Taylor's Chubby Chappies & Pink Ladies

This group has been very active around the are recently combining exercise, weight loss and fundraising.

The groups numbers have significantly grown through word of mouth after opening shortly after Taylors of Johnstown in 2016. Recently dozens of residents have been pacing the footpaths having undertaken a Challenge to get fit and lose weight. We tracked down the key members of Joe Adams and Phillip Warren to find out more.

The New Year frequently has us trying to lose the extra pounds put on over the Festive Holidays. Motivation to go out regularly on cold winter evenings is testing if you're alone. Come and Join our group and you'll be more successful.

Phil and Joe at the groups meeting point, Taylors of Johnstown.

How did you come to choose this name?

Originally I (Joe) was part of the O'Briens Fat Boys and Ladybirds on the other side of Johnstown so it seemed an appropriate name that reflects the connection.

I decided to lend a hand at Taylors to get the group up and running and with Phil we quickly found some local people to join in.

Your group is hard to locate on Facebook.

Word of mouth introduces us to people who are genuinely interested in getting involved and gaining a healthier lifestyle. We're not all into social media and we don't want to openly publish people's weight targets or walking routes. The Facebook Group is a 'Secret Group' and every member is active.

New people just need to drop into Taylors at one of our meetings and introduce themselves.

How many take part?

We've over 150 members with 43 participating in the program running at the moment. We're a social bunch of people coming in all shapes and sizes, everyone has their own goals. New members are often surprised to discover other people they know within the group. It's a great way to make new friends, walking buddies and we're all locals too.

What's your current activity?

You might have seen us in our HiVis outfits around the area every evening. We're 'Moving More and Eating Less' to follow the Operation Transformation 8 week challenge which finishes in March. We're over half way there and we'll continue with another program even when this one ends.

On top of this Phil and some of our members took on the extra challenge of 21 days of evening walks and will have completed around 200km. Taylor have agreed to sponsor Phil and for every continuous day walking 5km, or 40 min a day, he's looking to earn €5 for a local charity.

He's achieved 30 days so far which is a great personal achievement and for a good cause he's aiming to continue.

"I've gone through one pair of runners already"

How often do you meet?

At the moment we meet every Friday evening at Taylors of Johnstown for our 'weigh ins' as well as our regular 7pm group walks .

Are you losing weight?

All the members have had great results and as a group we've shed several kg. We've noticed that our walking pace has increased and we're finding it easier to walk further.

We'll be having a celebration party at the end of the 8 week program.

"I joined to get fit, do something for myself and also meet people."

Sharon

"Losing weight is a motivator. It's sometimes disheartening at weigh inns not have lost any weight but we're determined to keep going and get back out there."

Sharon

Community Walking Leader

Joe undertook the Walking Leader Training with the Irish Heart Foundation to ensure that the group had the best possible start .

Among many things the Course covered Safety issues and advice on how to create health-enhancing walking sessions.

We have a variety of people with different fitness levels so it was important to know how to create suitable routes and programmes. The range of advice even covered posture, technique, and even what clothing to wear.

Slí na Sláinte - Irish HeartSlí na Sláinte creates mapped, measured walking routes around Ireland.

BE SEEN

"Some people can't keep up so there's always someone there to encourage them... No one gets left behind!"

Sharon

Where do you go?

We stick to well lit public footpaths around the neighbourhood. We do vary it slightly with each walk but we have several tried and tested routes which take around an hour. We don't venture off the footpaths so even the wet weather doesn't stop us. We try to keep everyone reasonably together since group motivation and pace is important and we don't leave anyone behind.

Walking Routes

Very popular among residents THIS LINK shows some of the potential routes around the local area together with how long Google Maps thinks it could take to walk. On their Facebook Page you can discover several routes, times and sometimes paces too.