Fighting Fit
I was a regular gym user before the Covid lockdowns and having been diagnosed with colon cancer in 2020 and having gone through radiotherapy and chemotherapy in 2021, despite the success of that treatment, I became extremely fatigued and lost confidence in being able to return to my exercise regime. My daughter spotted the Lincoln Foundation Fighting Fit programme on the internet. It was aimed at cancer sufferers and others with particular needs and suggested that programmes were designed to suit the individuals needs and abilities. My family persuaded me to give it a go and it proved to be the best thing I have done in a long time.
My allotted coach was the excellent William Poole who was extremely encouraging and who built up the exercises over the weeks to suit my fitness level and low starting point. His most important message was not to overdo it as one can do great things with light weights and comfortable movement. Will built up my confidence to such a level that I am now, once again visiting and enjoying the gym on a regular basis, I shall be forever grateful to Will and the Lincoln City Foundation and would seriously encourage anyone who is eligible, to sign up to the Foundations work. It certainly helped with both mind and body, for which I shall be forever grateful.
Extra Time Hub
Robert has been retired for almost a decade after experiencing poor health and joined the Extra Time Hub after visiting an open day:
“Once I realised it was all about family and the sorts of things that they did, I thought, “Yeah, this sounds like a good thing".
Since joining, Robert has taken part in the Stadium Meet Ups, Walking Cricket and the Community Health Walks. Not only have these activities boosted his mental wellbeing, but the Hub has also provided Robert with a valuable source of support, as he explained,
“The thoughts of coming here, like the walks or the walking cricket, it is great, because whenever you see the staff and people, they always have a smile on their face. They always have time for you. You can talk to them about your own problems, so without any doubt, you definitely feel a lot better in your mental health than if you hadn’t come out.”
Robert also explained that being involved in the various activities in the Extra Time Hub have helped him to become more sociable:
“I think it has made me a better person. I can see if I don’t do a lot, I can fall back into my shell a little bit, so it has definitely influenced me, because when you get there, the people there probably think I talk a lot more than I do do, because if I didn’t go out or just saw one person, I would be a lot quieter”.
