Member organisation, Drum n Bounce, has won a coveted place on the Lucozade Sport Movers List

Lucozade Sport has been running an initiative called Keep Us Moving which is a pledge to help support the fitness and coaching industry by giving the experts the opportunity to host online classes through their social channels.

We are proud to say that Emma Smallman from Drum n Bounce, one of our member organisations, has won a coveted place on the Lucozade Sport Movers List. 

When Emma first heard about the initiative, she was not sure whether her dance fitness routines would be suitable as the videos had to be submitted without any music.  However, as have recent times have taught us, adaptability is key, and Emma realized that she could break down her moves to give a flavour of her classes which people could then practice at home.

Emma told us ‘The guidelines from Lucozade were very straightforward and having a few weeks of online classes under my belt at the time of submission, I’d got used to talking and dancing to my own reflection. I would have classed myself as someone who is rubbish with tech before lockdown, but all I needed to do was balance my iPad to get a decent portrait shot and film between 10 -15 minutes. The video I sent was my third attempt but with a pretty quick application form I sent it off with nothing to lose.’

Emma didn’t hear from Lucozade for a while until one day she was out walking Eddie the dog when she received a notification! Not believing it at first, she was thrilled to learn that she had been chosen to feature on the Movers List.  Emma’s video is online from today, Tuesday 15 June, and you can view it here.

Emma has been a dancer from an early age and loved nothing more than jumping around to Drum & Bass music. She enjoyed step and aerobics classes when she was younger and found one particular instructor really inspiring.  This spurred Emma on to qualify as a group exercise instructor and share her passion.  She wanted to ‘show the world how a little pinch of dub and a bucket full of bass could be just the recipe for a perfect workout class’.  Knowing how much of an impact physical activity can have, she wanted to reach out to people and motivate them too.  One person who is particularly motivated by Emma’s classes is her mum, who at 70 years old, enjoys three online sessions a week!

While the current lockdown has had a huge impact on the fitness industry generally, Emma feels there have been some positives too.  Having put a selection of her classes online, they have attracted participants who she might not otherwise have reached.  Emma tells us that some of her clients have been able to build their confidence by not worrying what they look like or whether they will be able to keep up.

Emma also feels that she has learned something from switching to online delivery, such as adapting her teaching style to give clearer cues and she will invest her £1,000 prize money in some additional equipment to run her online classes.

The type of music Emma uses is powerful and gives a DJ/Festival vibe, which enables her to reach out to a demographic who might not otherwise have joined a group exercise class.  Emma now has a group of regular class-goers who are not local to her and she is even talking to drum and bass music producers with a view to  uploading on demand content to satisfy her audience reaching as far as Australia!

For advice and information on delivering online classes or to prepare for the ‘new normal’ you can download our free EMD UK Group Ex Support pack here