Maribyrnong City Council are one of six councils who have partnered with the Western Bulldogs to run our innovative Sons of the West men's heatlh program.

Below is an interview with participant Jonathan Manallack about his experience in the program that orginally appeared on cityofmaribyrnong.com.au.

Q: Tell us about your experience of the Sons of the West (SOTW) program – what can participants expect?

A: Men who come along can expect a really supportive and friendly environment with a group of men all there for the same reason – because they all want to do something positive about their health! You attend weekly interactive workshops delivered by a range of informative and inspirational speakers talking about things like portion sizes of meals, calories in each food and the required daily exercise levels to maintain or improve fitness.  You then follow that up with an exercise session that you do at whatever level you are comfortable with.  The information from the workshops gives us the tools to then go home and work on these things during the week.

Q: Tell us about attending the sessions at the Braybrook or West Footscray location. What do you love about this neighbourhood and its people?

A: I attend the West Footscray sessions and I love it. Firstly, because it’s only a 10 minute walk from my house so I get in the extra exercise before and after by walking there. Secondly it’s at the Whitten Oval and we actually get to train on the oval and use the Bulldogs facilities.  During the pre season program earlier this year, I feel we developed into a real team and everyone was supportive of each other.  Having a Coach for each session was great and Aiden (our facilitator) really made each session informative and left us with something to work on for the following week. It also gave the program a sense of direction each week and we looked forward to the next week’s session. Having it at West Footscray is great as its central and close to public transport and the area is such a diverse community and that is reflected in the men who come along each week.

Q: What has been the most important and most valuable thing you have walked away with in the Sons of West experience?

A: The most important thing is that we all have to start somewhere and often we as men don’t know where to find that help or are to proud to ask for it. Through the Sons of the West men’s health program, it is all laid out for us in weekly sessions aimed at helping our overall health. Not only are we learning to take control of our health, but we’re also making mates along the way. It really feels like a team and that makes coming each week much easier. And even better, its free!  We as men tend to neglect our health a bit for many reasons, and for some of us it’s not knowing where to start. The Sons of the West men’s health program is that place. It doesn’t matter if you are there to lose weight or just for the exercise sessions, some blokes come along just for the company and that’s great too. They will learn new things or even remember things they had forgotten and are able to put it into practice at home, so it’s a win all round.

Without a doubt this program is helping make many men’s lives better, and I applaud the Western Bulldogs and Council for having the vision to run a program like this for free to the men of the western suburbs.  Sons of the West is not only helping me learn alongside men in my situation, but it’s actually saving my life.  Since the day I walked into the Bulldogs ground two years ago I’ve not only dropped weight, I have gotten fitter and my medication has been reduced due to that, and I am really enjoying life again.

Q: The Sons of the West program has been running for three years and you have taken part in the last two years. You are a seasoned pro! Tell us about the benefits, both social and physical, of the program classes?

A; This time three years ago I was walking the bare minimum, just to walk my dog 750 meters to the dog park and back about every second day. Now I am walking each day for around an hour. I leave the car at home and walk to the shops, and I also go to the gym three days a week.  Physically it’s still a struggle because of some health issues that I have, but I know I just have to do it each day. After the exercise I feel tired, but I know it’s benefitting my health and in my head I know I have done a good thing and it makes me feel good about myself.

When you exercise, whether it be the gym or just out walking, you see people and those contacts and engagements lighten your mood. It’s the same as when you come along to the weekly session. You see people in the same SOTW t-shirt as you and you get to know these men and have a chat and a laugh. It’s a social thing, something to look forward to.  It also has made me feel better about myself as I am doing more socially and physically. I can’t tell people enough about it, and I hope many more men join and see what changes it can make to your life.