What is your professional background and where do you
work? I
started my career in the NHS + GCS when I was 18 years old as a bank healthcare
assistant. This was my part time job when I was at university. I qualified as a
registered nurse in 2012 and got my first full time job at Cirencester
hospital. I worked at Cirencester hospital in various roles until 2016. In 2016
I joined the Community Intravenous Therapy Team. I competed my independent
Non-medical prescribing course in 2018 and I can safely say I love my job.
Tell us about your role and how active you are at work? Woking in
the Community IV Therapy Team is very varied. We visit patients both at home
and in clinic settings. We also spend a day Co-ordinating and triaging any
referrals that come in. We provide support and advice to healthcare
professionals and patients. As a team we are responsible for training GCS staff
in intravenous therapy. I try to be as
active as I can at work however being a countywide team means a lot of
traveling in my car so some days can be very sedentary. However I soon make up
for this when I get to training.
How did you hear about health and Hustle? I first
heard about health and hustle when I joined the IV Therapy Team. Kevin found me
one day in Edward Jenner and we got talking. I told him about my weight loss
journey and my great love of powerlifting and our friendship grew from there.
Kevin invited me to take part in the Cheltenham challenge in 2017 and I
completed my first ever 5K run.
How active are you at work? I try to be as active as possible at work with making
sure I move every hour, however covering the county can mean a lot of time
spent travelling in my car. I make up for my lack of activity at work when I go
to train either early morning or late evening.
Tell us about some of your health and lifestyle changes
you have made and what significant has that to your activity levels? I was
diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 2015. At the point of diagnosis I was
extremely overweight weighing in at roughly 20 stone. I was very unfit and very
lazy. Being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes was the shock I needed to get
active! It took me until 2016 to build up the courage to find a personal
trainer. March 2016 was the first time I walked into Catalyst Personal Training
and met with my trainer Robin. The Team at Catalyst introduced me to
powerlifting. I competed in my first powerlifting competition in 2018. Since
then I have competed a further three times, coming third in my last
competition. Since 2015 I have gone from not exercising to training 6 days a
week. My diabetes management is excellent and well controlled. My latest HBA1c
came back at 39.
What activities do you do after work? Outside of
my NHS career I am a powerlifter and compete regularly. I train 6 days a week and this involves a
variety of sessions. As a powerlifter it is important that I train my big three
lifts (Back squat, bench press and deadlift). I see my Trainer Robin twice a
week for personal training and take part in barbell club with the other members
of team catalyst 3 times a week. I also box on a Monday morning and spin on a
Saturday. I also love to Olympic lift as well! Outside of training I like to
take my dog Bob for long walks. Training hasn’t just helped my physical health
it has greatly improved my mental health. When I first started training I never
would have stepped foot on the powerlifting platform but with the encouragement from team catalyst and health and
hustle I have successfully competed in four competitions.
What advice could you give to someone who has experienced
the same sort of lifestyle challenges you have had to make? Three years
ago I never thought that I would be training 6 days a week! When I first met
Robin I told him you would be lucky to see me 1 day a week. This is a standing
joke as I train 6 days a week. Being diagnosed with a long term condition
really was the kick up the bum that I needed to improve my health. Training
helps me control my diabetes and means that currently I take minimal amounts of
insulin. The best piece of advice to anyone would be to take that first step,
even if that means walking up the stairs rather than taking the lift. It all
makes a difference.
What are your key active goals for the future to remain
fit and healthy? My goals for the future are to continue training. I
really do love training and powerlifting and I can’t wait to see if I can
increase my 315kg powerlifting total! My long term goal is to eventually
compete for Great Britain at powerlifting. However my short term goal is to
keep hitting all my training sessions with positivity and to keep my diabetes
as well managed as possible.
Thanks Sarah for sharing your story with Health &
Hustle