Ahead of National Fitness Day next Wednesday, we were thrilled to hear from Agnes about the amazing work she and her brother Aidan have been doing with Ian, a Personal Trainer in Cambridge.
‘Coming out of lockdown my brother Aidan and I wanted to get more active, but it has always been difficult to engage him in new activities and in particular he finds participating in group or team sports difficult. I knew that Aidan would need someone to motivate him and that it was important to find the right person to help.
I happened to see a sign advertising a local personal trainer and thought it was worth getting in touch. Ian hadn’t worked with someone with Down’s Syndrome before but, he asked some sensible questions about Aidan’s general health and we agreed to have a trial session and take it from there.
Aidan now really looks forward to our weekly session with Ian. We do a circuit of fun but hard exercises. Aidan doesn’t always want to do everything and he also likes to create his own exercises and moves the cones and mats around to his own liking. He is very strong and does like to show off a bit.
We have both really benefitted from the regular exercise. It is great being outside and it is also a fun way of spending time together. Aidan says the class is good and Ian is funny. He says he doesn’t want to do it when it is winter and he wants a day off for his birthday!
Ian says, “It’s been an absolute pleasure to watch this young man progress. He’s stubborn alright, but it’s never a dull moment and seeing him turn up to training always brings a smile to my face, trying new exercises and most of all having a bit of fun.”
We really appreciate having this new activity in our weekly routine and it has been really positive for the both of us.’
Thank you to Agnes for sharing Aidan’s story with us. If you have any similar pictures of you keeping fit and active that you would like to share with us, please send your images to: https://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/get-involved/#photos.
We can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to!
