Last year, as many of us retreated into our homes to wait out the pandemic, personal trainer Neil Isaacson stepped forward to make a difference. He has run weekly exercise sessions throughout the last year for residents and carers in Norwood, a registered charity. It is clear that he is well deserving of the ‘COVID-19 Community Hero’ award, which he has recently won from the Mayor of Barnet.
Even prior to the pandemic, Neil already had experience with Norwood: raising money and participating in bike rides, but last year ‘everything seemed to come to a grinding halt.’ Not content to sit back, he quickly reached out to the charity. A year later, his weekly online exercise sessions and dedication have had such an impact at Norwood that they nominated him for the community award. Neil is rightfully proud of his achievement, viewing it as a memento for future generations to see what he has achieved. He remarked: ‘There aren’t many pleasant things to remember about the last year but being called a community hero is quite special.’
His classes for Norwood are modelled on the live exercise sessions for older adults that he has also been providing on Zoom during the pandemic. Incredibly impressive, this additional dedication has been very well received and around 100 people have signed up to his sessions which run 6 times a week. When lockdown was introduced, Neil explained: ‘The first thing that went through my mind was what is happening to all the elderly people who are just 100% not going to leave their homes?’ For the first few months, he did these sessions free of charge, viewing it as a ‘national service to keep people going.’ However, as the months have gone by he has had to introduce a £30/month fee which allows him to continue.
After coming in penultimate place in a triathlon, he was spurred on to learn more about fitness. Several years later, he began working as a personal trainer and says he ‘hasn’t looked back since.’
To those out there who are interested in finding a way to support their own communities, Neil offers some very simple advice, ‘just get on and do it.’ Whilst trying to set up his online exercise classes he faced plenty of obstacles and naysayers but through perseverance was able to succeed. He advises others: ‘Don’t take no from people, there are always people out there who will appreciate you.’
This past year has been filled with isolation and separation and so Neil’s classes have been an ingenious idea, providing ‘communication not just exercise’ for both the older generation and those living in care homes. Neil’s actions make it clear how sometimes the most difficult situations can lead to an improved sense of community and responsibility for each other. The comparison between Neil and others like Joe Wicks and Sir Captain Tom is an easy one to make due to the way they all stepped up in lockdown. He commented on the way many people have helped out over the past year, comparing it to ‘hundreds of little Toms everywhere doing their bit.’ This perfectly describes the unity, kindness and perseverance, demonstrated by Neil and many others as a result of the pandemic.
For anyone interested in taking part Neil’s online exercise class who wants to know more, please contact him at Neil@getin2shape.co.uk or +44 7515 109318
There is no required fitness level and most exercises are chair-based.
The sessions are at 11 o’clock every day bar Saturday for 40-45 minutes and the membership fee is £30/month.
