Epic bootcamp challenge online for leading Wigan charity

A Wigan gym duo will host a gruelling eight-hour bootcamp from their own living room to raise money for Wigan and Leigh Hospice.
John Boland doing one of his home workoutsJohn Boland doing one of his home workouts
John Boland doing one of his home workouts

Sarah and John Boland, who own JSBefit in Marus Bridge, will stream the epic fitness challenge online tomorrow (Saturday) to help raise money for the hospice which is in need of support during the nationwide lockdown.

Since the lockdown began, the Bolands have been hosting group training sessions on Facebook Live to keep their fitness fanatical members active. They have garnered thousands of views and have had hundreds taking part in their classes, and now they are using their popularity for a good cause.

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They have been holding the epic charity bootcamp session for the past seven years, though usually in their own gym of course. They have raised more than £20,000 for charity and want to add a further £7,000 to that this year.

Money will be raised for the hospice by asking viewers to donate to take part in the online challenge.

John, 34, said: “As a gym, we run group bootcamp training sessions. What we’ve been doing since the lockdown began is using Facebook Live to do classes from our own house.

“When all gyms were closed and gatherings were cancelled on the Friday, we planned to set up the sessions from Monday. It was always something we wanted to set up if that eventuality happened, we sensed it coming.”

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“From a business point of view, we had a few hundred members to provide for, so we wanted to make sure people had access to exercise.”

The couple, who have decades of personal training expertise between them, offer two classes a day at 9.30am and 6pm, which has proven useful for the key workers among their membership who work on changing shift patterns.

John went on: “We do mixed interval training and high intensity interval training (HIIT) and a mixture of body weights. For example, if you’ve not got weights at home you can use anything like a tin of beans, just utilise anything in your home!

“We’ve had people using their stairs and even seen clients using tins of paint as weights! It’s just about applying the environment you’ve got.”

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He added: “Keeping fit during the lockdown is massively important. For myself and Sarah, our priority is health and fitness. In current circumstances there is a lot less activity due to people staying at home. It’s good to exercise your body and relieve the mental tension of being stuck inside, so keep yourself physically active.”

John and Sarah are asking participants to donate a minimum £15 to Wigan and Leigh Hospice. Donations can be made at justgiving.com/john-boland4.

To find out more visit jsebfit.co.uk or Facebook.com/jsbefit

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