Loughinisland GAC offering free online fitness classes

17 June 2020

LOUGHINISLAND GAC is spearheading a health and fitness drive with free online classes.

The classes, which start next week and will run for almost at year, will include yoga, meditation, circuits, mindfulness, chair aerobics and learning the Irish language.

They will cater for all levels of fitness. Down and Loughinisland Gaelic star Jonny Flynn will host the circuit classes and expert Stacey Murtagh will take the yoga and meditation group. The mindfulness and chair aerobics to be less strenuous classes.

With no cost to participants and available to everyone, at home and abroad, this will be the perfect opportunity for people to look after their mental and physical health while government restrictions ease coming out of lockdown.

An open Island Health and Wellbeing group has been created on Facebook which will have updates and classes throughout the next 48 weeks and this has assisted through a Community Foundation grant.

Jonny is a midfielder in Paddy Tally’s Down side and will bring a wealth of strength and fitness expertise to the participants of his circuit classes.

His classes were hugely successful during Island Games. They all ran at capacity and Jonny is excited about the opportunity of being able to bring his high-octane classes to a wider audience.

He said: “From our online classes you can expect to move well and feel good. Whatever your motivation is when it comes to exercise, remember that a little movement everyday is better than none.

“The Island Health and Wellbeing home workouts will consist of a wide range of upper body, lower body, core, and conditioning focused movements. They are designed to be simple, effective and suitable for all levels of fitness.”

The 27 year-old is a School of Sports lecturer at the Ulster University. Jonny’s classes will be live on Zoom two mornings per week and he will also save the classes for people to take part if they’re unable to attend the live feed.

Jonny added: “Group members will receive a link and details to the live Zoom class via the Facebook group. The sessions will start at 7am on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

“Classes will also be recorded for anyone who missed the live session. They will be uploaded to the group and can then be performed any time.

“This gives participants the option of participating live with others or any time which suits.”

Health coach Stacey Murtagh, who ran successful yoga classes during this year’s Island Games challenge, is relishing the chance of helping more people.

The 37 year-old Downpatrick woman began her health and fitness journey while she was living and working in Dubai for 10 years as a marketing executive.

She trained with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition where she learned innovative coaching methods, practical lifestyle management techniques, and over 100 dietary theories – Ayurveda, gluten-free, Paleo, raw, vegan, macrobiotics and everything in between.

Stacey said: “I am delighted to partner with Loughinisland GAC supporting the community in offering yoga and meditation classes.

“As a teacher I believe that yoga is more than just a form of movement. It’s a great way to check in with yourself and support your mental and physical health.

“What’s great about yoga is that it’s open to everyone, all ages and all fitness levels which is fantastic.

“During these times especially, it’s important to check our mental and physical health and Yoga is something that helps us do just that.

“Supporting the community to help others achieve a healthy body and mind is something that I truly value and love being part of. I look forward to teaching you all over the coming weeks.”

Jonny circuits classes will take place on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 7am and Stacey’s will run her 20-minute yoga and meditation classes back-to-back on Tuesdays at 7.30pm.

Information about the other classes will be released at a future date.

For further information go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/islandhealthandwellbeing or search for ‘Island Health Wellbeing’ on Facebook.

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