Erskine bridging fitness gap during shutdown
Livingston star Chris Erskine is beating the football shutdown blues by running online personal training classes to boost people’s physical and mental well-being.
The midfielder, from Lindsayfield, is part of the team at East Kilbride-based Funktional Fitness, who have turned to daily online classes to keep clients in shape.
So now folks across the region and beyond can get top tips from an SPFL star from the comfort of their own home during the coronavirus lockdown with their ‘Online Academy’.
Erskine, who has been a qualified personal trainer for the past 18 months, posts two live workouts a day alongside the rest of the team at Funktional Fitness, which includes his brother Liam McLaughlin – a former
EK Thistle player – and business owner Kris McSherry.
And Erskine said: “There’s going to be a lot of people in the house doing nothing and a lot of people will be alone, so it’s good to engage as many people as possible.
“We’ve been really busy over the last few days and it’s been good.
“Now the gym is closed, we’ve moved to stuff online because there are a lot of clients who are going without exercise and things.
“It’s a good idea from Kris that keeps everybody exercising, looking after their physical and mental health, while we are all stuck in the house.
“There’s two live workouts a day. One at 9am and one at 6pm, where people can join in on Facebook live.
“The videos also save to the page, so you can do them anytime you want. We’ve got loads of people who aren’t suited to those times, so they can still join in.”
The former Partick Thistle man can also help you look after your diet during these difficult times, with each member assigned to a particular trainer for weekly video check-up sessions.
“We’ve got essential nutrients, calorie-controlled meal plans and people who sign up are assigned a coach,” the 33-year-old explained.
“There’s eight personal trainers and we are all looking after the clients, with a weekly check-up to see how they are getting on with their exercises, calories and mental health.”
And it’s certainly helping Erskine stay busy as he bides his time on making his Livingston comeback.
He added: “I probably should be the fittest guy at Livingston when we go back, but I’ve had an injury most of the season.
“It’s been a bit of a nightmare for me. I picked up an injury a couple of months after I signed for Livi at the end of last season and I haven’t been able to fully shake it off.
“I had an operation about two months ago, so I was recovering from that when all this shutdown stuff kicked off.
“But it’s actually helping me in the long run because it means I’ve got some extra time to get back fit and, hopefully, play some part of the season if it gets going again.”
Erskine has recorded his very own mini workout for Lanarkshire Live Sport readers to keep you fit and active in your own home, which you can find on our online channel @ LanarkshireLiveSport on Twitter and Facebook.
You can also find Erskine and Funktional Fitness on Facebook and Instagram via@chriserskinept or @ funktionalfitnesstraining for details of how to sign up for the Online Academy.