By Luke Voogt
Torquay’s Danny Russell and other local gym instructors are helping Geelong residents get off the couch and moving amid COVID-19 restrictions.
Danny and his colleagues have been running live-streamed workouts for four weeks after council’s leisure centres closed.
“The first time I ran it, it felt so weird,” the 42-year-old gym instructor said.
“I can’t see people on the other end of the camera, that’s probably the weirdest part. It’s just you and an iPad.”
The sessions were unique for Danny, who has worked in fitness for more than 20 years.
“I’ve been doing fitness stuff now for longer than I’m willing to admit,” he said.
The lack of feedback, aside from comments on social media, made it difficult to gauge how engaging the classes were, Danny explained.
Finding the right lighting and acoustics for the online classes was also challenging, he said.
But going digital had allowed instructors to coach between “a couple hundred to 1500” people per session, compared to up to 50 in face-to-face classes, Danny said.
“I’ve actually got a friend in the UK who watches them. She works in London as a nurse.”
And engagement with Leisurelink Aquatic and Recreation Centre’s social media page had gone up “tenfold”, he said.
“Our marketing people are over the moon!”
Together Geelong’s four council-run fitness centres are running two sessions each day, compared to a dozen each before COVID-19, according to Danny.
“But we’re looking to expand our timetable and the variety of classes as we get some staff back,” he said.
For live-streamed or recorded classes search Leisurelink on Facebook.
