BriefingActivLives - Everyday Activ Kardio Kickstart ProgrammeActivLives is a small, grassroots charity, working in Ipswich and across Suffolk, to support and motivate people 45 years and over to improve their own health and well-being; keep people connected with their communities to reduce social isolation and loneliness and provide access to learning, training and volunteering opportunities to enable people to gain skills and employment.

ActivLives provides a wide range of opportunities for people to get involved, including, community gardening, Men in Shed projects, singing and physical / sport activities such as walking football, Boccia, Kurling, seated and standing exercise, health walks and social activity. These activities bring people together to enable them to meet and make new friends, build support networks in the community and learn and share skills.

ActivLives is working in partnership with Most Active County / Public Health’s Physical Activity and Mental Health Project to pilot a new programme initially in Stowmarket, to support people who are inactive to become more active and help them to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Our new Kardio Kickstart Programme will help to build confidence and self-esteem, maintain good physical and mental health, in an effort to reduce stress and prevent the onset of depression and anxiety.

Who can participate?

Men and women aged 55 and over People who are inactive and want to increase their physical activity levels People who are overweight and would like to start an activity programme to

help them lose weight People who have a sedentary lifestyle

Not suitable for people:

Who have had a fall or who are high risk of falling With a heart condition, angina or people who have had a heart attack

Everyday Activ Kardio Kickstart Programme

The Everyday Activ Kardio Kickstart Programme is a new ‘preventative’ programme about to be piloted in Stowmarket. The aim of the programme is to try a new approach in supporting people who are inactive to become more active through a phased and progressive programme of exercise and support.

1ActivLives Briefing – Kardio Kickstart Programme

The programme will run over 14 weeks with assessments week 1, week 6 and week 14 (End of the programme) and the progressive activity part of the programme will cover 12 weeks.

Sessions will be held at The Mix, 127, Ipswich Street, Stowmarket, IP14 1BB, with the first programme starting on the 4th July 2017, 3pm – 4pm. Three further programmes are planned to be delivered before March 2018.

The cost of the sessions will be £3.00.

Members of the group will be issued with pedometers to help encourage daily activity.

Glenn Bartholomew, the Kardio Kickstart (KK) Instructor for the programme, qualified as a ‘REPS 3’ Personal Trainer just over 5 years ago and has specialized in helping mature adults improve their overall fitness and wellbeing. To date he has completed well over 3,500 hours of training within this group. As he continues to add to his mature adult training skill set he will shortly complete an OTAGO Exercise Program Leader course.

Glenn will also work with members to set targets for activity to be completed outside of the sessions, including steps and exercises.

The sessions will run for one hour, but the activity part will increase gradually each session to support people from being inactive to active. Sessions will also include advice on exercise and diet to help people achieve their goals through the programme.

Support and progression will be recorded through a private Facebook password protected site for all attendees to communicate with each other and the Kardio Kickstart (KK) Instructor. This will help to keep people motivated and connected throughout the programme. A buddy system may be introduced for people who find it difficult to commit to programmes such as this, to keep people motivated, build confidence and self-esteem and to achieve agreed individual goals.

Sessions will include time to socialise with other members, including refreshments and time for a chat.

Referral Process

A referral form is available for Health and Social Care Professionals to complete, which can be emailed or sent to ActivLives main office. The KK Instructor will then make contact by phone. If appropriate, the person will then be signed up to a specific start date for the next available programme. The maximum number of participants participating in a programme will be 12.

2ActivLives Briefing – Kardio Kickstart Programme

People will be able to self-refer directly by contacting the ActivLives main office. The KK Instructor will then make contact by phone to gather more information about the individual and their needs.

Assessments and Evaluation

Assessments

People referred or through self-referral will be contacted by the KK Instructor by phone for an initial discussion to gather information about the person and to explain the programme.

At the first session participants will be assessed using two validated exercises, which will be repeated at 6 weeks and 14 weeks. This will be recorded on a secure database and will show at the end of the programme what members have been able to achieve.

Evaluation

The University of Suffolk has been commissioned to undertake an independent evaluation of the Physical and Mental Health Project. The evaluation will use data supplied by Suffolk County Council / Public Health, including questionnaires completed by individuals engaging with the service to evaluate effectiveness of the various projects being run in Ipswich and Stowmarket.

By taking part in an anonymous survey it will help to determine whether the activity is effective, sustainable and scalable.

Two validated questionnaires will be completed at the beginning and the end of the programme; the short Warwick – Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale 2008 and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)

Benefits of the Programme

The Kardio Kickstart Programme o For people who find it difficult to commit to regular exercise it, will

provide the inspiration and motivation through 1-1 and group support o Participants will be challenged, but at their own pace – the intensity of

the sessions will increase gradually through the programmeo Good access for people living in and around Stowmarket o They will improve their physical fitness and improve their staminao They will be more knowledgeable about healthy eatingo They will meet and make new friends and improve their social networkso They will become a member of ActivLives and be more aware of

activities available in the area

3ActivLives Briefing – Kardio Kickstart Programme

o Being more active will prevent the onset of depression and anxiety and lower the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, cancers, early death, osteoporosis, hip fracture / falls, depression and dementia.

o Will help to reduce the need to access health services.

4ActivLives Briefing – Kardio Kickstart Programme