This is the story of a project that got a group of women who previously found exercise a chore, active and loving it!
By Emma Christopher of Active Merthyr
Merthyr Girls Can was created from an idea that women, if given the opportunity, can do anything! Not only can they change their own lives for the better but inspire others to do the same. This was the spark that ignited the furnace which is Merthyr Girls Can.
Merthyr Girls Can was created by Active Merthyr Tydfil in response to the recent Active Adult Survey results that stated women’s participation in Merthyr Tydfil was way below that of men’s in the area. According to the survey only 22.5% of women in Merthyr Tydfil were hooked on Sport. As a department we knew that this could change. So a plan was devised that entailed a marketing campaign showcasing all the amazing work being carried out by leaders in health and fitness in the borough.
A video that detailed a montage of different physical activity opportunities currently available in Merthyr was launched backed by a social media campaign. Opportunities such as aerobics and booty shakers, running and rugby, kettlebells and netball were all featured. We wanted to inspire, motivate and raise awareness of what was out there!
In addition to this we launched a competition for 28 lucky ladies to win a 20 week programme of health and Fitness at Inspire Fitness. The only criterion was that the ladies led a sedentary lifestyle with very little physical activity and every lady needed to be over 18. The applications were received, interviews completed and 27 participants chosen. We knew that if we lifted some of the barriers faced by some, such as confidence, motivation, cost, somebody to go with, childcare then we could increase the chances of women participating in sport and physical activity.
The official launch was held at Merthyr College where all ladies received more details of the programme by Sarah Draper at Inspire Fitness and attended a seminar with speakers presenting on diet and nutrition, confidence and empowerment. The 20 week journey was launched!
Sarah at Inspire offered ladies open access to her gym facility and classes, a monthly one to one personal pembinaan sessions and nutritional advice. Sarah also timetabled children’s classes around the adult classes – eliminating the childcare barrier.
The women documented their journeys via blogs and video journals posted to social media pages. Ladies spoke of their challenges and achievements and changes to other aspects of their lives – like gaining the confidence to go back to college and to run a half marathon! The ladies launched their own support group on Facebook where they could privately discuss their thoughts, ideas and to encourage and motivate each other to keep going! Many ladies also met outside the gym to walk, compete in fun runs and other charity events.
This 20 week programme has now been completed and the ladies achievements celebrated at The Merthyr Business Awards. What the women achieved with this programme has been amazing, not only have the ladies reported weight loss and loss in inches but anxiety and depression reduction, eczema reduction, joint pain reduction, blood pressure reduction, anxiety and depression medications reduced and an improvement in confidence and mental attitude.
So what’s next?
Sarah draper at Inspire has now taken on a second group of ladies and there are plans for a third! The original group of ladies are now ambassadors of fitness and plan to use their achievements to inspire not only this second group of women but women all over Merthyr and beyond.
Active Merthyr Tydfil will continue to promote and support provision for women in Merthyr Tydfil with the support of the new Merthyr Girls Can ambassadors under the banner of Merthyr Girls Can.
In the words of our Merthyr Girls Can……..Lets Do This!
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