COMMUNITY: New group gets isolated islanders moving

Friday 27 March 2020

Setting four goals each day is among the many tips a well-known PT is sharing in an online group set up to help islanders look after their physical and mental health as they spend more time at home.

Over 600 people have joined the ‘Jersey Health & Fitness Community’ Facebook group, which Cameron Elliott, Founder of Transform Together Fitness, created just over a week ago.

Cameron and Transform Together’s co-founder, Tom Frame, were forced to close the doors to their gym last week following Government advice. 

Pictured: The Transform Together Fitness team has been using technology to their advantage.

The pair has been using “technology to our advantage” to continue supporting their 190 clients, by offering live classes on Zoom, setting up an online platform and distributing ‘Survival kits’ with physical challenges to take over the next few weeks.

“Don’t get me wrong, [the corona virus outbreak] has affected us, a lot of people have been made redundant and we cancelled their membership straightaway,” Cameron said.

“We are trying to adapt to the change. If anything, it’s been a wakeup call about what we did not have before. Once this is all over, we will be able to serve our clients even more than we did before. We had to think outside the box.”

Pictured: Anyone can join the group.

Still, finding himself with more time on his hands, Cameron decided to create a Facebook group to encourage islanders as a whole, not just his clients, to look after themselves, physically and mentally in spite of social distancing or even self-isolation.

"With schools going into closure next week, I know that there will be a lot of parents that will have to shuffle their usual schedules in order to juggle things around their kids. Or perhaps it will give you a little more time in your week to get some training and cooking done!" the personal trainer wrote in his first post on Jersey Health & Fitness Community’. 

“I wanted to give something back to the community and help as much as I could,” Cameron told Express.

Pictured: Group members can join live workouts.

He has been sharing cookbooks full of healthy recipes and tips for batch cooking, as well as answering questions on nutrition during Q&A sessions and dishing tips on how to train at home with minimal kits, or simply using your body weight.

Every Saturday morning, Cameron will be hosting a live workout which anyone can take part in. Cameron also plans to invite other personal trainers or fitness professionals such as yoga teachers to do live sessions on the group. 

The personal trainer, who has been outspoken about his mental health, is hoping the group will not only encourage people stay healthy but also help them to look after their mental health through “unsettling times”.

“There is going to be a lot of people who suffer with lots of stuff and this isolates them even more,” Cameron explained. “It’s just about trying to help as many people as we can, anyone can join. 

“I wanted to give them ideas on how to look after themselves. The group also has a community side, people can get involved and comment on each other’s posts. During the work out, they can see other people.”

Pictured: Cameron's four goals for Wednesday.

There is one small thing Cameron recommends to everyone while they find themselves spending more time at home and trying to adjust to the new normal.

“My main tip is to set yourselves four things to achieve during the day: a physical goal, a mindset goal, a lifestyle goal and a nutrition goal,” Cameron added. “Just simple things each day. You can put them on a whiteboard or on a piece of paper. It’s just to keep people as proactive as possible.”