By Alesha Capone
A Point Cook father and daughter are encouraging Wyndham residents to remain active during lockdown.
Hoang Le and his daughter Cherry (Nguyen), 13, said that people should try to exercise within the restrictions permitted by the state government – such as remaining within five kilometres of home and staying off playground equipment.
Mr Le is a big fan of running, while Cherry is a young table tennis champion.
During April, she won the Under-15 women’s singles and the Under-17 women’s doubles, and also placed second in the Under-17 women’s singles, at the Victoria Open.
“I do have a national tournament coming up which is a major tournament for me in December, which has been postponed from July,” Cherry said.
She said that outside of lockdown, she usually trains three to five hours after school, but that she also tries to stay active when restrictions are quite tough.
“Obviously during this period of time, it is really hard for people to stay active, due to all the lockdown restrictions, however, we shouldn’t take it as an excuse to not exercise,” Cherry said.
“Because when you’re exercising, you will forget about all the work that is sticking inside your head, which is stressing you out and feel better instead.”
Mr Le said that their family tried to go to the park for walks during lockdown, and that another option was to use fitness or gym equipment at home.
However, he said it was understandable that mental health issues could impact upon some people’s activity levels.
“Sometimes you have to be more creative to motivate yourself to get up and exercise,” he said.
