How do you like to keep active? What activities do you enjoy the most?

I am a member at my local David Lloyd club, I began mainly swimming and doing cardio in the gym, but over the last 9 months I have been pushing myself out my comfort zone, taking part in classes and doing weight training. Which I am thoroughly enjoying. I still love my swimming, but mixing it up with various different exercises I love. I also love walking/hiking. My weekends I love getting fresh air and walking for hours.

Why do you feel it is important to lead a physically active lifestyle?

Joining my health club I found it improved my mental health so much. I like the idea of having so many different exercise options for however you’re feeling. If I am feeling stressed a nice swim or cardio session will really help me, but then also if I’m feeling ambitious and driven, I like a weight training session or a high impact class. I have also found it incredibly important for my physical health. Loosing weight shows me the results and it makes me feel more confident.

How does the Active Hub platform support your physical movement?

It gives me the commitment to achieve. Majority I take part in are team events and I hate letting anyone down, so having a team achieving great results, it gives me that extra push to get my body moving and push for a first place. I also enjoy looking at what other exercises people are doing. I think the platform truly is so great and I hear that from many people.

What event on the Active Hub have you enjoyed the most?

I really enjoyed the very first event, the Move for 30. Where it was new, there were so many joining in, and it was great where everyone was talking about it. I also really enjoyed the Walk the Thames path; I liked tracking where we and everyone else was on the map. I liked that it was inclusive, and colleagues felt they didn’t need to fully exercise but could complete walking which was great.

How has participating in team events helped increase your engagement with other colleagues?

It is sometimes difficult to know who is who as they choose their username and it is nothing like their name so it is difficult to know who they are in the business. But I have been in meetings where colleagues are discussing the different events, and it is all very positive. I even now join teams with colleagues who I have never crossed paths with, but we have shown commitment with the events so we have created teams following that.

Has having the Active Hub in place via your employer enabled you to lead a more active lifestyle?

100%! I think it is great. It is great to track for your own movement, it’s great to see others... and healthy competition is a good thing I would say. It is a great talking point and helps me especially to set goals and keep my body moving.

What is your 2024 active goal?

I have began the year in a positive place, with the help of the Active Hub, so I am already working on my goals. I would like to improve my fitness and aiming to lower my BMI, which is working well so far and look forward to the next event. An extra note I would like to say is I wish SWR advertised it more internally. I think more people would join if it was advertised a little more.

Active Hub set me up to make sure I am moving my body, I’ve since joined a Health Club, lost weight, improved my Mental health and much more. It’s a great tool for all!