Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s men’s health programme ‘Try Club’ is continuing to inspire men in Leeds to make positive health changes, with the latest graduates from the programme seeing incredible health results.
Try Club, which is a free weekly fitness group run in partnership with Leeds Public Health, is now in its second year and during that time has helped over 50 men to make dramatic transformations to their health.
This year Try Club members have lost a combined 22 stone, but weight loss is just one of the benefits they have seen. Regular testing with members has shown improvements in their BMI, fitness levels as well as further health benefits such as reductions in cholesterol and blood pressure.
The twelve-week course combines classroom sessions and physical exercise, and it’s this unique mix that is one of the reasons why Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s Health Improvement Officer, Laura Buckle believes has made the programme so successful.
“The classroom sessions involve us offering nutritional advice and looking at what will work best for the members, given their own lifestyles. We look at food labels, portion sizes, alcohol and takeaways to help the men make informed decisions when they are shopping or socialising. Following this the men take part in some physical activities and this is really popular and helps to keep them engaged and motivated.
“Within Leeds there are significant health inequality gaps, both between different locations and populations. For example, a report from Leeds Public Health in 2016 reported that there is a 10.2-year life expectancy gap between people living in the most deprived wards in Leeds. It is important that our charity tackles this and I am proud that we are firstly able to offer Try Club as a free service and now take it out into the local community so it is more accessible to people.”
Try Club is a free health group for men aged over 25, with a BMI over 25. For details contact: Laura.Buckle@leedsrhinosfoundation.org or to register click here
The new 12-week programmes will start on 26th June from 1:30pm-3pm at West Leeds and the 28th June from 6-7:30pm at Headingley Carnegie Stadium.
Watch this video to see what Try Club members think about the course