#UORWAY: STAYING FIT WITH THE SPORTSPARK COUCH TO CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE

By iednewsdesk On Nov 26, 2020

New Delhi: The University of Reading SportsPark may be closed for the remainder of this term, but that doesn’t mean your fitness needs to be put on hold.

Members of the SportsPark team are keeping students, staff and other members of the Reading community fit the #UoRWay, by putting together a simple Couch to Christmas fitness programme to get everyone’s feet moving and blood pumping during lockdown.

The programme includes a 5K running training schedule, a 30-minute workout, a HIIT workout and a circuit training plan.

David Givens, fitness manager at the SportsPark, said:

“We ran a similar programme when the first round of restrictions were put in place back in March, and it seemed to be really popular. This time around, we wanted to offer a shorter, snappier but no less relevant workout plan.

“We’ve tried to offer some simple advice to help people stay healthy both physically and mentally during these testing times.

“We saw a fantastic response from both students and staff returning to the SportsPark this term and have seen more than 14,000 visits to the gym between September and November. While we completely support the reasons for having to lockdown again, this made it all the more frustrating when we had to close our doors again.

“The exercise programmes are really to help people continue to stay active while not having access to much, if any, equipment. We added a tangible challenge of the Couch to 5K which we felt could give students who are still on campus something different to do while still making good use of our fantastic grounds.

“Exercise is such an important and proven coping mechanism, so it is vital that the SportsPark is here to help and guide our community during these times. We included a Christmas theme to remind people that there are fun times ahead, and there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

The Couch to Christmas fitness programme is free for everyone to download here. You don’t need to be a member of the SportsPark to take part.