This Girl Can Suffolk joins with Humans of HIIT to share inspirational stories for post-Covid-19

Inspirational stories are being shared online this week by 'This Girl Can Suffolk' ambassadors as part of a bid to get more women into sport.

Exercise promoters Humans of HIIT have joined up with Active Suffolk for the drive, which launches today (Monday, August 3).

A spokesman for Active Suffolk commented: "Our team manage the This Girl Can campaign locally and currently have over 40 active ambassadors who work to inspire other women to be more active and overcome barriers to participating in sport and exercise across the county.

"The partnership between Humans of HIIT and the This Girl Can ambassadors in Suffolk has come at a

time where more women are currently underachieving physical activity recommendations due to the negative impact of Covid- 19."

Research conducted throughout lockdown and published by Sport England has highlighted an increased divide between the number of women and men meeting the governments recommended guidelines of at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity over five days of the week.

Only 24 per cent of women met reommendations, compared to 30 per cent of men.

Further research conducted and published by Women in Sport suggest that 32 per cent of the women they surveyed felt they couldn’t prioritise exercise during lockdown as they had too much to do for others.

“When lockdown was introduced it was a panic as I could no longer fit everything in."

Angela Soames, This Girl Can ambassador from Kesgrave admitted that the pandemic did affect

her physical activity levels.

“When lockdown was introduced it was a panic as I could no longer fit everything in, I had to adapt

like everyone else. I was still working, whilst also looking after my daughter and even things like

shopping were taking so much longer than before. I was fitting in walks with my daughter and

decorating but I was unable to do the same activity as I did prior to lockdown”

The seven-day campaign between Humans of HIIT and Active Suffolk will share a collection of stories

from local This Girl Can ambassadors, highlighting the positive impact physical activity has had on

their lives. It is hoped these stories will encourage other women to consider new ways they can

incorporate physical activity into their lives, whilst also celebrating the success, courage and

dedication of some of our local women.

Stories from the This Girl Can Suffolk ambassadors will be shared on the This Girl Can Suffolk, Active Suffolk and Humans of HIIT Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.