Town offering free programs for Recreation and Park Month

By Rob Paul

The Province has slowly begun its re-opening with the stay-at-home order expiring June 2, just in time for Recreation and Park Month. Caledon is known for its outdoor resources like its hiking trails and bike paths, but additional amenities such as splash pads, tennis courts, soccer fields, basketball courts, and skateparks are open.

The Town is encouraging residents to take advantage of the weather and outdoor facilities this June while underscoring the importance following the current public health guidelines.

After nearly 15 months of dealing with the impact of the pandemic, Mayor Allan Thompson knows people are itching to get to refresh their mental and physical health through recreation and is excited to see residents enjoying all Caledon has to offer.

“The Town of Caledon celebrates Recreation Month because our residents want opportunities to live an active lifestyle, enjoy a high quality of life and engage in their communities,” said Thompson. “This year, more than ever, it was critical for us to adapt to citizen needs by offering non-traditional services so residents could still participate in activities supporting their physical and mental wellbeing during pandemic restrictions.”

In celebration of Recreation and Park Month, the Town of Caledon is offering COVID safe programming throughout June. It's a movement that promotes the benefits of recreation and parks for physical, social, and environmental health—residents can join in on celebrating recreation and wellness from their own homes with virtual programming like Zumba, cooking, baking, meditation, yoga, and more.

Caledon is also participating in the ParticipACTION Canada Community Better Challenge and will be offering free virtual fitness classes in the month of June to help residents get active while connecting with others.

Residents are encouraged to download the ParicipACTION app (www.participaction.com/en-ca/programs/community-challenge) and log their activities throughout June to show Canada how fit Caledon is.

In total, between June 3 and 29, the Town will be running 17 free programs to help residents stay active for all different ages. The goal is for every resident to find a program that fits what they're looking for during Recreation and Park Month.

Caledon is a big biking community and with that in mind a virtual cycling program is being offered to those with stationary bikes. It's a low impact cardio workout for all levels to strengthen the heart, lungs, and legs, and incorporates high-energy exercises that include climbs, sprints, and flat roads.

To encourage families to stay active together, there will be two different virtual family Zumba sessions that focus on getting active together while keeping it fun and light together and is for all fitness levels with fun and easy routines—there will also be Zumba offered to just adults.

With Recreation and Parks Month coinciding with Seniors Month, there will be two different senior specific virtual Zumba classes offered to those 55 and over. These will be high energy, dance, cardio, and fitness workouts to improve strength, flexibility, and balance and are easy to follow routines that will get seniors moving and having fun.

Knowing some residents are newer to getting involved in fitness, there will be two different personal training Q&As. The clinic will give residents the opportunity to ask one of the Town's certified personal trainers about exercise tips and an overview of the benefits of working with a personal trainer.

Yoga is the perfect at home workout to help relieve stress and tension, but it's not easy to dive into it; to help residents get used to it they'll be running a yoga class for teens and a separate class for adults. Easy to follow Yoga poses to relax your mind and body. The yoga classes focus on strengthening muscles while building flexibility through movements to increase flexibility, balance, posture, and control of breathing.

A key aspect of yoga is the breathing and meditation, and as such the Town will be running two class specific to that. They focus on taking the time to help residents quiet their minds and focus on their breathing to help with relaxation. 

Two of the best ways to burn fat and build muscle using bodyweight are through metabolic training and HIIT (high intensity interval training). There will be two metabolic classes and one HIIT class in June to help improve heart health with short burst of intense exercises followed by low-intensity recovery.

For residents who love to run but want to ensure their flexibility is strong to prevent injuries, there will be a stretch and strength for runner's class focused on learning about pre- and post-running stretches to stay strong and injury-free—it's for any level of runner.

The final program being run is a sit and get fit class that is low intensity, seated exercises that will help to improve flexibility, muscular strength, coordination skills, and balance.

For the schedule, more information, and to register for the recreation and wellness programs that Caledon is offering this month, visit www.caledon.ca/en/living-here/recreation-programs.aspx#Outdoor-Programs.