Farmers and their family members, aged 18 plus, are being invited to participate in a free, six-week, online Laois Transformation programme featuring ‘Farm Well‘ exercise classes.
Laois Transformation is designed and delivered by True Fitness in partnership with Laois Sports Partnership and funded by Sport Ireland.
As part of the free programme it will deliver ‘Farm Well’ exercise classes which are designed specifically for farmers and their families. The classes aim to enhance functional ability on the farm by improving fitness, strength, balance and flexibility, using multimodal exercises.
They include: ‘Age well’ specifically for people aged 60 to 80; ‘body well’ for adults of all ages and fitness abilities; ‘move well’ pilates classes; ‘sit well’ for those who sit for long periods of time, and involve full body flexibility and stretching to improve a range of motion, reduce the risk of injury, pain and stiffness and improve quality of life; and ‘farm well’ which aim to reduce aches and pains associated with farming by improving fitness, strength, balance and flexibility.
‘Farm Well’ sessions will take place online from 8:00-9:00p.m every Monday and Wednesday starting next Monday, January 10. Registration can take place at any time throughout the six-week programme.
True Fitness will deliver one live, 30-minute ‘Minding Me’ workshop per week for six weeks. The workshops will provide tips on how to successfully set new year resolutions.
There will be simple and practical evidence-based nutrition advice for meaningful health gains in 2022; tips to avoid the negative impact of prolonged sitting on the body and health in a home and office environment; shopping recommendations and food swaps for a healthy lifestyle; an understanding of the relationship between food and mood; and information on how to keep the body young and healthy.
“The programme has been organised to enable people to improve their fitness, strength, balance and flexibility from the comfort of their own home,” said Ruth Kavanagh of True Fitness.
“We wanted to include exercise classes specifically for farmers and their families because we have worked with farmers in the past and we know from our research that farmers have an increased risk of developing heart diseases and suffer daily with aches and pains, especially back and knee pain.
“The ‘Farm Well’ exercise classes have been designed to improve functional ability and reduce aches and pains. If farmers are fitter and stronger, then this reduces the physical stress associated with daily farming activities in addition to other well established physical and mental health benefits,” said Ruth.