We Are Undefeatable launch new digital tools to help support wellbeing

07 July 2020
Girl sat on her bed, girl outside in running kit and a man exercising at home.
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We Are Undefeatable is a campaign led by a collaboration of Versus Arthritis and 14 other leading health and social care charities, along with National Lottery funding and expertise from Sport England, to support and inspire people in England who live with a health condition to be active in a way that works with them.

Inspiring safe exercise

To help support people with activity planning and motivation, We Are Undefeatable are working on various new digital tools. These include:

5in5

5in5 is a customisable mini work-out to help people explore what may work for them. You can choose five individual exercises from the exercise library, which you do for one minute at a time.

The library will include four categories to choose from depending how you feel; warming up, stress-busting, mood-boosting, and exercises with accessories.

My Daily Undefeatable

My Daily Undefeatable is a virtual assistant tool, hosted on Facebook messenger that will check in with people to see how they’re feeling, physically and emotionally, as well as how they are keeping active.

We’ll keep you updated on when these tools are available.

Adjusting to life after lockdown: GP top tips

To help people living with a health condition adjust to life both mentally and physically after lockdown, We Are Undefeatable has also enlisted the support of Dr Zoe Williams, practicing NHS GP and resident doctor on This Morning.

Dr Zoe Williams said:

“It’s no surprise that people living with health conditions have concerns and feel anxious about how safe it is for them to get back to normal life.

This is to be expected, as we have been told that people with certain health conditions must stay at home and this is especially true for those in the shielding group.

My top tips would be:

  1. Be kind to yourself and remind yourself ‘it’s no wonder that this is scary”. Take gradual steps, so start with something that feels relatively safe, such as an outdoor walk in an open space.
  2. When the time is right, and you feel comfortable to go to shops, cafes, the hairdresser, consider going at quieter times, such as the start of end of the day.
  3. Alternatively, there are many things that people can do at home, remember anything that is movement counts. Housework, seated exercises on the sofa, squats at the kitchen bench whilst waiting for the kettle to boil through to yoga and stretching.

It all counts, it’s just a case of finding what is best suited to you and doing what you can on the days that you feel well enough.”

For more inspiration, read staying active with arthritis. 

Virtual walking football and dance teams

A virtual walking football team and a dance group have been brought together to get active online under the guidance of two coaches.

The sessions will be for a range of abilities - from beginners who want to give dance or walking football a try, to those who enjoy dancing around in their homes or kicking a ball with friends.

England’s Walking Football Manager, Stuart Langworthy will be coaching the first ever virtual walking football team specifically for people living with a health condition.

A variety of exercises and drills will be suggested to players, dependent upon their level of fitness and ability.

A virtual dance squad will be led by independent dance teacher, Katie Mason, who specialises in dance classes for people with restricted mobility, various health conditions and/or limited space at home.

Both programmes will run for an initial pilot period of 10 weeks, with the aim of broadening out to more teams and disciplines.

For more information on arthritis and exercise and exercises for healthy joints.

We’re here whenever you need us.

If you’re feeling isolated from family and friends during these uncertain times, we’re here for you.