University fitness programme goes global

The University of Stirling Sport team has seen its lockdown fitness programme go global over recent months with participants joining from all corners of the world.

Nearly 4000 participants have logged on to take part in virtual classes over the last 8 weeks, either live or pre-recorded, from over 50 countries including long-haul destinations such as New Zealand, the United States and Japan. The figures are equally impressive on social media as the team’s daily home workout routines enjoy widespread reach of nearly 160,000 and direct engagement with over 10,000 home gym-goers.

The online programme, which commenced following the temporary closure of the University’s sports facilities, offers over 20 free weekly virtual classes, both live and on catch-up, as well as the daily social media workouts. All classes and workouts have been designed for participants of all abilities and experience.

The new service is part of the University's Be Connected programme - a series of online activities and resources which have been designed to ensure students, staff and the wider University community stay connected with each other, and remain healthy, active and in the moment.

Commenting on the Sport team’s contribution, the University of Stirling’s Executive Director of Sport, Cathy Gallagher, said: “Our philosophy at the University of Stirling is to ‘make it happen’ and never before has sport or physical activity been more important in our daily lives. The engagement levels in our wide range of classes are a well-earned reflection of the effort, expertise and commitment that have gone into the creation of the new service.  Whilst there are many online opportunities in the market, we have retained live delivery of all our classes and this has contributed immensely to the success of the programme.

“The situation in the sport, health and wellbeing arena is always evolving and, although there are obvious challenges just now, there are also opportunities to diversify, enhance our services and maximise our impact on the student experience and the health and wellbeing of the University community.  At the UK Sports University of the Year 2020, we are embracing this opportunity.”

For more information about the University of Stirling Sport online fitness and wider Be Connected programmes, visit stir.ac.uk/beconnected.