VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Since social distancing measures were put into place to prevent the spread of coronavirus, it has been many weeks since people have been able to stop by their local fitness centers to get workouts in. Facilities have taken a virtual approach to combat the COVID-19 restrictions.
Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation launched its Virtual Rec Center on May 1st, providing activities for those looking to stay active from home and sharing unique workouts for different age groups.
"Our staff who typically deal with our Forever Young seniors have been reaching out and calling them, putting together little care bags and dropping them off on their porches with activities that they can do while they're at home," Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation public relations and content manager Julie Braley said. "They're used to coming to the centers a few times a week to get some interaction and they've been missing that for the past few months."
Interaction is something the organization has put a big emphasis on since the start of the pandemic. While the Virtual Rec Center is new, Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation has utilized its Facebook page as a way to give its members interaction with coaches and classes that can be participated in from home.
"People that participate in our group fitness classes, they're really kind of a social bunch of people," Braley said. "The Facebook group has been a good outlet I think for them to maintain a little bit of that."
You don't have to be a member of one of the rec centers to have access to the workouts, which can be found on the Virtual Rec Center, and fitness and wellness Facebook page.
"We want to make sure they’re staying healthy and staying active during this time because it’s so good for peoples, not only physical well-being, but also their mental well-being," Braley said. “That was really important to us to not disrupt people’s routines."
