Following on from the successful project delivered in 2013, RUCST are delighted to be working once again in partnership with Heart Research UK to deliver Healthy Hearts sessions for disabled adults.
This follows on from the successful pilot which ran in 2013 where 20 disabled people reduced their weight and waist size as well as reporting they felt fitter and healthier than ever before.Heart Research UK is a visionary national charity founded in 1967 by Yorkshire heart surgeon Mr David Watson MBE, who realised that patients were dying unnecessarily because of the lack of research into heart disease, especially surgical techniques.
The new Healthy Hearts sessions started early in January, are both theory and exercise based to give participants who have a disability some knowledge on how to live a healthy lifestyle, portion sizes, nutritional advice and healthy meals. As well as this, participants are weighed every 6 weeks to look for improvements to see if they have lost any weight and if there BMI has lowered.
During these sessions we focus a lot on circuit training, where the participants take part in a certain exercises such as walking, boxing or skipping for 1 minute before moving on to the next exercise, following a 30 second rest.
The project has been a huge success with participants enjoying both sides of the work; theory and exercise. We hope to continue increasing the numbers of people who are benefitting from the activities in the coming weeks and months until the end of 2014.
Sean Graves, Disability Co-ordinator said "Thanks to Heart Research UK we are engaging nearly 30 participants a week who have issues with weight and sticking to a healthy lifestyle, the sessions are designed to both educate and put into practice the theory learnt to lead a healthier lifestyle and reduce the risk of heart disease."
Although every year, fewer people die of heart disease, it still remains a big killer and millions of people are living with the condition and its side effects. Many people may not even realise they have coronary heart disease until they experience angina or even have a heart attack. Although this can happen without warning, the ‘furring up’ of the arteries of the heart that lead to problems will have taken years to develop.
Jamie Noble, Head of Community said "I would like to thank Heart Research UK for their continued support and patience getting this project off the ground, in particularly Katharine Greathead who has been extremely supportive over the last 2 years.
“Since starting the project we have not only had fantastic results, we now also have a Disabled member of staff who is a national champion for Heart Research UK."
The sessions run every Wednesday and Thursday at Rotherham Leisure Complex in Rotherham from 10:30am-12:00pm if you wish to attend the session please contact Sean Graves, Disability Co-ordinator on:
Telephone: 01709 827767
Mobile: 07733410510
Email: sgraves@rotherhamunited.net