Together, but apart...
Hey all, Sam here
I hope you are all having a great week so far?
I have been doing a lot of pondering recently and wanted to share some of my thoughts with you...
As you know, as lockdown has started to ease, both myself and Ash have been training clients outside, both personal training as well as small group training. I am a big fan of people watching and it has given me a lot of joy to see so many people training outside. Together, but apart.
There is something about the great outdoors, being around nature, that brings the best out of people - the fresh air, the endorphins of the exercise mixed with the vitamin D boost from the sun, is something that feels so much better than in the enclosed gym environment! Everyone is doing their own thing but with the shared experience of improving their health - both mentally and physically.
It reminds me a lot of when I was travelling around South East Asia a few years ago. In particular, when I was in Hanoi, I would get up at around 5 or 6am to exercise before the heat of the sun kicked in. I would go to a lake near my hostel for a jog where, it seemed, half of the city were there with me! It was the done thing that the community exercised together... but apart! Some running, some walking, cyclists, tai chi, and even a couple of outdoor aerobics classes. It was such a special feeling to be a part of it and I feel that lockdown has made outdoor training in the UK more 'normal' than it may have been a few months ago. Of course, the UK weather means that we can spread our shared workout throughout the day!
I know many people do miss the gym, but there is something nice about not having to battle for space, or equipment, about being in the open air and about trying new or different things than we are used to. The creativity that we found within ourselves is so great, some of us investing in different equipment, some of us trying out YouTube workouts to fit around our schedules, many of us joining Zoom classes to be together, but apart.
Myself and Ash have been amazed at how many of you have come along to our classes during this lockdown time, and we are so pleased that we have retained the community feel that we had initially created via the studio classes - maybe even more so now! We feel that lockdown has allowed SMASH London to become it's own entity more than it ever had been before, and our next chapter is going to focus on growing that community further and stronger!
With that in mind we have made a couple of big decisions! Firstly we are really excited to tell you that we will be adding a Yoga class to our schedule once every 2 weeks, hosted by the amazing Sandi Plantos. Her first official class will be next Friday (17th) morning and we will be alternating the Yoga class with the SMASH Extra class each week. More info on that will come this weekend, but we are so excited to welcome our first ever permanent Instructor to the SMASH family (other than Ash and I!). Sandi is an incredible Yoga teacher and we couldn't be in better hands as we allow ourselves to enjoy all the well-being benefits that Yoga can bring ️
Secondly, both myself and Ash have decided not to return, as personal trainers, to Fitness First when they are allowed to open. We will be focusing on our own timetable, both on and offline as lockdown continues to ease, and hope to be able to return to some studio based classes in the future. We are so excited for the next step in our journey and extremely thankful and grateful for all of the opportunities that have arisen throughout the last three years at Fitness First. We will never forget where SMASH London began
There is so much more I could say but a lot of it echos the sentiments in the email from almost 2 years ago when Ash had to make a similarly big decision: A Leap Of Faith...
We look forward to growing with you. Together AND apart!
Sam and Ash
A message from Sam and Ash - Our business has been seriously affected by the current COVID-19 crisis, but you can support us by making a small donation via our website here. We will continue to put out as much free content as we can to ensure all of our community members are able to build strength in body and mind, and your kind donation will help us to do that. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far, your support means the world to us.
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