Bryce’s story: lockdown weight loss and fitness uptick

51- year-old Bryce W works for CommBank as a business analyst. Married with two teenage children, Bryce lives in one of the Sydney LGAs that have been subject to the strictest public health orders. Like so many of us, Bryce has been working from home during lockdown.

“I’ve always been in reasonably good health,” he admits, “but my health has definitely improved over the past few months. I’m moving more and moving better now.”

“It’s easy to focus purely on work when you’re sitting at home, working alone.”

While some of us have gained unwanted ‘COVID kilos’ during the pandemic, 51-year-old Bryce W has managed to lose weight and improve his fitness, all while spending long hours in front of his computer.

How has he done it? Bryce credits the improvements in his health to regular attendance at online Health Hub sessions.

“I really look forward to the sessions,” he says. “They’re such a great way to break up the day.”

When Bryce hurt his back several years ago, he found relief through remedial massage. “I learnt a lot about how the back works then, and how important it is to keep moving.”

So, when Bryce spotted the Health Hub sessions, he was quick to sign up.

“It’s easy to focus purely on work when you’re sitting at home, working alone.  You can become myopic and forget the bigger picture,” he says. “The Health Hub sessions are a great way to take a step back and gain some perspective. And they’re really enjoyable.”

Bryce plugs an HDMI cable into his TV so he can view the Health Hub sessions on a big screen in full size. He started with exercise routines and soon got hooked. “Over the past few weeks, I’ve signed up to whatever looks interesting. I’ve tried Tabata, high intensity training sessions, meditation and most of the cooking demos.”

He’s even taken part in pelvic floor routines that help train his muscles for different sets of exercises.

“I love the variety of the sessions. Each time you get a different face on screen, a different personality, and you can tell that the people running the sessions know what they’re talking about. I’ve learnt a lot and I get the odd giggle when a rogue cat or child wanders into shot!”

“I’ve got my eye on a laughter therapy session next,” he adds.

There are inevitably times when Bryce has a meeting that conflicts with a live session. When that happens, he pulls up a recorded session to enjoy later. “If nothing else, I make sure I do a simple ten-minute Tabata at the end of the day,” he says.

Apart from fitness, weight loss and overall improvements to his heath, there has been an unexpected bonus to all the sessions Bryce has attended. “After an exercise session, when the blood’s flowing, I’ll often find a creative solution to a problem or issue I’ve been working on. It just pops into my head as if my subconscious was working on it while I was enjoying a Health Hub session.”

See what’s on at the Health Hubs this month.