Meet Leicestershire’s latest ‘Let’s Get Moving’ Champions

A new team of ‘Let’s Get Moving’ Champions have been unveiled by Active Together - encouraging people to move more across Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland.

People of all ages and abilities make up the new cohort, each of them hoping to inspire others to start their own active journeys.

They include busy mum-of-two, Hannah, and Pauline, who tailored her exercise to help recover from a back problem. Also acting as ambassadors for Active Together are Mark, who lost 20kgs (over 3 stones), and Vijay, who credits his fitness levels with helping him recover from a cardiac arrest.

“Exercise makes me feel so much better, especially training in the morning. It gets me ready for the day.”

Meet Hannah - one of Active Together’s new ‘Let’s Get Moving’ Champions. The mum of two from Coalville, explained: “A few years ago I did really struggle with my mental health - exercise has really built my confidence.

“There are many barriers throughout the week, whether that be working full time, being a mum, a wife, looking after the house, general day to day things - but it’s about making that time.”

“Exercise has always been part of my life and my advice to anyone thinking about whether they could or should get active, is stop thinking and do it.”

Meet Pauline from Loughborough. The now retired mum of two struggled to keep up her routine when she was suffering a bad back.

But she soon realised, tailoring her movement was the key to her recovery.

She explained, “Two or three years ago I had severe back troubles and was in a situation where I could barely move, which is why I think it’s important whatever movement you do, you do it to the best of your ability and then try a bit more the next day.”

“My advice is to start small, do what you can and be kind to yourself.”

Meet Mark from Blaby. Once a keen cyclist, work commitments and a bad diet saw him gain weight.

“Over the last few years exercise has really helped me,” he said. Since getting back in the saddle, Mark has lost 20kgs and says his mental and physical health have both greatly improved.

He is an advocate for just getting started, saying: “Don’t beat yourself up because you’re not already running marathons or cycling hundreds of miles - start small and build on it.”

“I had a cardiac arrest followed by triple bypass surgery - being physically active reduced the severity and sped up my recovery.”

Meet Vijayfrom Charnwood. He learned just how important exercise is after a potentially life threatening emergency in June 2022.

Whilst taking part in a charity event held at an army barracks, Vijay suffered a cardiac arrest. He was airlifted to hospital, and two days later had a triple by- pass surgery.

“Once I came out of surgery, the doctors and consultants told me that because I’d stayed active and fit it helped immensely in my recovery.”

Vijay has no doubt that being physically active played a massive part in surviving the cardiac arrest and ensuring he had a safe and relatively quick recovery and so now encourages people to start being active in a way that suits them and their lifestyle.

Loughborough-based Active Together is hoping the Champions will inspire the communities of Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland to get moving and demonstrate the easy ways people can fit getting active into their everyday lives.

As part of its work to promote the health benefits of moving more, the team has unveiled its latest crop of volunteers to take on the role of ‘Let’s Get Moving’ Champions - bringing the total network to more than 40.

The role involves sharing motivation, pictures and bi-monthly updates on progress. Recruits also act as faces of the programme and help spread the word that moving more is good for you.

Champions’ stories are being shared across social media and on promotional materials as part of its mission to get Leicestershire and Leicester residents happier and healthier.

Jo Spokes, Strategic Lead from Active Together, said: “Seeing other people’s success acts as massive motivation for people thinking about getting active and our champions are already inspiring others to get active.

“Sharing their experiences helps show the difference getting active can make and that helps others want to get involved.

“All of our champions agree that the first step is getting started - we hope that people hear that message and start their own active journeys.”

Anyone interested in the Champions’ stories, or getting moving themselves, can find out more here.