An Ayrshire gym group are taking part in a mammoth fitness challenge as they aim to keep on top of their mental and physical health during lockdown.

SBF Next Level Gym & Bootcamp are aiming to complete a huge road relay all the way from a small Ayrshire village to Edinburgh AND back within a matter of days.

Super-fit Scots dad Scott Brown, originally from Irvine, owns the gym and fitness group and has been trying to find ways to keep himself, his family and his members active during the coronavirus pandemic.

The World's Toughest Mudder fanatic has been keeping his members and friends of the group in shape on his FB page while government measures prevent people from going to the gym.

And naturally during lockdown, which has been in place across the UK for nearly six weeks, boredom crept in.

So, Scott, 37, thought of a new way to keep his SBF crew on the move, but with a safe, socially distancing twist.

He came up with a master-plan designed to physically test all 65 of those taking part, but most importantly put a smile on their faces.

The ex-British Army man set the challenge for his team members all across the country to run or cycle as part of a huge relay race that will travel all the way from Dundonald, Ayrshire, to Edinburgh and back.

Each member must run or cycle to the next person taking part in a different location before taking a socially distant selfie and doing 20 reps of their chosen exercise.

The person who has just been reached will then move on to the next location and repeat until the route has gone full-circle.

The daunting task started with family man himself in Dundonald on Wednesday.

The route will also travel to Hawick in the Scottish borders, Newton Mearns and various other Ayrshire towns and villages such as Troon, Ayr and Kilwinning.

Scott said: "We're calling it the SBF Home workout Momentum Challenge.

"Thanks to some help from my team we have a rota in place for everyone to follow and we've mapped out exactly where everyone will go.

"Everyone will run or cycle to the next person's location or pre-planned meeting point to do 20 reps of an exercise and then take a photo before moving on.

"It might take about five days to complete as it's got to work in with everyone's working patterns.

"There is no target in mind - I just knew seeing local smiley faces from a safe distance and feeling part of a big challenge would lift everyone's spirits.

"I didn't realise so many people would want involved!

He added: "It's 100 per cent going to help mental health. Some people didn't realise how down they were until this.

"Now they see how happy it makes them feel seeing a familiar face from our gym or fitness community."

The challenge is still on the move at the time of writing, but with Scott and the gang pushing each other to the limit, it won't be long until it's complete.

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