I have a good feeling about today, I woke up at a reasonable hour today for a change! In fact the last time I saw 9 am was probably when I had stayed awake all night due to not being able to sleep.
But today I woke up at 8.45 and for the first time, in what seems like forever, I woke up and actually felt refreshed and not knackered! This will have a huge impact on my day as nothing is worse than waking up still tired and drained and it is a nice feeling to wake up feeling good.
Today I am heading out into the world to attend my induction for the exercise referral scheme that my GP has referred me to. I did not know this existed until I received a phone call about it last week offering me a place and it seems like it could be a good thing for me.
A quick search for “Redbridge exercise referral scheme” on Google gave me the following information..
Exercise on Referral is where doctors or other health professionals can refer individuals who they feel would benefit from physical activity and help them fight their medical conditions.
Who is the Exercise on Referral Scheme for?
The Exercise on Referral Scheme is for residents who are 16+, not active and would like to increase their physical activity levels. The scheme is designed so qualified instructors can help people with medical conditions achieve their targets.
Common conditions for referral:
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Asthma
- Hypertension
- Depression/Stress/Anxiety
- Bone/Joint/Muscular Conditions
- CHD Risk Factors
What are the benefits of the scheme?
Regular physical activity will help:
- Reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.
- Assist with weight loss.
- Reduce stress and anxiety.
- Control blood sugar levels.
- Improve mobility and posture.
- Strengthen muscles.
- Socialise and have fun.
- Improve quality of life and overall health.
What activities are available?
At the moment individuals will be able to participate in:
Gym Sessions: Customers will be given individual exercise programmes which they will be able to follow under guidance of our qualified instructors.
Gym Circuit Classes: Our instructors will deliver circuit classes in the gym that will work all areas of the body and give you that little bit of variety.
Studio Classes: These classes will be a mixture of aerobic and circuit based sessions and will give individuals the chance to exercise outside of the gym. All of the classes will be taught by one of our qualified instructors who are there to assess and monitor your progress, help you exercise safely and with confidence, motivate and encourage you and answer all of your questions.
But this is a national scheme not just local to me and I wonder how many people are actually aware of this, I think it could be a great thing for a lot of people. This offers me a lot of benefits not just my depression but also my weight and knees/muscle problems and I am actually looking forward to seeing what is available.
Lord knows I need some help and motivation to exercise as looking at me presently makes people wonder when the baby is about to arrive and question whether its twins or triplets! here is proof taken about in July, although I have been hitting the weights recently so would hope I look better now.
If this is something that might appeal to you it could be worth mentioning this to your GP and finding out if it is available in your area, chances are that it will be and as we are constantly being told that exercise is good for our mental health then maybe jump on board, we can have a race to a six pack competition! Actually I did have a 6 pack once, but I drunk it 
I will update later with more information if I can get some from the people I am seeing later. In the mean time how about a little celebration to start the day…
My little blog just got its 300th follower! 300!! crazy huh but makes me feel very proud of myself so thank you for the bottom of my heart!
Filed under: Depression Tagged: depression, depression and exercise, exercise, exercise referral scheme, feeling good!, not tired
