Renowned fitness coach Nelson Mukasa has become the first person in the country to introduce home live online aerobics sessions for people to keep fit and healthy after Kigali was put under lockdown due to the persistent Covid-19 pandemic. Mukasa is best known for leading the bi-monthly Kigali Car Free Day which has been inconsistent due to covid-19 measures against large gatherings. However, he kept providing people with online aerobic exercises to help them stay fit by bringing them together for a common session via zoom video conference. Mukasa started the daily fitness initiative dubbed ‘home live online sports aerobic exercise’ on July 19, to keep the sports community updated with a variety of aerobic exercises during the pandemic. “People used to gather for sports in public places but because of the pandemic, we are helping them to shift to online aerobic exercises after Kigali was put into lockdown again,” Mukasa said. The number of people attending the sessions has increased from 60 to 320 through the past week, a number which could increase session after session given how people keep joining the sessions every day. “People are increasingly attending my sessions day after day to the extent that even those from upcountry can access the sessions. The majority of attendees are from Kigali but the session is open and accessible for everyone across the country since it has gone online,” he said. Every daily session is divided into three programmes namely a 45-minute aerobics session, 15-minute abdominals and five minutes of stretching. The sessions take place every Monday to Friday at 5pm to 6pm while Saturday and Sunday sessions take place from 6.30 am to 7.30am. Mukasa said that he was impressed with the fact that his sessions have gone from coaching individuals to rather making families involved. “The physical sessions were all about individuals but I was so impressed to see members of families practicing in groups from home. It is really such a good experience that the sports community should not afford to miss,” he said. Besides aerobics, Mukasa takes time to chat with his sports community and advise the kind of nutritious food they can take. The ‘Home live online aerobics exercise’ has brought health benefits to many people who have been following it on daily sessions since Mukasa introduced the sessions last week. “Some of us were unfit before Mukasa introduced the online sports sessions. But now it is helping our health. We weren’t used to attending such exercises online but we were made to open up our minds to switch to online exercises to keep ourselves fit and healthy during the pandemic,” said Blaise Habimana, one of Mukasa’s home online aerobic exercises regular participants. Speciose Umwali, who also attends Mukasa’s online aerobic sessions, told Times Sport that the home exercises have become her comfortable zone because they have become a family affair. “I am better off doing these online exercises from home because I attend them with my family. I could go alone during the physical exercises but I find no better experience in doing online aerobics because I not only feel more comfortable doing them from home but my family also joins me during the sessions. It is always a good time to go for these fitness sessions as a family,” said Umwali.
