Keeping active during lockdown: Were you inspired to keep moving or did lockdown leave you lacking in motivation?

Released on August 11, 2020

Did Lockdown make you slow down or were you inspired to take up running or join in with classes online? South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils want to hear from residents about how lockdown affected their ability to keep fit.

Both councils run activities for all ages and abilities, including the Xplorer events for families and health walks for people who find exercise difficult or who have health conditions such as diabetes that would benefit from them keeping active.

Lockdown for some residents was a chance to explore different ways to keep fit and the choice of apps and online classes meant that it was easier to exercise without leaving home than ever before.

However, using exercise apps and online classes isn’t for everyone and for many the pressures of shielding, being isolated from friends and family and the impact of lockdown on mental health meant that finding the ability or motivation to exercise was hard.

Before Covid-19 people living in South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse were slightly above the national average when it came to being physically active. Lockdown has had a big impact on that. According to a national report by Sport England in April, 33% of adults were doing less exercise than before the outbreak and worse still 40% of children were doing less than 30 minutes a day or nothing at all.

The two district councils want to hear about the lockdown leisure experiences of residents as part of their Lockdown Lifestyle survey which is launching today. Questions include:

• What type of activity did you do before lockdown?
• What stopped you from being physically active during lockdown?
• What have you missed most about your usual physical activities since lockdown?
• Have you tried a new activity that you are likely to continue?
• Do you feel confident about returning to physical activities?

The results from this survey will help the councils to focus on activities that residents want to see in the districts, to help support those who have struggled over the last few months and to assist families and those who are vulnerable to take those first steps back into the community and keeping healthy. 

The feedback will also contribute to the future plans for leisure activities in the districts as part of the councils Active Communities Strategy.

Cllr Maggie Filipova-Rivers Cabinet Member for Community Services at South Oxfordshire District Council said: “It is clear from recent studies that keeping healthy is very important when fighting the effects of coronavirus. The council are keen to hear about residents’ experiences of keeping active so that they can help them get motivated and to get moving. There is something for everyone and now more than ever we want to help residents to do what they can while also keeping safe”

Cllr Helen Pighills Cabinet Member for Community Services at Vale of White Horse District Council said: “I’m pleased that we as a council are now able to get back into the community and start running our health walks and family sessions. But if we can find out more about what residents like, what they find hard and what they would like to see more of it will enable us to work on more activities that appeal to a wider group of people and to keep building upon that for years to come”

Note for Editors: The survey can be found via this link and closes on Tuesday 8 September 2020