A Macclesfield initiative to get people exercising during the pandemic has hit triple figures.

Macclesfield Town Council and Matthew Rigby PT have been running free online ParkFit sessions since lockdown started and are celebrating reaching 100 sessions.

The Town Council originally partnered with Matt Rigby, a local personal trainer, back in June 2019, and commissioned him to run free ParkFit sessions in South Park.

These well attended, half-an-hour sessions made the most of equipment already in the parks, supported on occasion by kit that Matt would bring with him.

The lockdown restrictions imposed in March 2020, meant these outdoor group workouts had to stop.

But instead of running one a week, invigorated by lockdown, Matt started running two sessions a week, live via his Facebook page supported again by the Town Council.

On Mondays and Thursdays throughout lockdown Matt could be found in his kitchen putting the people of Macclesfield through their paces.

Many of the sessions were using people's own bodyweight to complete burpees, press ups, core exercises etc, and occasionally Matt will introduce small dumbbells or bottles of water as weights, or rucksacks filled with tins of beans.

The 30 minutes sessions have helped the Town Council meet it's goal of keeping people active, and have inspired the people of Macclesfield who wanted to continue some form of exercise whilst gyms and classes were shut.

Even though gyms have now started to reopen, Matt is still drawing in the participants with his fun, adaptable workouts.

The last 10 have seen over 150 people altogether log on to watch and take part, some live and others catching up at a time that suits them.

Matt, who is a seasoned OCR participant (Obstacle Course Racing such as Tough Mudder), has his own PT clients, facilitates the Rundamentalist Run Club in Macclesfield and runs a Kettle Bell class out of Cross Fit Silk.

Matt is also a keen charity supporter, offering PT sessions and run club membership for the Town Councils recent Mayoral auction, raising over £3000 for furniture for the new garden at Space4Autism.

He has also recently taken on a challenge to inspire others and raise £10k for the new Christie unit at Macclesfield, for which Macclesfield Nub News reported on last week.

"Over the last year it has been a real pleasure to deliver these Facebook Live sessions for the council," said Matt.

"During the first lockdown I had to think of ways to adapt my business. I missed delivering the ParkFit session in the park and had to think of alternative methods to deliver them.

"The first few trial sessions were really well received, the council then agreed to support the delivery of these over the last year. I never thought I'd end up doing 100 workouts.

"It's kept me focused and challenged me to think of ways for people to do workouts in their own homes. The live aspect allows for a little interaction, which is what I like the most about these workouts, rather than posting a video to the Internet.

"My goal as always is to keep people moving, as we all know the benefits of regular physical exercise. I want to give people the confidence to exercise effectively and appropriately in order to achieve their fitness goals.

"Thank you to Macclesfield Town Council for their continued support and encouragement over this last year. It's been amazing."

Whilst cases of COVID-19 in the town continue to rise, the Town Council have made the decision not to return to in-person-park-sessions just yet.

Matt will continue to deliver two Facebook live sessions a week, with the plan being to return to the great outdoors as soon as it is safe to do so.

Search Matthew Rigby PT on Facebook, and make sure you follow Macclesfield Town Council for reminders and updates.

Matt is also running a contest to celebrate hitting triple digits, where you can win a headband, a training session and UKOSF membership.

All you have to do is guess a number. You can enter it before June 30 here.

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