Fitness Unleashed was a project organized under the Sports and Recreations Avenue of the Rotaract Club of University of Colombo, Faculty of Management and Finance (RACUOCFMF) aiming to improve the physical and mental health of rotaractors as well as non-rotaractors while considering the adverse effects the pandemic crisis has brought forth. It was carried out during the months of November and December 2020 in three phases which focused on different aspects of fitness.
The first phase was a live workout session held on the 8th November 2020 which was concentrated around cardiovascular exercises. The facilitator for the evening was the former national long- distance swimmer and former swimmer for the Sri Lankan Navy Mr. Shaan Dias, who was introduced by general member Rtr. Gayan Jayasinghe. Mr. Shaan Dias currently serves as the head of the recreation and corporate program of TASS. During the session, Rtr. Harith Lokugamage assisted Mr. Shaan Dias in demonstrating the exercises where participants also joined in by switching on their cameras and following the demonstrations till the end. This was a good indicator to prove the success of this phase. The objective of this episode was to enlighten the part takers on the importance of doing exercise on a daily basis and the correct ways of doing certain exercises to avoid possible injuries.
The second phase was held on 14th November 2020 which focused on the spiritual aspect of fitness where an expert with more than 3 decades of experience Guru Nanda Siriwardene, founder of Nanda Sri Hatha Yoga Institute was invited. The aim of this session was to introduce the concept of yoga and hatha yoga to the attendees to improve the wellbeing of mind, body, and soul. At the end of the session, participants were given the opportunity to clarify their doubts through our hostess for the evening general member Rtr.Sachini Madushika.
The final phase was conducted on 19th December 2020 as a special Q & A; session with the qualified fitness professional and transformational coach Gaia Kodithuwakku who is the proud owner of the largest female-driven fitness platform in Sri Lanka. The focus of the session was on educating attendees on mental health, physical movement, nutrition, self-awareness, and self-love. It was truly an insightful session and its success was evident through the number of questions that were asked from Ms. Gaia which was directed by general member Rtr. Anuji Chandrasekara.
In line with the project, a fitness challenge was executed through the Instagram platform where contestants were instructed to send a video of 15 seconds or less recording of them doing a creative push up. This challenge was carried out for nearly 14 days were many responses were received from fitness enthusiasts which led the task of selecting a winner difficult for the club. However, Dinu De Silva was selected and announced as the winner of this creative push up challenge.
With the final phase and the fitness challenge coming to an end the project Fitness Unleashed was concluded successfully while achieving all its anticipated objectives honoring RACUOCFMF’s motto “Teamwork makes the dream work”.
Written By:
![](http://fmfblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Copy-of-Untitled-Design-4-150x150.png)
Rtr. Kumudu Yapa
(Member – 2020/21)