East Sussex mum of three, Zoe Ward previously worked in accounts and used to describe herself as ‘totally inactive’. It wasn’t until she suffered with post-natal anxiety with her second child, she discovered that physical activity could take away her worries and stress.
Zoe said: “I absolutely hated exercise when I was young, I was not sporty in any way. I stumbled across a hula hoop class in Bexhill and I just became addicted to that feeling of having an hour just to be me. I love that exercise just takes away all the worry from the day.”
She fell so in love with how physical activity made her feel, she decided to quit her job and train to become a full-time fitness instructor. She now runs post-natal fitness sessions, Powerhoop classes and Pelvic Floor exercise sessions for a variety of different women in her East Sussex community.
Getting active helped give Zoe the self-belief to support other women in their own journeys:
She commented: “I’ve really grown in confidence and I feel really passionate about getting women active.”
Zoe works hard every day to inspire women and girls to get active and look after their physical and mental wellbeing. She teaches all ages and abilities a whole host of activities and has even inspired some to train up as instructors themselves.
Zoe has now joined us as our second This Girl Can Sussex ambassador, alongside fitness blogger, Tess Agnew.
This Girl Can is a national Sport England campaign celebrating women everywhere who are getting active in a way that works for them, no matter how they look or how well they do it. We identified Zoe as an ideal community champion to join forces with as part of their work with the This Girl Can campaign, with the aim of inspiring more women across Sussex to get active and get moving in their own way.
Gemma Finlay-Gray, Strategic Relationship Manager at Active Sussex said: “We are thrilled to have Zoe on board as our second This Girl Can ambassador for Sussex. Insight shows that women persistently remain less active than men across the country, and the This Girl Campaign holds such an important message that is relatable to women from all walks of life. Having Zoe involved alongside our first ambassador, Tess, helping to encourage, inspire and amplify that message across Sussex is exactly what we need to start changing the game for women.”
To find out more about the This Girl Can Sussex network you can visit the webpage here.
Keep up with Zoe’s journey on Instagram here.