Keeping residents active, living room to living room.
Helen Sadique works for the London Borough of Bexley, teaching cardiac rehabilitation, pilates and Nordic Walking, and co-ordinates the Walking for Health project for the council.
She focuses on making exercise social and enjoyable, so that people feel encouraged and motivated to stay healthy.
While previously participants could be found using light equipment in sports halls or walking through the borough in groups, the Covid-19 pandemic has forced Helen to come up with new ways to reach the people that need her.
Helen repurposed her dining room into an exercise studio, to be able to run online exercise classes for her usual participants.
Instead of gym equipment she’s using household objects, and teaching exercises that can be done from home through Skype.
But as well as home circuits and pilates, Helen continues her focus on the social side of her work, and runs quiz nights and stays in contact with clients through phone calls, texts and email.
Ensuring the isolated participants maintain social contact is critical at this time. These isolated people, especially those who live far from their families, can still benefit from regular interaction with a friendly face.
