I'm Cale Pooley, one of the Healthy Lifestyle Support members at Sport Northland. My role involves assisting individuals on their journey towards better physical health and activity. The following story of Valerie stands out as a true highlight in my work – I hope it inspires you.

Valerie discovered Green Prescription through her physiotherapist who suggested the potential benefits of the programme. Without the push and recommendation from the physio, none of this would have been possible. Valerie has always been active, and she embraces all forms of exercise. In particular, she loves to go to the gym, playing with her kids doing things like football and dancing, or going for a long walk.

Since Valerie joined Green Prescription four months ago, she has seen a multitude of benefits. Mentally, Valerie finds that she is happy when she is in the gym and feels a sense of accomplishment afterwards. Emotionally, Valerie feels that working out leaves her feeling energised, and in some cases, ready to do more. Physically, Valerie believes the exercise has been reducing the pain that she feels in her body, with less aches and stiff joints.

Like many areas in life, becoming more physically active hasn’t been without its challenges. At times, Valerie found that sharp pains from a pinched nerve would discourage her from getting to the gym in the first place. Alongside this, Valerie is a mother, and with young children to care for, her schedule isn’t always flexible.

What helped Valerie to push through all these barriers? Because she wanted to be healthy and feel herself again. What’s important to Valerie is feeling good within herself and knowing that her body is being nourished as it should be. Although she has had to make changes and adjustments to ensure her kids are cared for while she is out exercising, the primary change has been her mindset. Valerie wants to stick to her new lifestyle, she wants to stay consistent, she wants to see results, and she wants to be healthy. Not only this, but her family provided constant support, her kids often say, “come on mum!” when she is getting ready for the gym.

Valerie tells me the Green Prescription programme was able to help her as it allowed her to try and assess different options. Initially, Valerie attended some fitness classes, but made the switch to following her own programme in her own time, as this enabled her to work around her busy schedule and looking after the kids. In addition to this, Valerie appreciated that the programme had no judgement on her values or previous decisions, she was “made to feel like a human”. The regular check-ins also held her accountable and allowed her to reflect on the progress she was making.

What is some advice that Valerie would give to other individuals looking to become more physically active? Just get out there and give it a go, because you will reap the rewards, you just don’t know that until you try. At the end of the day “you reap what you sow”, and you can’t expect things to happen for you, so all you can do is just try!

I believe Valerie is a prime example that no issue can’t be worked through, whether big or small. If you would like support along your own journey with being physically active, don’t hesitate to reach out to us phone 0800 ACTIVE. At Sport Northland, we aspire to ‘enrich people’s lives through movement’ and there has never been a better time to start than now!      

Article written by Cale Pooley, Healthy Lifestyle Support at Sport Northland