Thousands supported by Olympian Tessa Sanderson to keep fit during Covid crisis
An initiative to help the elderly ‘stand up’ to support their own fitness on the run up to shielding being lifted in August has been hailed a success by six-time Olympian Tessa Sanderson.
Tessa, aged 64, who lived in Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, helped launch the fitness challenge to keep those aged over 60 fit and healthy despite many being isolated and alone in their homes and therefore more vulnerable to injury and loneliness.
So far, thousands have taken up the #StandUpForNHS challenge alongside the fitness experts Move it or Lose it helping on a daily basis with the free and simple exercise routines to keep the older generation moving in these difficult times.
Those taking part in the free challenge were asked to keep a record of how many sit-to-stands they could do in 30 seconds.
This exercise has been shown to increase lower body strength and reduce the risk of falls.
And although the restrictions have now eased, Tessa, who won the gold medal in javelin for Great Britain in 1984, has urged everyone to keep it up and more to join in.
She said: “As soon as I heard about this challenge run by the group I wanted to throw my support behind it.
“It is so easy to lose your base fitness especially if you have been confined to your home for weeks and it’s easy to not even notice. So doing something every day is vital, and now summer is here and the restrictions are easing, it’s really important we continue with this trend and keep standing up and moving around to protect your own health in the future,” she added.
The campaign has also been backed by University Hospital of Derby and Burton and the Centre for Healthy Ageing Research at University of Birmingham*.
Move it or Lose it founder Julie Robinson said: “We are just thrilled with how many over the age of 60 have taken on the challenge and we will continue to support them to keep moving and getting more active as the weather brightens and we have more freedom again."
Those taking part have been posting their results online, and so far they have had 2.6 million people moving on YouTube, 221 thousands views of free classes, and 5,242 people Standing up for the NHS.
To find out more, log onto https://www.moveitorloseit.co.uk/stand-up-for-the-nhs
