A gym in Orange has reached out to to doctors and nurses from the emergency department and Intensive Care Unit to say thank you and help them take their minds off their work for 45 minutes.
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F45 Training Orange is giving free at-home membership to the doctors and nurses who work in the ED and ICU.
Manager Sam Powell said the free membership enables them to access online group workouts through the Zoom app or prerecorded workouts so they can continue to exercise before or after their shifts.
"Nurses and doctors are doing 12-hour shifts, they are working really hard, they are in a high stress position," Mr Powell said.
"They can take their mind and body away from all the stresses we are all experiencing at the moment, particularly from them being on the front lines of everything."
Emergency Department physician Dr Fiona Stewart was already a member of the gym and encouraged other nurses and doctors to take part.
"In the last couple of weeks everyone has let their exercise drop off and everyone was feeling the effects of not having an outlet so being presented with an opportunity has been great for a lot of people," Dr Stewart said.
"It's never been harder to exercise with long shifts and short days and prioritising your routine in terms of exercise.
Because of the high intensity of the workouts you largely don't think about anything else for 45 minutes.
- Dr Fiona Stewart
"Keeping yourself healthy at this time has never been more important."
She said the exercise was good for people's mental as well as physical health and it was difficult to find time or motivation to exercise when people's routines were interrupted.
"It's still hard to prioritise and there are more distractions at home but to have that outlet in the house has still been good and to be able to work out a few times a week and switch off has been good," Dr Stewart said.
"Because of the high intensity of the workouts you largely don't think about anything else for 45 minutes."
Dr Stewart said as well as the gym, several businesses and community members across Orange have shown their support towards her and her colleagues.
"It's been so appreciated by every staff member having everyone else getting behind it," she said.
"We know they are also doing it really tough at the moment, even for Sam to do this when times have never been tougher for gyms."
She said more than 20 doctors and nurses have already taken up the opportunity.
As well as helping the doctors and nurses, Mr Powell said F45 would run a free week of membership for the whole of Orange community from Monday, April 27. Visit the gym's Facebook page for more details.
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Tanya Marschke
I am based at Orange and cover a wide range of subjects as well as the weekly business column. I've worked consistently in the the media industry since 2006 including the past seven years at the Central Western Daily. Before moving to Orange, I worked as a journalist at weekly newspapers the Beaudesert Times and the Gold Coast Sun in Queensland, as well as the Scone Advocate in the Hunter Valley. I started my career at the Ridge News in Lightning Ridge while I completed my journalism studies remotely at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.
I am based at Orange and cover a wide range of subjects as well as the weekly business column. I've worked consistently in the the media industry since 2006 including the past seven years at the Central Western Daily. Before moving to Orange, I worked as a journalist at weekly newspapers the Beaudesert Times and the Gold Coast Sun in Queensland, as well as the Scone Advocate in the Hunter Valley. I started my career at the Ridge News in Lightning Ridge while I completed my journalism studies remotely at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.
