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A personal trainer says her virtual fitness hub has been a big success.
More than 300 paying members are now signed up to Kings Hill fitness coach Emma Emin’s classes which have helped to keep her clients active throughout the coronavirus pandemic during the past year.
Mrs Emin began doing online sessions last year, initially for free, when the pandemic hit which meant her running club based in Kings Hill had to stop meeting.
The 41-year-old says she was reluctant to do virtual classes but was persuaded to do them by her original running club members.
“I did the classes for free for everybody for a couple of months,” said the mum-of-three.
“First of all, it just kind of started off with existing clients but then they spread the word to their families and friends.
“But then, the children went back in June, albeit only for a couple of months.
“I was going to close the session but everyone told me to carry on.
“So then, I started to charge and set up a little payment group.”
Despite charging for some of the classes, they continued to go from strength to strength.
Mrs Emin, of Russett Way, said: “I have a free group, as well, where I do half-term Halloween seven-day work-outs and stuff like that.
“So there are always free things still.
“The group started off with 50 people joining in the first week but then, over time, we have just kind of grown.”
Those taking part range from teenagers to people in their sixties, with two companies also paying fees for the sessions as part of a well-being strategy for their staff.
“There are loads of nice stories to come out of it,” said Mrs Emin, a weights and HIIT (high-intensity interval training) specialist who now also invites personal trainers into her hub to lead sessions on different areas.
“It has been one of the positive things to come out of this.
"I was sceptical myself with how it was going to work, training virtually.
“But it just seems to work.”
Mrs Emin, who says she plans to continue the online lessons even when the country comes out of lockdown, says she has had people from countries like Australia and France get involved too.
In total, she has 320 paying members in her fitness hub, including approximately 70 corporate clients, while more than 500 people are now signed up to her free classes.
