London-based technology firm fibodo, has joined forces with leading leisure industry partners Active IQ and Study Active to create #DoingOurBit – a free, bespoke online fitness platform for NHS staff.
#DoingOurBit started as a passion project for Julie Davis, Deputy Chief Operating Officer at the Clinical Research Network West Midlands. As the physical and emotional impact of treating Covid-19 patients took its toll on her 190-strong workforce, Julie wanted to pull together some free workouts and relaxation sessions to help her colleagues cope.
The initiative caught the eye of The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust which wanted to offer the workouts to its 10,000 staff. Julie turned to Active IQ and Study Active– with whom she has done her own training – and they, in turn, introduced fibodo to host this ambitious idea.
fibodo, the award-winning e-commerce platform, created a fully customised online platform to allow NHS professionals to view and take part in the bespoke personal trainer led fitness sessions. The platform can be accessed via computer, tablet or smartphone at any time of the day during their busy working schedules.
#DoingOurBit invites personal trainers to ‘give back’ to the hard-working NHS workers who could benefit from brief but effective workouts at home and between their shifts. A launch group of 27 instructors pulled together over 40 workouts from relaxation and stretch sessions, to low impact and body weight workouts, right up to more energetic higher intensity routines to suit the beginner to intermediate target audience.
“I was simply overwhelmed by the quick and positive reaction I had for my idea from fibodo, Active IQ and Study Active, who gave their time and expertise immediately and freely,” says Julie. “The speed at which they worked to take my concept into a fully-fledged and workable idea was really impressive and their attention to detail extraordinary. Within four weeks I had gone from a casual conversation about my idea to a fantastic fitness platform bespoke to my NHS colleagues. I can’t thank them enough for bringing my vision to life.”
The #DoingOurBit site and individual workouts are personalised to the NHS and the content is unique. The platform can be access by any employee of the NHS, all they have to do is simply register using their NHS email address, and they are given remote, on-demand access to the series of safe and effective workouts, designed by Active IQ’s PTs.
“Being able to support the NHS and those key workers that have done so much for us during the past three months was a no-brainer,” says Anthony Franklin, managing director at fibodo. “It is important to stay active, and maintain a healthy body and mind, regardless of your line of work. Exercise can improve your wellbeing and energy levels, even if you have an already active job.
“Our team worked round the clock to create the bespoke pages and ensure ease of accessibility for users on an easy to use platform. The passion and enthusiasm of the whole project team was a massive incentive to get involved, and we are delighted to be doing our bit, giving thousands of people the opportunity to access the best in fitness training. Behind the warm welcome on fibodo’s fit4thefight platform sits a robust system that can upscale to accept more PTs and workouts and the many more users we anticipate, as other NHS trusts request access to #DoingOurBit for their staff.”
#DoingOurBit went live on June 15, 2020 with 27 PTs and 40 workouts. Designed to run long after the lockdown ends, more PTs are expected to get involved to create additional workouts over the coming weeks and months.
