At Friday’s Leeds Rhinos’ game against Widnes we are joining forces with our partners from across the city for a health takeover night at Emerald Headingley as part of our Healthy Rhinos Week.
Throughout Healthy Rhinos Week we will focus on our many health projects which are aiming to inspire people to enjoy healthy, happy and active lifestyles. First up we look at Rhinos Active Social Group, which is supported by Morrisons Foundation.
Rhinos Active Social is a weekly activity group for over 55s which is run by Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s health team. The sessions, run at venues across Leeds welcome people from the Leeds community to enjoy a range of activities to help them stay active and social, engaging them in regular classes to improve their physical, mental and social well-being.
Current research in the UK suggests that there's evidence that people who are active have a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and some cancers and staying active is even more important in older age.
Research has also shown that people over the age 60 report feelings of loneliness or feeling isolated, which can have impact of mental health as a common cause of depression.
Through Rhinos Active Social, Leeds Rhinos Foundation is looking to address these issues caused by loneliness and inactivity in over 55s by providing four weekly hubs in the community offering a social environment and a range of taster activities to encourage physical activity.
One participant at Rhinos Active Social said she enjoys attending the weekly sessions: “I really enjoy the Rhinos Active Social Sessions. We played Ping Pong at a recent session and I really enjoyed it. I hadn’t played it in many years, but it didn’t really matter. If you can’t play it doesn’t matter. Everybody is friendly and your ability is not the main thing, it’s about enjoying yourself, company and exercise, which I think as you get older is important. You need both things, company and exercise and that’s what we get at Rhinos Active Social.”
Sessions runs weekly at the following locations.
– Tuesday 10am-12:30pm at the Cardigan Centre. 145-149 Cardigan Road, LS6 1LJ
– Wednesday 10am-12pm at O.P.A.L Welcome In Community Centre, 55 Bedford Drive, LS16 6DJ
– Friday 10-12 at Heart Community Centre, Bennett Road, Headingley, LS6 3HN
For more information email health@leedsrhinosfoundation.org
Check out this video to see what happens on a Rhinos Active Social session