A quarter of an hour of exercise during the working and studying day - that's the "Bewegte Pause". The university sports programme currently only takes place in virtual space. An overview.
"Jumping jacks!", "Pick apples!", "Stretch properly!" - these commands cannot be heard in the sports hall at the moment, but can be heard in a somewhat sonorous voice over computer speakers at home. During the coronavirus pandemic, the "moving break" also had to be moved to the virtual space.
This is nothing new for the university sports team, which has been offering this popular programme for students and staff for over ten years. After all, there are also corresponding online programmes in "regular operation". However, the majority of the exercises have so far taken place in a supervised group at the university. Dr Martin Hillebrecht, Head of the University Sports Centre at the University of Oldenburg, explains the idea: "Our 15-minute programme is aimed at anyone who spends a lot of time at their desk. We have developed targeted loosening, stretching and strengthening exercises that train the muscles, bones and ligaments, stimulate blood circulation and also boost mental fitness."
Sports programme for in between
This break now takes place live via video conference. Thomas Schmidt shows how it works. The medical didactician and physiotherapist had already been part of a "Moving Breaks" group at School V - School of Medicine and Health Sciences for some time until he took over the course for his colleagues from the Office of the Dean of Studies at the School of Medicine. They now practise his exercises two days a week from home via Big Blue Button, the university's video conferencing platform. "I try to mobilise the neck and back in particular and offer stretching exercises for the muscles, which are particularly strained during sedentary work and tend to become tense. In addition, cognitive performance can be improved through regular exercise," says Schmidt.
In addition to this "live online version", many employees and students also use the regular online programme offered by university sports on the website. After personal registration, individual training plans can be created here that are tailored to personal needs and vary in duration. The sports scientists have now developed around 1,200 exercises specifically for mobilisation, stabilisation, strengthening and stretching - especially for the back and neck. With the easy-to-understand instructions via text, pictures or video, anyone interested can create their own sports plan. This was already available before the coronavirus pandemic, but is particularly popular at the moment. After all, Hillebrecht knows that the demand is also much higher: "Working from home, we all have comparable sitting times to before the pandemic - but we're missing out on everyday exercise sessions such as cycling to university, going to the canteen or climbing stairs," says Hillebrecht.
Good reasons for more exercise
It's no secret that regular exercise is important. It not only trains muscles and burns calories, but also strengthens the cardiovascular system, supports the immune system and promotes general well-being, says Dr Nina Gaßmann, Managing Director of the Research Centre Neurosensory Science. The positive effects on the brain are particularly remarkable. "Physical activity is definitely important for the process of neurogenesis, i.e. the formation of nerve cells," says Gaßmann. However, it should be at least 20 minutes of daily exercise so that our neurons network better and our memory performance increases. In normal times, these are already good reasons for sporting activities - in times of corona, they are certainly even more important.
