Communities Taking Part
Reaching out to communities within the Wessex region is the next stage in our Healthy Heart initiative. A recent visit to LA Fitness 
in Southampton was very successful. A ‘drop in' Healthy Heart session meant that local members of LA Fitness were offered the opportunity to have the following healthy checks:
Blood glucose
Blood pressure
Cholesterol testing
Body Mass Index
"It was a fantastic opportunity to be able to promote the Healthy Heart message to the local community. The importance of checking your health regularly through the checks that are offered cannot be underestimated as they can give an indication of any issues that may need addressing. At another Healthy Heart session that we held, a participant was advised to go the doctors as results showed potential diabetes, they had been completely unaware of this" explains D'Arcy Myers, CEO of Wessex Heartbeat.
LA Fitness has offered 5 free membership passes for 1 year for local people to get involved in changing their lifestyle. As a result of a competition run in the Southampton Daily Echo offering the free membership passes, Linda Lawless, a lecturer in Essential Skills has come onboard to promote the Healthy Heart message. Linda, who has been recently diagnosed with Crohn's disease feels that a new exercise routine may benefit her health in the long term.
D'Arcy Myers, CEO of WHB has also volunteered to become one of the participants as the Healthy Hearts checks highlighted the need to reduce his weight by exercising more (therefore lowering the risk of heart disease).
Following the progress of our ‘Healthy Healthy' participants
Competition winner Linda Lawless, who won a year's free gym membership with LA Fitness talks to us about the reasons why she wants to change her lifestyle.
| Name: Linda Lawless Occupation: Lecturer teaching Essential Skills to Construction students. What prompted you to enter The Echo ‘Healthy Heart' competition? I entered the competition because I have recently been diagnosed with Crohn's disease and thought doing some exercise would be beneficial. Diet and stress can aggravate the condition so I am keen to change my lifestyle. Also my Wii Fit says my BMI is slightly over what it should be and I enjoy entering competitions!!!! What do you hope to achieve as a result of your free 1 year membership? I hope to achieve a greater level of fitness, lower BMI and time for myself. What will you find challenging? I think the hardest bit will be going there after work on a cold, wet evening and enjoying it....... However, I am looking forward to the classes particularly Pilates but I know I must crack the treadmill and other machines. I will also enjoy the swimming but realise that I need to do some cardio work. |
| Name: D'Arcy Myers Occupation: Chief Executive Officer of Wessex Heartbeat Charity What are hoping to achieve as a result of your new exercise programme? Working in an office environment it is all too easy to be sedentary. This coupled with a busy schedule I don't take enough exercise. I have had confirmed, through my Healthy Heart session, that I'm overweight and this has galvanized me to make the changes I need to in order to lower my risk of acquiring heart disease. What will you find most challenging? The most challenging part of this programme will be keeping to it! Talking to others the advice I've been given is to find a schedule that is not too ambitious and get into a routine. |
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Wessex Heartbeat will be monitoring their progress....
