Hello, I am Laura Copley, currently a student at the University but I am also a qualified exercise instructor. I run the well-being booster at Sutton Bonington Campus.
A well-being booster class is a class which aims to bring together groups of females to help develop confidence in gym surroundings. Each week, the itinerary changes so you develop a wide range of fitness knowledge. We work in pairs, as a whole group and also individually allowing you to meet and chat with new people but also giving you the opportunity to focus on yourself and achieve your own goals.
I came up with the idea of a well-being booster class while working alongside a group of netball girls. I learnt about how intimidating the gym can feel and the feelings of not knowing what you should be doing or if what you are doing is correct were more common than I first thought. Therefore, a class which allows females only to come along and have a taster for lots of different fitness based activities, have a chat and meet new people who they can potentially continue to train with felt like a good idea.
I would encourage people to come along to the Well-being booster class as it will help boost your confidence. There is time in the class to ask questions, choose specific areas of your body you would like to work or repeat specific movements you liked in previous weeks. We have a very relaxed environment although you should expect to get a little sweaty! We do many exercises that can be repeated at home with no equipment meaning you can practice between sessions should you feel motivated to do so.
The best thing I find with the Empower initiative programme is how it brings people together. Getting the girls to work in pairs and push each other to work harder brings lots of smiles to their faces. It is great to see girls coming together and bring out the confidence in one another.
The girls have found the classes really useful. It has been great to see the girls in the gym and in my other scheduled gym classes which they would not previously have felt confident enough to attend.
‘it has been great, I feel so much more confident now’
‘I like that there is a place to come which is only for beginners’
‘I like that we get a say in what we do, for example, if we want to work more of our abs on one day, we ask and then we do a specific section on abs’
‘I like that it is a 1 hour high intensity session, it makes me feel like I have done a good amount of activity’
Feedback from the girls who attend the well-being booster at Sutton Bonington.
The well-being booster class will be running next term as well, so keep your eyes peeled for the schedule!
UoN Engage 