September complete mag

National Fitness Day
Six months ago, the state of the nation’s
fitness industry was looking good. The
2019 State of the UK Fitness Industry
Report revealed that 1 in every 7 people
belonged to a gym, the total market value
was £5.1 billion, and the number of fitness
facilities in the UK was up from 7,038 to
7,239. The future looked rosy – at least for
the fitness industry.
Statistics about personal fitness told a
slightly different story - in the 12 months
to November 2019, only 67% of adults
were considered active according to
government guidelines and 21% were
classed as ‘inactive’ doing less than
30 minutes physical activity per week.
Perhaps more alarmingly, in the academic
year 2018/19, only 47% of children
and young people were meeting the
guidelines for 1 hour taking part in sport
and physical activity each day, although
that figure was up from only 43% in
2017/18.
Then came Covid-19, lockdown, and most
recently, a new initiative to tackle rising
obesity….the picture is no longer quite
so rosy! Physical activity levels have been
affected - one site suggested that adults
spent more time on the toilet each week,
than exercising! Since lockdown, parents
report that just over one third of children
(36%) are doing less physical activity,
although 30% are also doing more as
reported by NHS data sources. We are
facing an activity crisis as lack of
physical activity leads to more than
20 long-term health conditions such
as Type-2 diabetes, some cancers
and osteoporosis.
But it’s not all doom and gloom! One
encouraging thing to emerge from
lockdown however, is that parents are
valuing the time at home, and are doing
more activities with their children; 53%
of parents reported doing more physical
activity with their children than they did
prior to lockdown and 61% felt that playing
sport and keeping fit was helping maintain
their family’s physical and mental
wellbeing.
That’s where National Fitness Day can
help, by highlighting issues concerned with
the nation’s fitness and raising the profile
of fitness campaigners and the fitness
industry in an attempt to improve our
general health. The NFD website describes
the day as:
“ the most active day of the year and
the day to celebrate the role that physical
activity plays across the UK. It is a day
when people of all ages, backgrounds
and abilities come together to
celebrate the
fun of fitness.”
This year, National Fitness Day will be
celebrated on Wednesday 23rd September
and fitness providers will be encouraged to
offer free events to get everyone involved in
their local communities. The theme for this
year is ‘Fitness Unites Us’ and the aim is to
celebrate the inclusive power of physical
activity and the ability it has to bring whole
communities together.
What can you do in your setting?
National Fitness Day can be lots of things to
lots of people – you may want to run your
own event, host a sports day or invite a P.E.
specialist into your unit to give a workshop
or demonstration. You are only constrained
by your imagination…(and any Covid-19
restrictions in your area) but don’t let those
stop you doing something for the benefit
of your physical and mental health! As the
saying goes….”where there’s a will, there’s
a way!”
Here are a few suggestions to
get you started:
1. Hold a socially-distanced sports day
and set up some individual activities
which you can do against the clock;
how about an egg and spoon
race, or a long-jump or a squat
challenge? You can get the staff
to join in the fun too!
2. Join an online fitness event such
as a Joe Wickes workout, a yoga
class or a virtual dance class.
3. Go for a power walk or a run – start
slowly and work your way up. You
can do ‘scout’s pace’ too, where
you alternate between running and
walking.
4. Set up a contact-free obstacle course
in your setting. You can use tape on
the floor rather than real obstacles and
ask the children to jump over the lines,
balance whilst walking on them, or
zigzag between crosses on the floor.
You can run team relay events
against the clock if you’re
feeling competitive or just do
everything for fun!
5. Make a fitness diary
with the children to show
them what they are actually
doing over a week. You can
create some visual stickers to use
such as running, jumping, playing or
participating in different sports.
6. Create a fitness bingo or dice game.
Choose 6 different activities and
allocate them a number. When the
dice lands on that number, the children
have to do that activity.
7. Encourage parents to do some
physical activity with their
children at home and send
in a short video or photo to
show what they’ve done. It
could be anything – from
a walk in the park to some
major footballing action.
8. Use the hashtag #Fitness2Me
on your social media channels,
saying what fitness means to you and
how it’s helping you unite and come
together with others!
What are the Government
recommendations for activity?
In 2019, new guidelines recommended:
• Adults (aged 19 and over) should aim
to be active daily. Over a week, activity
should add up to at least 150 minutes
(2.5 hours) of moderate intensity
activity or 75 minutes (1 hour, 15
minutes) of vigorous intensity activity
per week, or a combination of both,
with strength building on at least 2
days.
• Children and young people (aged 5 to
18) should aim to be physically active
for at least 60 minutes per day across
the week.
• Pre-schoolers should spend at least
180 minutes (3 hours) a day doing a
variety of physical activities spread
throughout the day, including active
and outdoor play. The more the better.
• Toddlers should be physically active
every day for at least 180 minutes
(3 hours). The more the better. This
should be spread throughout the day,
including playing outdoors.
There’s something out there for everyone,
so make sure you get out there and find it!
You should always check with your
doctor before starting any physical
activity if you are concerned about
your health or have not exercised for a
while.
Data sources and useful links
• https://www.nationalfitnessday.com/
• https://www.sportsthinktank.com/
research.html
• https://digital.nhs.uk/
• https://www.youthsporttrust.org/
• https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/
24 September 2020 | parenta.com
parenta.com | September 2020 25