How the Health Referral Scheme Changed Steph’s Life

I’ve never wanted to join a gym. I’ve never made it my new year’s resolution. Never been tempted to give it a try. Then I was referred to Barnsley’s Your Space gym for health reasons – so off to the gym I went!

The Barnsley Premier Leisure (BPL) Health Referral Scheme is designed to help people living with all sorts of illnesses and medical conditions to improve their physical and mental health and wellbeing.

I was referred to help me tackle my auto-immune condition, rheumatoid arthritis. This causes severe inflammation and pain in my joints as well as other complications and the dreaded brain fog and fatigue.

I’m prescribed drugs by my NHS consultant to dampen down my immune system, but as with all successful treatment regimes, I would also benefit massively from a good dose of regular exercise. Exercise, as we all know, boosts muscular skeletal strength, flexibility and mobility. It helps you lose weight, live well and feel good.

So, I pulled on my soft, loose clothing and went to the Metrodome (you can go to any BPL leisure centre) to meet my new superhero/support human Luke.

Luke’s official title is Healthy Lifestyle Advisor, and it was his job to show me around, demonstrate how to use the gym equipment, answer my random questions and conduct a good baseline assessment of my physical and mental condition. This involved questionnaires, simple chat and measurements. (Does everyone fight a temptation to breath in when faced with a tape measure around your waist or try to ‘float’ slightly when asked to step on scales?!)

But no, having a good honest look at myself was key. I needed to take stock and set some positive goals. My baseline measurements would then be used to track changes and progress when I met Luke again every month or so.

As a naturally undisciplined person, who can always find a job that needs doing or any old excuse, really, not to take exercise, having monthly dates in the diary to see Luke was a very useful motivator. I didn’t want to let Luke down! 

And it was fun. Here are ten things I learned during my three-month experience of gym membership as part of the health referral scheme:

*Access is super easy with a membership card, an app on your phone to book classes and the lovely folk on the reception desk to ask questions

*Everyone is friendly and helpful. You can talk to class leaders before your first session. I was never baffled with the science of bodybuilding or bamboozled with gym jargon

*People of all ages take exercise. All ages. All abilities. All sorts. 

*My favourite pieces of equipment in the fitness suite are the exercise bike, rowing machine and cross trainer. I hate the treadmill! So, I don’t use it.

*In aerobic classes, the grapevine move is your friend. It you crack that, you’re away. No matter how lost you get, you will always be able to find your way back into the groove with the grapevine.

*It doesn’t matter if you do get lost or make mistakes! No one judges you. No-one. If you have to stop, stop. If you can’t do a move, don’t. The class leaders scan the room constantly and may subtly offer you an alternative move, an encouraging word or just a reassuring nod. 

*Blended classes are a big thing. It’s never boring. Fancy a yoga and Pilates mash-up – sign up for Yogalates. Wake up very early if you want to book a place on the insanely popular aquacise class. You may have a fun spot of line-dancing thrown into your aerobics class one week. And, you can do a bit of everything every week in the ‘20 20 20’ class – 20 mins of step, 20 of dance and 20 of weights for example.

*You don’t have to keep up, as long as you keep going. Spinning classes on the bikes are intense. But whilst others may crank-up the resistance level and speed off into the virtual distance around you – as long as you keep pedalling and do your best to follow the instructions, it’s an exhilarating ride.

*Swimming is better when you’re in your own cordoned off slice of pool for members only. Listening to the kids enjoying themselves zooming down the slides is fun as you serenely swim up and down your separate lanes.

*Mats, weights, noodles, elastics, steps and balls all provided. The cafe is nice. Parking is free. Showers are hot. You can watch the telly while you pedal away on your bike. Don’t miss the sauna!

So, miracle of miracles, I got into exercising. I felt the satisfaction and positive energy boost you get at the end of an exercise session. I walked back to my car very proud of myself every time. Each time I went made it easier to go the next time. 

At my closing assessment, I’d improved muscle tone, reduced my waistline and loosened my joints dramatically. I’d lost a bit of weight (Luke says you simply have to eat less to lose more weight – Darn it). Crucially for me, I reduced some stiffness, pain and inflammation; reduced stress; enjoyed some ‘me time’; and became much more optimistic about living with my health condition.

I enjoyed my three-month, fully-supported experience. It didn’t take long for the Your Space gym to feel like ‘my space’ – somewhere I belonged just as much as everyone else. If you get offered a chance to join this exercise scheme to help tackle a health condition which is wearing you down – do it! https://bpl.org.uk/good-for-communities/barnsley/