Love4Life members ready to RUMBLE!

Members of FitzRoy Love4Life and two willing volunteers were put through their paces in a boxing session at Gosport Boxing Club. Jon, Love4Life volunteer, told us more.

Banging tunes pumped out from the stereo to help pump the blood for the intensive hour long session. Learning how to jab, hook and uppercut was no easy task but the members pushed through the pain barriers and became quite accomplished boxers.

The punch bags were certainly glad when the session drew to a close as they’d taken quite some punishment! Everyone left sweaty, tired and thirsty for more.

Hayley, Love4Life Coordinator, told us about how boxing is only part of a larger plan to help promote a healthy lifestyle amongst members.

We run lots of different events at Love4Life every month, such as nights at restaurants, bowling evenings, and games nights. Recently as well as these, we have been trying to run a few more fitness and exercise events.

I wanted to start this because sometimes activity can be more difficult if you have a learning disability or autism. For instance a Zumba class might be a bit too loud for some of our members, or boxing moves might be explained too quickly so they are hard to understand.

When we run our own fitness events, we can adjust them to be more accessible and inclusive for members of all abilities. So Zumba, which is a really popular event now, is a little bit quieter, and at the boxing session a little more time was taken to explain moves.

Feedback has been really good from members, who are enjoying trying new sports that some thought they couldn’t do. It also seems to be encouraging everyone to have a healthier and more active lifestyle, as members are seeking advice on healthy eating and suggesting more sports they would like to try. Ultimately, members seem to be feeling more confident that they can do things regardless of their disability.