Meet Ryan, who recently realised that through most of his adult life he has lived with anxiety
Ryan Palmer, our Chief Revenue Officer here at Central YMCA, has agreed to share his story of mental health and anxiety with us. In doing so, he has set an example and shown us that addressing your feelings isn’t a sign of weakness but shows us your strength and is absolutely crucial for your wellbeing.
This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and we are joining the fight to get people thinking and talking about their mental health and trying to remove the stigma around it.
Ryan Palmer, our Chief Revenue Officer here at Central YMCA, has agreed to share his story of mental health and anxiety with us. In doing so, he has set an example and shown us that addressing your feelings isn’t a sign of weakness but shows us your strength and is absolutely crucial for your wellbeing.
If you are struggling to cope, we urge you to speak to someone you trust or to call a free helpline such as the Samaritans (116 123 – UK and Ireland).
How I rebuilt my life after a car accident left me in a wheelchair
Jade
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Jade Simmons got her life back on track and found a new career with help from us following a serious car accident.
For Jade Simmons, it was a life-changing decision that led to a career in fitness – six years after being told that she would never walk again.
“I had mild to moderate brain damage. I was on a lot of medication and needed 24-hour care,” she recalls. “I couldn’t do the basic things like having a bath on my own or making a cup of tea.”
Jade, 25, first came to the YMCA gym, back in 2007. She hoped to rebuild her strength and combat the mild depression she encountered following a serious car accident which hospitalised her for three months and left wheelchair bound through most of her recovery period.
Personal development
With help from Club staff, Jade’s exercise programme aimed at increasing her walking and strengthening her weaker left-hand side: “It was the best thing that ever happened to me and I loved it.” She went from strength to strength and, before long, had completed a Coachability course that enabled her to help others with similar disabilities to become more active.
Jade started to turn the seemingly impossible, back to possible. Gaining a YMCAfit Level 2 Gym Instructor qualification, followed by a Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training, Jade’s determination grew.
“My instructor was fantastic and really understanding. He helped make things simple and easier to take in, and really helped with my confidence. You would never guess I came from being in a wheelchair.”
Fighting fit
Jade now works as a Personal Trainer, something she’d never dreamed of before her accident – she plans to keep studying ante- and postnatal exercises in the future. Another positive gained from becoming a PT, is how much Jade enjoys helping her clients achieve their goals.
“I want to work with lots of different types of clients, and I want to feel this way about personal training forever,” she says. “I still have pain and difficulties and get stressed out at various times – but without help from YMCAfit I don’t know where I would be today.”
Watch video
Hear Jade talk about her inspiring journey from car accident to successful career.
Meet Basel, an inspiration to his peers and grandchildren – and a regular at Central YMCA Club for over 25 years.
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Your first visit to a new gym can sometimes be overwhelming as you are confronted by an array of different, and sometimes intimidating, gym equipment.
There’s the treadmill and the bike – those are familiar to us, but what about the indoor rowing machine? This is a piece of equipment that is often overlooked because a) it’s not clear what the benefits of using the indoor rowing machine are and b) it looks a bit complicated to operate.
So, what are the benefits of indoor rowing?
Basel’s daughter, shares her reflections on what the Club has meant to her father – before, during and after lockdown.
“My father is 88 now, he has been coming to the gym for over 25 years and it has really seen him through a lot of life’s changes. It has always been a constant presence in his life. A presence which has helped him in so many ways for his general wellbeing. I actually attribute the fact that he is still mentally sharp, that he is still able to do all his daily functions on his own, to go shopping, be alert, I attribute that to the YMCA Club.
“This is in very sharp contrast to how his life was in lockdown – when he was just walking around the park by himself. Very often from one week to another week not seeing anyone. When the Government allowed the YMCA to open, his drive for life really came back.
“The YMCA Club provides an amazing space for the older generation. It has enabled my father to be a real role model to his peers, to his friends and his family around the world. They are amazed at the fact that he does half an hour of rowing a day and that he is motivated to eat very well and stay fit and healthy. It is a great example to us that he is so fit – and it gives me hope that this level of fitness and wellbeing is possible at his age. It motivates myself and my husband to keep healthy; and it cascades down to my children too, who try to compete with Grandad for who can do the most sit ups. I think that they will have an everlasting memory of him; and they will know themselves when they grow older that they can remain fit and healthy.
“The YMCA Club’s sphere of influence does not stop at its doors on Great Russell Street, it goes beyond that. It goes into people’s houses and into the families that are connected with those houses. It helps the NHS by keeping everyone fit and mentally sharp, easing the increasing burden of an aging population.
“I would just like to say thank you to everyone here at the YMCA Club for making it such a special place and how grateful I am to you all.”
