September challenge proves a hit at Match Fit
MEMBERS of Wicklow town’s Match Fit Fitness recently took the plunge into the Irish sea after they completed a mental and physical health challenge for the month of September.
Led by gym owner and former Bray Wanderers player Gary Dempsey, the teams were split into four groups led by different instructors: Gary’s wife Louise, Pamela Hobbs and Nigel Dunne.
The participants earned points every time they attended the gym, met up with a friend they hadn’t seen for a while, went for a walk or cycle or lost a pound on the scales.
Thousands of points were clocked up across the board with more than 100 members taking part, but in the end it was Louise Dempsey’s team who were victorious.
Even though she didn’t have to take the dip, she joined the group during their time at Wicklow harbour in solidarity.
Gary Dempsey said that the aim of the challenge was to get members motivated as the season changed.
‘It was brilliant and I found that the month went really fast. The whole point was the mental health part of it, getting everybody together with social distancing, and having the team atmosphere with the instructors created the craic and banter with the points scoring.
‘ The other side was that peo
ple had focus again. The more classes they did the more points they got, and a lot of people had a bit of a slump post-covid so we were trying to get everyone back again in a positive and healthy way,’ he said.
September also marked one year since Match Fit Fitness opened its doors at the old De La Salle school, and it’s fair to say it has been a year of learning for all involved given the Covid-19 challenges.
‘When we closed our doors in March on the Friday, we went live online straight away on Saturday and that stood to us. If we do have to close again in the future, we’ll jump back online.
‘I’ve no regrets about what we’ve done here and I will continue to invest in the business. We’ve had a brilliant year and all the credit goes down to the members because we’re nothing without them, they’re absolutely fantastic and we’ve created a tight knit group that’s like a family. We don’t have any egos here and we’re all different shapes and sizes, but we have elite athletes too.
‘We dedicate everything we have here to them and there are always going to be bumpy patches, but we’ll keeping rocking on and we’re just going to have to role with the punches’.
Mr Dempsey admitted that despite this, it can be tough to plan for the future with the uncertainty of Covid-19.
‘Anyone who follows me on social media would see that I’m preaching that the fitter and healthier you, the better you’d be at fighting any illness. It’s a little bit hard to plan for the future and it’s disheartening because at the moment we’re open for individual training in Level 3 but Level 4 or 5 we’d have to close.
‘We spent so much money, around €7,000-€8,000 on hygiene stuff, our thermometer at the door, constant sanitiser, paper towels, fogging machine, it was a big investment for us but in fairness our members really appreciative everything we’re doing to keep them safe.
‘It can’t get any safer and the way I see it, the facility is there and should be getting used. We’re going to continue adding new equipment and classes all the time and keep the challenges going,’ he said.
To find out about the next challenge, search ‘Match Fit Fitness’ online.