Ronnie the Rhino has been putting several families from the Pudsey area through their paces week-by-week at Preisthorpe High School.
Report by: Adam Lunn – Community Development Officer and Ronnie Aerobics Programme Organiser.
The 12 week long Ronnie Aerobics programme which was put together with the support of Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, proved to be a massive success running every Saturday 10:30 – 11:30am FREE of charge.
Sessions were designed and targeted around the concept of getting all the family active together through means of fun games and activities.
Octopus Tig and Quick’kickit Rugby were typical games that would sandwich a Ronnie the Rhino 15 minutes led Dance/Aerobics activity. Family members of all ages, abilities and gender were welcomed along to take part in the free to access sessions.
As part of the programme, participants were given a ‘Training Log’ to complete each week stating their attendance and the enjoyment of that week ranking from 1 – 10 (1, Least – 10, Most).
And with participants ranging from as little as 3 well up to around 50, there was little in the way of age specific activities. Each week provided new and exciting challenges which got families laughing, active and having fun, including the opportunity to challenge themselves against Ronnie the Rhino.
Week one’s challenge was the test of speed which pitched the whole group up against Ronnie in a straight line sprint from one end of the gym to the other, needless to say Ronnie was narrowly beaten by the young guns.
In addition to the activity, refreshments were provided in the form of fruit and water, which in most cases saw the strawberries go first! Other challenges followed week by week including Relay Races, Star Jump Competitions, Rugby Netball and Rugby Golf just to mention a few.
Plans to roll this out across Leeds are already in talks as 85% of participants stated that they would be interested in a similar project in the near future.
One parent commented: “I hope we can spread the project given the lack of projects which offer fitness opportunities for parents and children.”
As a result of the project, 90% of participants stated that they felt closer as a family, with parents and their children feeling fitter. One parent said: “I loved it. What a great project!”
Another parent commented that the project “helped give his 5 year old more independence.”
Stay tuned to leedsrugbyfoundation.org for future developments of Ronnie Aerobics or for further information contact Adam Lunn on: Adam.Lunn@leedsrugbyfoundation.org.