Success stories
"We think this is a great initiative by you and the Green Apple Wellness Centre and we would thoroughly recommend it."
Marilyn and Len's Story
It is now nearly 12 months since Len and I have been doing the Home Health programme through the Green Apple. We first started doing this during the initial lockdown of the COVID, and have continued.
I have had hay fever for most of the year and have been reacting to hand sanitizer and wipes. They affect my eyes, which tends to make life rather difficult. Len and I have been enjoying doing the programme at home with the great help of Bridie, who contacts us on a regular basis, sets our programme, and gives us lots of advice and help. It is also really quite amazing how much “equipment” you can find in the home to aid in our exercises.
I would like to thank you for making this programme available. It has allowed us to continue with our exercises which are so important for our health and well-being. Thanks also to Bridie, Nessa and all the Green Apple family who have helped make all this possible.
Yvonne's Story
Early in 2020, pre COVID, I signed up for the “My Health For Life Program”. Little did I know that that one move would change my life.
COVID arrived and the course needed to be run via Zoom. Being hearing impaired that was a real challenge but I managed to finish the course and along the way make a few changes to the ‘me’ I had become.
My course co-ordinator was Charlotte Barnes, one of the Exercise Physiologists at Apple Wellness. When she realised, I was struggling to hear the Zoom course she went out of her way to contact me for one-on-one sessions.
To resolve the issue of COVID lockdown Apple Wellness trialled an app called PhysiApp and devised a way that many of us could do our exercises in our own home.
In April 2020 I signed up to this program which Charlotte reviews and adjusts via phone every three weeks. I love the flexibility of this app and the program that Charlotte has devised just for me. I even took this program with me last July when we went travelling for 9 weeks in our caravan.
It literally has changed my life and I really can’t see me not doing this program. It really works for me. In a month’s time I turn 70 but I don’t feel 70, I’m full of life.
"I signed up for the 'My Health For Life Program,' little did I know that that one move would change my life."
"TAKE THE PLUNGE AND JUST DO IT. WELL WORTH THE EFFORT."
"Thanks to the Green Apple for getting the Green Apple Home Health program up and running. It certainly helped my wife and I when we weren’t able to access the gym (in our case, due to COVID lockdown)."
Jim's Story
When we first realised that we would be unable to go to the gym for a lengthy period, we were debating whether or not we should put our membership on hold. Then the Green Apple launched the Green Apple Home Health initiative, so we decided to give it a shot.
The big motivation for us was that we didn’t want to stop exercising. Although we thought we’d be able to pull something together ourselves at home, the idea of a guided program, using an app and having direct input from an experienced staff member from the Green Apple sounded good, so we signed up.
We were pleasantly surprised by how effective it’s been.
Overall, the Physiapp is good. Having video examples of your exercise routines and a way of monitoring your daily reps and progress has been very helpful. Even more important was having a Green Apple rep keeping an eye on things, helping us structure a suitable program at home using the equipment available to us, with phone check-ins and video hook-ups to keep us on track. It really helped with our motivation and also finetuned the program as we progressed.
Bridie was our ‘supervisor’ and she was great. It was brilliant having her input on things and she put a lot of effort into making it work as well as possible for us, tailoring the exercises and providing advice.
We were able to maintain a three-day-a-week program, improvising with limited equipment, including some weights, resistance bands, exercise mats, a fitball and some other household bits and pieces, mostly bought from K-Mart at not much cost. In addition to going for walks, we also bought an exercise bike, which has helped with cardio (although it doesn’t look very good in the dining room).
Keeping up our exercise during the many weeks of lockdown was very important to us. It was good having the routine and making sure we got to keep moving, doing both cardio and strength work. It’s surprising the physical and mental benefits you can get using limited equipment at your own house.
It’s a bonus having a partner who also has a similar interest in health and basic fitness, as we tend to push each other along when the other one is feeling a bit slack.
While I think the app itself could benefit from a little more flexibility, it’s a very useful tool for structuring and guiding a home exercise program. Being able to monitor your daily program through the app and get feedback from an exercise professional like Bridie has been a big plus.
Congratulations to the Green Apple for getting Home Health up and running, and for making it work for us in our own environment. We’d especially like to thank Bridie, our Exercise Physiologist for tailoring the program for us and providing ongoing guidance and support. Also thanks to Nessa for managing the communication between the Green Apple and ‘members’ at home with emails and Facebook.
