Members of Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s men’s health programme ‘Try Club’ celebrated completing their twelve-week course with a presentation on the Headingley Carnegie pitch at a Rhinos game to mark their achievement of losing a combined 117lbs.
The 11 members all participated in the free health programme, run in partnership with Leeds Public Health, which aims to offer education on healthy eating as well as combining it with physical activity. The idea behind the programme is to equip the members with the knowledge and enthusiasm to continue to maintain their healthy lifestyle after they have completed their course.
Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s health improvement officer, Stephen Turrell, who devised the course in partnership with Leeds Public Health said he is proud of the members for all they have achieved on Try Club and their determined attitude to maintain their new healthy lifestyles.
“We started Try Club back in February and have had two groups complete the course,” explained Turrell. “I have been really impressed with the response and dedication from the members and their hard work has paid off with fantastic results. Although Try Club is only a twelve-week programme we are able to cover a wide subject area that aims to equip the members with skills to continue to practise everything they have learned on the course. This was evident when the first Try Club group completed their first Leeds 10k just months after completing the 12-week programme.
“We have had lots of great feedback from both groups, who have said this programme has particularly appealed to them because it doesn’t feel like a diet and is more about changing eating habits. The fact that we can offer the programme for free also makes it accessible for all men who need it.
“Try Club is specifically targeted at men, and we feel this has been one of the reasons that members have been so successful. When we asked them how important this was they said it alleviated concerns about mixed gender fitness levels and encouraged the participants to try new things, especially exercises.
“The participants have expressed how men generally can find it hard to open up, but they said this felt like a really positive space. Try Club has created an environment where the men look out for one another, offer encouragement and work as a team which the members said was really important for their motivation and they have spoken about not wanting to let others in the group down if they couldn’t attend as they push each other in the sessions and away from class.”
Turrell believes the association with a professional sports club has also helped the charity reach out to a target demographic that is often hard to engage with.
“The groups have said they like the link to rugby league and the idea that the group would have a common interest in rugby regardless of who they supported,” Turrell said. “The men felt that being able to talk to each other about the game, helped them to then move into talking about their weight struggles easier and then created an environment in which they can motivate each other.”
The next Try Club starts on 23rd August. The course is for men aged 18+ with a body mass index of 25 or above. For more details on the course click here or to register for an upcoming course click here.