Amy Jolly, Aquapumping Her Way to Health

Amy Jolly, Aquapumping Her Way to Health

Fifteen kilograms and a negative mindset. That’s what Hastings’ Amy Jolly has lost over the last 12 months all thanks to a little push in the right direction.

Jolly would be the first to admit that a year ago she was in a bit of a rough place. She was stressed in her job, with study and in a bad relationship. And on top of that, she was a stress eater, so this combination definitely didn’t help any part of her lifestyle.

It wasn’t until one day a friend had told her to try out one of the Sport Hawke’s Bay supported AquaPump classes at the Swim Heretaunga Pool in Flaxmere. She was very reluctant to go at first and had to be talked into going. “I’ll go if you go,” egged on one of her friends.

“I’d always loved being in the water,” said Jolly. “It had been such a long time since I’d actually been in but I loved it. For the first 3 weeks I just went once a week and now I’m there twice a week, every week as well as walking 2-3 times a week.”

Jolly also noted that it’s been great to be able to do something a bit different than just go to the gym. She has now purchased her own set of weights to continue some of the exercises in the pool at home, as well as picking up a few things online.

“I tell my friends all the time that they created a monster,” laughed Jolly. “Just getting into something like this has helped so much.”

The classes have become like “a social night out” for Amy who believes this has changed her whole mindset. “Some of my friends do the class too. There’s a range of people that come from those who play league and wanting to keep fit or others on the Green Prescription programme.”

Jolly, who now works at Eastern Institute of Technology, has also been able to hook into some of the offerings that Sport Hawke’s Bay has incorporated into their WorkFit programme, including cooking sessions and health checks.

“I’ve seen Amy a few times over the last year and have been amazed by her progress,” said Sport Hawke’s Bay’s WorkFit Coordinator Olivia Mador-Puna. “When I had a chat to her, the biggest change I noticed was her attitude and positive mindset toward her lifestyle. She’s very positive and confident about where she is at now. It just goes to show that if you start off with small steps and something you enjoy, you’re more likely to stick to it.”

“It’s definitely about changing your lifestyle rather than trying a new fad,” said Jolly. “Sustainable changes have made me a lot more positive. Just starting the classes made me want to eat better so the exercise and the food side of things sort of coincides together.”

What Jolly has found to be the biggest key factor in her lifestyle change is that “you definitely have to enjoy what you are doing otherwise it won’t last long.”

Last year, Jolly’s primary goal was to just get healthy, not necessarily to lose weight, but that was an inevitable biproduct. This year, she told us her goal was to get abs. “I think I’ve almost got one,” she laughed. “I just want to keep being healthy, but this years’ goal is to at least try and get abs. That would be nice.”

For more information about Sport Hawke’s Bay’s WorkFit programme, visit

www.workfit.org.nz

ENDS

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