Online Men’s Training Group Rowvember for Movember to Help Raise Awareness for Male Suicide during Covid
NORTHWICH, UK, 22 October 2020 – A group of men with differing fitness levels will take on the daunting challenge of indoor rowing the distance of Land’s End to John O’Groats, totalling 1348km aiming to complete the task in 90 hours with an average speed of 1:59.9/500m.
TEAM MEN runs daily online fitness sessions that can be joined from anywhere in the UK, and also twice weekly men only group sessions in a private gym based in Cheshire. The aim of TEAM MEN is to make regular exercise more fun by offering group sessions which involve real fitness progression, encouragement from your TEAMmates and having a great laugh with a group of great guys. The exercise sessions give men a healthy outlet for stress and allow all men to participate, whatever their fitness level.
“We believe in bringing men together – to hang out, get physical and have fun. We try to encourage guys to choose this type of training, rather than spending too much time going to pubs, binge watching TV, gambling or gaming,” explains TEAM MEN founder Paul Connor.
This ROWvember challenge is all part of Paul’s ambition to support men’s mental health and bring attention to the number of male suicides nationally and globally, as part of the annual Movember campaign.
“I want more men to understand how physically training together regularly and in groups can significantly improve their mental health,” he says, “There’s an awful lot of pressure on men at the moment to speak up, to not suffer in silence. But some men just aren’t comfortable talking about their feelings, no matter how much you encourage them. By training together, hanging out, working towards common goals, men form bonds and release some of those feelings. It’s a form of therapy that doesn’t require words.”
Right now, in the UK two people take their life every hour and globally around 60 men die every hour from suicide. These alarming figures are what has caused Movember to get behind the issue of men’s mental health and encourage challenges like this to raise awareness and funds to support their mental health programmes.
The TEAM MEN challenge squad is currently made up of eight men who will take turns on Concept2 rowing machines virtually and physically over the course of November to make up the full distance, but they say, there’s always more room on TEAM MEN and more arms will make the challenge that much more manageable!
“By individually rowing a part of 1,348,000 metres this November we will be together on our solo machines even if we are apart,” says Connor, “At a time where we are being told to stay at home, away from others and to limit our social contact, it has never been more important to find a way to stay connected and feel like you belong to something. We are a TEAM who want to be fit, healthy and above all happy. We may not be able to go to the match, the pub or play indoor sports but what we can do is form groups and work together towards common goals.”
According to the Clinical Journal of Psychiatry, ‘the beneficial effects of physical activity on mental health include distraction, self-efficacy, and social interaction.” It also says, “Exercise improves mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and negative mood and by improving self-esteem and cognitive function,” and “Exercise has also been found to alleviate symptoms such as low self-esteem and social withdrawal.”
You can support TEAM MEN by donating to the team’s Movember Donation profiles on Facebook and you can follow the team’s progress on Facebook.
To find out more about more about Team Men visit https://www.team-men.com/ Online group sessions run every day UK time at 6.30am and 7.30am and you come to as many sessions as you like each week, from wherever in the world you like, to suit your work/family commitments.
For further information or PR enquiries, please contact:
Paul Connor
Telephone: 07833 564139
Email: paul@pchf.co.uk
Website: https://www.team-men.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEAM-MENcom-109496604163699/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TEAMMEN7