Sending a World Health Day shoutout to all the Special Olympics BC athletes and coaches who have participated in Club Fit programs and functional testing! Recent results have shown decreases in blood pressure and weight around the province, like SOBC – Kimberley/Cranbrook athlete Philip who lost 25 pounds after participating in Club Fit.
Club Fit is a fitness program designed specifically for Special Olympics athletes of varying skill levels to improve their health and fitness outside of participation in their sport programs.
Through Club Fit, athletes ramp up their overall health and fitness, helping them improve sport performance with their muscular training, and benefitting their whole lives with better wellness. All athletes can participate in Club Fit and reap the benefits. SOBC – Kimberley/Cranbrook’s Philip proves athletes can make a big difference in their lives by getting involved in Club Fit – after participating in the eight-week program, he lost 25 pounds!
Many Locals now offer Club Fit programs, and coaches from around the province did an exceptional job participating in the SOBC Club Fit summits in 2018 to raise their game. Big thanks to all the Locals and coaches who are helping athletes make great changes to their health and sport performance by creating Club Fit opportunities!
Check out the Club Fit resources:
- Special Olympics BC Club Fit Manual
- Manual appendices
- Equipment request form
- Nutrition module
- Resistance band training
- Yoga for mobility and stability
- Loop band exercises
How do you know you’re making great changes? Participating in functional testing helps track the changes in health and fitness, giving you information so you can celebrate improvements and feel motivated to keep getting better. Kudos to all the Locals who now offer functional testing at least once a year, creating data that helps track, celebrate, and motivate improvements!
This year SOBC – Cranbrook, Coquitlam, Langley, Oceanside, and Smithers ran functional testing twice, generating comparative data that shows decreases in blood pressure and weight! SOBC – Dawson Creek and Terrace offered functional testing for the first time this year, and SOBC – Invermere continued their successful testing sessions. Smaller communities have shown incredible success rates of getting athletes out to participate, and all should be commended.
All SOBC athletes are encouraged to head to functional testing when opportunities arise, to have fun with the exercises and to track and celebrate their improvements. “It’s such a positive self-esteem builder,” says SOBC – Kimberley/Cranbrook Club Fit facilitator Shelley Joubert.
To learn more about functional testing sessions, or if you are a coach who is interested in accessing functional testing results or running a functional testing session for your athletes, please contact Helen Cheung, Performance Program Coordinator, by email at hcheung@specialolympics.bc.ca or by phone at 604-737-3055 / 1-888-854-2276 toll-free.
Learn more about functional testing
Special Olympics BC’s impactful health work would not be possible without the support of valued sponsors including the Government of British Columbia, the Government of Canada, the Golisano Foundation, LifeLabs, Sobeys, Westminster Savings, and the ongoing support of our provincial partners and fundraising events.