WATCH | Nelson Mandela Bay Gym goes online thanks to Covid-19

Facebook, a 1m radius and the eagerness to stay fit is all one needs to keep exercising over the lockdown period.

Profiles Health Club owner Helen Mentzel and her 14-year-old daughter Alexia are launching an online Facebook club to ensure people remain fit during the 21-day lockdown.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Monday night that SA would be locked down from midnight on Thursday until April 16.

Profiles Health Club closed on March 24 in light of the outbreak but Mentzel has vowed to keep her existing clients’ fitness on par.

Her online journey starts on Monday at 9am. 

Her virtually guided classes entail:

Monday: Legs

Tuesday: Shoulders, triceps and back

Wednesday: Back and biceps

Thursday: Fitness

Friday: Circuit and high intensity

Saturday: Body conditioning.

To join, one simply has to “like” the Profiles Health Club Facebook page and then start the 40-minute classes, which require minimal equipment.

“If we do not do these classes, people will lose their fitness levels and I think that at a time like this it’s important that people have things to do to manage their excess energy,” she said. . 

“The daily packages that I have created can be used without specialised equipment and at most one would need a skipping rope and dumbbells,” she said.

“If you do not have dumbbells to use, just use a jar of mayonnaise, a water bottle or tins of food.

“People really do not need much to keep fit. I think they just need the motivation and that’s where I come in,” she said.  

Mentzel said the lockdown situation had given her the motivation to go online. .

“Many other trainers have gone on the internet and I think this Covid-19 situation is the push that I needed to go into that direction,” she said.