Lockdown 2 eh? – Nothing will stop our groups from MOVING!

Yes, our amazing groups around the UK obviously love to meet up and have socially distanced fun on group walks but they also understand the need to quash this virus too. They also know how good it feels to move well and connect with others and that simply will not stop!

So, just like the last Lockdown, we are all working together to make sure that our unique mix of motivation and socialising has moved on line with some effective EXERCISING thrown in too.

Within hours of the news breaking our Instructors were busy planning how to keep in touch with their groups and fun ways to add challenges or ways to make solo walks effective.

Tracy Reeve from Watford Nordic Walking has once again added a virtual relay challenge that other groups can join in with whilst Rebecca Wheatley from Norfolk NW is telling her walkers to pack their virtual rucksacks in order to GET THEIR STICKS ON ROUTE 66 with a walk across the USA!

WALX Coast and Country set up a lockdown fitness challenge to encourage people to do 200 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week in order to exceed the Chief Medical Officers recommendation of 150 minutes – they even took videos of their walkers pledging to take part.

Other groups are asking for themed photographs or for people to seek out certain items on their solo walks – for the WALX Wessex group it was Fungi whilst WALX Dorset featured their Rivers of Remembrance images.

Mercian NW are doing a variety of indoor challenges including dusting old exercise kit of for a CV workout and the group from All Seasons NW waved to us at HQ as they went past virtually on their South West Coast path challenge – see picture below

What’s been brilliant this time is the way the Instructors are also working together to provide more variety to their groups on line

We have a network of people with a range of amazing skills  (Yoga, Pilates, Body Pump, Tai Chi etc) they are pitching together to make sure that group members can access the type of sessions that will really work for them – wherever they are

Using our WALX virtual platform (built during lockdown 1 ) the groups are working together to promote a range of innovative workouts for all levels to their walkers

The Team from HQ are joining in too and they will be offering weekly MASTERCLASS sessions on everything from pole walking techniques and stretching to outdoor kit and walking workouts

Martin Christie founder of Nordic Walking UK held a Stretching Masterclass which was shared by Instructors to their groups and it was great to see over 100 people learning how to best prepare your body for their solo walks during Lockdown. Martin said “We know how difficult it is without an Instructor to guide you through your warm up and cool down routines so we thought we would run through the moves and explain why they are so vital ” In the session, Martin explained how the mobility drills help lubricate your joints, prepare muscles and gently elevate the heart rate before finishing with some detailed stretching techniques. The session was really well received with Walkers commenting

“I did enjoy Martin’s session. It felt like a good workout and stretch. Next week’s is ‘Check my Tech’ apparently so I will join that one.” Bev

“I really enjoyed the session as it explained a lot about correct stretching and getting the most out of the stretches. Hopefully the yoga on Wednesday will help with the aches and pains I will definitely have, as I have been working some very neglected parts of my body!!! “Mary

Join the HQ team at 3 pm on Monday  16 November for another  FREE interactive session

CHECK MY TECHNIQUE – a fantastic workshop that will cover the finer points of pole walking technique plus give you some drills to check whether you are getting the most out of your poles!

Click HERE to book in (you will need to register  and complete the medical questionnaire if you have not used our Exercise Anywhere booking portal before)

Check out our live virtual classes with Instructors all over the UK to find something at the right level at a time to suit YOU  HERE

If you have used our portal before but joined a virtual class this might help you…………

Tips for first timers – Joining the session

Over the first lockdown, Exercise Anywhere, the team behind WALX and Nordic Walking UK, created a platform to share pre-recorded exercise videos and provide smooth access to the myriad virtual sessions being provided by instructors nationwide. If you haven’t used this platform to date, follow the instructions below:

1. Click on your chosen session/s above and click to Book Activity. You will log into the same Booking System you use to book your local walks and classes and do not need to re-register. Follow the usual instructions to join the session.
2. You will receive a Confirmation email. Read the email: at the end of the first paragraph you will see the line View Session Here. Click the link to go through to the Virtual WALX site.
3. On the Virtual WALX site, login with your usual booking details. You will now see all your booked virtual sessions. 5 minutes before the class start time, click the relevant class and you will be taken straight into the class.

Once you have used this process once, you no longer need to search for confirmation emails; you can book all walks, classes and virtual sessions in the booking system and ALL your booked virtual sessions will be visible in the Virtual WALX site, ready for you to just click Join.

Enjoy the sessions and we will see you outside again very soon!