The arrival of November introduced this 12 months’s Prostate United marketing campaign to a detailed, with Prostate Most cancers UK elevating consciousness of their unbelievable trigger by way of the month of October.
MAN v FAT member Rob Kedge was as soon as once more within the thick of the fundraising for this 12 months’s marketing campaign, having been an enormous advocate of the charity in recent times.
We caught up with him to search out out extra about why he acquired concerned once more this 12 months. You can even learn extra about Prostate United on Prostate Most cancers UK’s web site and donate to Rob’s fundraising right here.
Why did you determine to get entangled in Prostate United once more this 12 months?
It was a no brainer for me. After elevating over £500 doing this final 12 months, and enhancing my well being on the identical time, I used to be prepared and primed to affix up once more! This 12 months although, I’ve boosted up my supposed goal distance from 150km to 300km – happy to say I’ve smashed that focus on with nearly per week to go!
How a lot have you ever loved getting out for day by day train and the way a lot has it benefitted your psychological and bodily well being?
I’m a kind of individuals who must see an achievement from the whole lot they do. By this, I imply it’s extremely unlikely you will note me working across the block except there’s a cause I needed to exit!
Figuring out that I’ve set myself a tricky goal to hit, and having the ability to observe my progress (and share with the world) offers me the motivation to actually push myself all through October – the humorous factor is, this 12 months it actually appears to have develop into a fantastic escape for me too.
I’m awaiting an evaluation for ADHD, and I’ve discovered that going for a cycle, specifically, has been good for clearing my head a bit and serving to me handle. An actual second of readability for me this 12 months!
How necessary is the Prostate Most cancers UK message in encouraging guys to pay attention to their well being?
It’s large! My Dad sadly died of prostate most cancers 10 years in the past so I’ve a vested curiosity, nonetheless what was most upsetting about him getting the most cancers is that there was by no means any challenge together with his prostate. He acquired some ache in his foot which acquired progressively worse, and when checked out, it transpired he had a secondary most cancers. I’m certain loads of males know to look out for indicators of hassle with their prostate, but it surely’s so necessary to contemplate that ANY ache or points should be investigated urgently. If my Dad had identified this, I do surprise if his most cancers may need been stopped or handled sooner – it may need given him at the very least extra time.
Us males are so used to being the robust ones and never bothering docs with something that isn’t mainly close to demise – we have to know that one thing pretty innocuous may need additional investigation, so the publicity Prostate Most cancers UK carry is hopefully making loads of males take their well being extra severely. They’re making an attempt to get a screening programme in place as effectively – do you know prostate most cancers is the one most cancers within the UK which doesn’t have one at a sure age? That must be modified as quickly as attainable!
Which different bodily challenges will you be looking for within the coming months?
Oh blimey… effectively, my physique is fairly drained after this month, so we’ll must see what I can handle. I’m correctly entering into my biking now – I experience to and from my MAN v FAT classes on Friday nights to avoid wasting on the bus fare, in addition to a few different player-arranged 5 / 7-a-side video games throughout the week, however the cause I acquired my bike is to get to and from my day job (I’m a Probation Officer), so I believe maybe I have to look into doing that. It’s all about confidence and stamina – my workplace is sort of 10 miles away – however from a standing begin, I’m now in a position to do round 7 or 8 miles in a single go, so I’m getting there.
The opposite factor I actually need to get into is stuff like yoga – I’ve completed bits and items, and the stretching actually does assist. It takes somewhat endurance because of the stability side, but it surely actually works effectively with the cardio from soccer!
For my subsequent charity problem, there’s speak of a distance strolling occasion in Windsor in April, so I’m trying into that. I don’t get pleasure from working except it’s chasing a ball or one other footballer, so strolling fits me high-quality. The web is stuffed with all types of hikes and walks and runs and what-have-you, so I’ll preserve trying if that doesn’t occur. A number of of us MAN v FAT guys did Mount Snowdon in August, additionally for Prostate Most cancers UK, however I sadly had a panic assault very early on and couldn’t handle it… Two months later I really feel lots stronger, so if I preserve this up I might completely persuaded to attempt once more subsequent 12 months! All of us did elevate loads of money for the charity although.
You’re approaching 20% weight reduction with MAN v FAT – how a lot has it remodeled your life and what are your finish objectives on the programme?
It’s not possible to overstate the distinction coming to Sunbury MAN v FAT has made to my life. I’ve an 11-year-old daughter who’s a bundle of power and loves her soccer, and I instructed myself I wanted to enhance my health if I used to be ever to a) present her how one can play and b) sustain together with her, so a barely tipsy dialog in a pub with a pal led to me signing up. I actually attended my first session per week later – no queueing to get on board meant no time to hen out!
That was the tip of Might 2024, so I’m almost 18 months in. I’ve no concept how a lot I’ve misplaced precisely, however I do know I’m down two garments sizes, which is simply wonderful! I’m teetering on the sting of that 20% and I’m determined to get the certificates so it will probably go on my wall together with the others. Shedding this weight has helped so a lot of my well being issues – my knee arthritis is significantly better, whereas the excessive ldl cholesterol and blood strain have each gone away. Even my bronchial asthma is best managed! I did have a scare final October after I needed to have an angiogram attributable to ache in my chest after I was enjoying footy, however fortunately no ongoing points, and shedding extra weight has cleared up any issues there too.
I’m 47 now and I really feel like I’ve reclaimed my life – after nearly 30 years of not enjoying soccer in any respect (utilizing an outdated knee harm as my excuse), I now hate lacking any classes with MAN v FAT – it’s so necessary to each my bodily and psychological wellbeing. The membership has some nice lads, I’ve made correct mates and, because of the workforce modifications each 3 seasons, it’s not restricted to half a dozen teammates both. There’s one thing actually soothing about strolling in and saying hello to everyone, everybody encouraging you to do effectively on the scales (however not on the pitch!), it’s like a help group!
So far as finish objectives, I preserve having a weight in thoughts, but it surely does shift now and again. By way of kilos, I’m into double figures now which is nice to see, however I don’t need to cease going. I do know it will get more durable to drop extra pounds as you go on – the physique will get used to routines and I’ve hit a few plateaus already – the large problem is making the best modifications to make sure issues preserve stepping into the best course.
Our coach Ali is new to MAN v FAT however is absolutely motivating, and he understands that psychological well being can dictate meals consumption a bit, so is glad to speak about that facet of issues as effectively. Clearly the burden loss is the large factor with MAN v FAT, however I do prefer to set myself little soccer targets as effectively, and for subsequent season I need to rating at the very least three objectives and likewise save a penalty (I cut up my time on pitch and in aim). It’s not an finish aim, but it surely’s the following step as I can’t shoot for toffee and penalties are actually tough on tiny 5-a-side pitches – I’ll see how I get on!