Carl (35) and son Aaron (16) are not into football or rugby, instead they prefer to engage in less popular sports like wall climbing. They have both been climbing now for almost a year. It started after Carl found out that Aaron had scaled Glodwick Lows hills by climbing up it unassisted and with a total disrespect for personal safety!
 
Carl decided that Aaron had better learn how to climb safely and so took him to Oldham's climbing wall.

Aaron(left) and Carl(right) at Manchester Climbing Centre

After a series of weekly tutorials from Alan Keane, father and son learned how to top-rope and boulder safely. They both learned how to tie the appropriate knots in the ropes and fasten harnesses correctly. During the following weeks Carl and Aaron slowly started to improve their climbing and belaying skills and were eventually signed off as competent climbers at the Oldham Climbing Wall.
 
In order to experience ascents at other climbing walls Carl and Aaron started to travel to various other climbing venues across the North West. They now climb each week and have made some great friends from Oldham Outdoor Pursuits who also climb each week.
 
Some of the many benefits of climbing are :- Concentration and mental grit and focus. Climbing is a form of meditation when you are climbing all that matters is that you get up the wall without falling off. It is a great remedy for a bad mood or a stressful day at the office.

Aaron posing on a route at Manchester Climbing Centre

Obviously it's a full body workout, particularly in the fingers, arms, shoulders and back.
 
Self -esteem is improved as you slowly build up your climbing skills, catch a falling climber with the belay and meet and socialise with like minded individuals.
 
Family wise it's a great opportunity for father and son to spend some quality time together, get out and get some exercise. It naturally creates a healthy competition as each person in turn tries to out-do the previous climber by climbing smoother, making fewer mistakes or getting to the top of a route that the other person failed to climb.

All my life I have been interested in cars, it did not matter what state it was in, I saw the car it could be, not the wreck it was. I have worked on numerous projects over the years and never lost my enthusiasm. That's why I should have realised that something was wrong when I began to feel that I was losing interest and could not be bothered, I was working on a Mondeo in April 2007 doing some work for the M.O.T. I had been putting it off but was running out. I spent all day under the car and was getting more and more stressed. That evening I had some supper and felt a pain in my ribs, I put it down to indigestion or heartburn. My wife wanted to call an ambulance but I insisted that I was fine. I went to bed and the pain continued but I did manage to get some sleep. The following day my family insisted that I go to casualty to get it checked out and my wife and I get a lift to the hospital. The blood test confirmed that I had suffered a heart attack!! I was in hospital for a few days and was told that the sort of work I had been doing on cars was no longer an option. I had smoked a pipe for 40 years and that also had to stop. It was as though everything I had enjoyed in my life had come to an abrupt end and I had nothing to replace it.

After coming out of hospital I did the usual 8 weeks rehabilitation and a further 10 week sat in the gym. I then read in the NDC newsletter about the Health Walks with Alan Keane and as he is one of my neighbours I had a talk to him about it and decided to give it a go. I really enjoyed the walks and the people I met. I was asked to go on a walk leader course and by that time I was hooked so I accepted. I thought that I was doing well, 61 years old and a walk leader then I spoke to Jason Bromley in the park while I was on a walk. He does the cycling part of healthy activities and although it had been years since I rode a bicycle I really wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. I was given a bicycle and joined Jason and his team as well as the health walks I found it quite hard at first but the more I cycled the easier it was. In July I helped to train the NDC (New Deal for Communities) team to prepare for the Oldham Way Challenge and joined them on the 40 miles walk over two days on August 1st &2nd. A lot of people were dubious about me being able to finish the walk but I was determined not to let myself down and completed the whole trek. In July I also received an NDC Achievers Award which was much appreciated.

Dave had a heart attack in 2006; in 2007 he underwent a triple heart bypass operation. Dave says that before the operation his quality of life was very poor as he was unable to get about and constantly felt tired.
After the operation Dave moved into temporary supported accommodation.
Dave decided that he wanted to make lifestyle changes in particular around healthy eating and physical activity so his tenant support officer referred him to Oldham Health Improvement Health Trainer Service.
 
Dave Started seeing his health Trainer in January 2008 and began to make significant changes regarding his health and attended cook and taste and grow and taste course which he accessed through Oldham Health Improvement Service.
 
Dave (with the agreement of medical professionals) then decided that he wanted to look at his physical activity also, and as walking is one of the best forms of exercise Dave supported initially by his health trainer began to access Activate Health Walks (OOP) on Fridays.

 Dave feels that that the health walks are good because not only do you get active but you also meet new people and make friends, Dave now walks for at least one hour on most days of the week. As Dave was such a committed health walker Dave was offered Volunteer Health Walk Training by Energize Co-ordinator Alan Keane, which he successfully undertook in June 2008.
 
Since then Dave Regularly leads the Friday Health Walk, has set up a new health walk in Shaw, and has recently taken up cycling.
 
Dave has now returned to his own home and feels that his quality of life is so much better than it was a year ago and is glad he was able to access the Health Improvement Service / Activate as it has helped to make lifestyle changes and meet people who like Dave enjoy getting activated.

I first came into contact with Oldham Outdoor Pursuits in January 2007 through attending the climbing sessions run by Alan Keane. I was suffering from anxiety and depression and I was under the care of a CPN (Community Psychiatric Nurse) and a patient at the Phoenix Centre. My CPN had a student working with her and he was writing a report on how exercise helps people suffering with mental health problems and was interested in using me as a case study. He took me swimming several times and he asked me if I had ever tried climbing before, suggesting it was a good exercise to try as it requires a lot of concentration so can keep you mind occupied. The phoenix centre had organised an indoor climbing course run by OCL at Oldham sports centre. Before attending the class I was concerned about meeting new people because I didn't want to feel the pressure of explaining my situation, I was also worried about not being any good at climbing. Once I had a been to a few climbing sessions I realised the other people were there just to climb like me and I didn't feel the need to explain my situation or any pressure to climb certain roots. In May that year Oldham Outdoor Pursuits had a residential at Boarhurst so I was able to try outdoor climbing at Dovestones.
Alan informed my of the other activities organised by Oldham Outdoor Pursuits, primarily the WHI health walks and Nordic Walking which I began attending as well as the climbing.
By the summer of 2007 I could tell I was recovering and I put a lot of this down to exercise sessions I was attending as it gave me a routine as well as the opportunity to meet new people and to be outside. Alan had mentioned that there were a lot of volunteer opportunities available through Oldham Outdoor Pursuits if I wanted to sign up to Oldham PCT as a volunteer and I explained to him that volunteer work would benefit my recovery. In January 2008 I was signed up as a PCT volunteer and I became a volunteer walk leader and a site specific climbing instructor and began assisting with the climbing sessions and the health walks. In June 2008 I became a Nordic Walking instructor which was paid for through the Energize budget and I am planning to run some of my own classes to promote the sport.
I do feel as if the volunteer work I have carried out through OOP as benefited me a great deal as I have been given access to training and learnt new skills and I have received a great deal of support from the PCT staff.