottle to check for fizziness and flavor, keeping in mind that the warmer your kitchen and the more time you allow, the more sour and more fizzy your soda will be.
Have a ‘fabaroo’ week, I hope to see you at class and celebrate with you on Sunday!
Remember to let me know about the Sunday and the Tuesday outdoor classes please
Love ya,
Helen x
