The Well HQ

* NEW SERIES - THE ENTREPRENEURS * Baz Moffat is my guest today in the new series of The Game Changers that features Founders and Entrepreneurs in women's sport. You can listen to it here: https://pod.fo/e/279d1a This is a brilliant, entertaining, must listen conversation for anyone working with female athletes in sport or with an interest in female health. Baz is a former GB rower who co-founded The Well HQ, an organisation that educates and empowers women (and anyone that cares for them) to understand their bodies and use that knowledge to thrive in sport, health and life. Baz was in the GB Rowing team from 2005-2008 – medalling at the World Championships in 2007. With degrees in Sports Science and Health Related Behaviour Change, Baz ran personal training and fitness businesses before moving into women’s health and in 2021, co-founding The Well HQ. Baz is having an extraordinary impact in the world of women’s health and I love her openness in challenging what needs to change in this space. If you'd like to hear from other trailblazing women in sport, there are over 200 episodes of The Game Changers available for free on all podcast platforms or from our website at https://lnkd.in/dcz8rwU

We need to normalise conversations around female health within the fitness industry... Yesterday, I did my part by speaking about it on a large stage to an audience of some of the biggest names in the health and wellness industry at the HCM Summit. I had the opportunity to talk about The Well HQ, present some of the small actions that go a very long way in creating an inclusive environment for women, and the work we've been doing with amazing partners—including a live shout-out to The Gym Group, with Will Orr's brilliant remark that this is a "patient investment." And he’s absolutely right. It takes time, investment, and engagement from all levels, from senior leadership to staff, for change to happen. I talked to so many brilliant people, sold out of our book, The Female Body Bible, – which if I (if I may say so) should be in every fitness and health business’s new employee onboarding kit 😉 Talks from, Oliver Patrick (Pillar), Pieterjan Nuitten (Jims Fitness), Phillip Mills (Les Mills), Jonny Wilkinson (One Living), and Fahad Alhagbani (Armah Sports), left me inspired by how quickly our industry is evolving. But it’s not just about the pace of change; it’s about the direction. And we are here to ensure women are part of it - not only accommodated but understood, supported, and truly at the centre of it. Liz Terry - great job and thank you, what an amazing achievement #hcmsummit

Cardiff Met’s ArcHER initiative took another step towards transforming women’s sport! 🌟 The latest event was filled with powerful discussions, expert panels, and workshops focused on supporting female athletes and breaking down barriers in sport. This is more than just a one-day event—ArcHER is a long-term commitment to creating lasting change. 💪 Thank you to our partners Gemaur Gymanwlad Cymru | Commonwealth Games Wales and to speakers from PEBE, WRU - Welsh Rugby Union, Zoiey S. - The Mindful Maverick, The Well HQ, Speakeasy Club, and Public Health Wales for making it such an impactful day! 👏 🎙️ Dr Emma Ross Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at The Well HQ, said: "The team at Cardiff Metropolitan University has really taken on the idea of long-lasting change for women in sport – this is not a one-day event, it’s a ‘forever’ project...” ➡️ Read more https://lnkd.in/g7W7MPiK 📸 - Ellie Place #ArcHER24 | #CardiffMet | #BreakingBarriers | #InclusiveSport #FemaleAthletes | #CardiffMet

What a great start to the week! Yesterday the amazing coaches and community leads at Tottenham Hotspur Foundation bought high Monday energy to our half day workshop on supporting girls in football, with a focus on understanding girls experiences during puberty and how that might impact their enjoyment, participation and performance in football. It’s so inspiring to work with people who truly care about their players and are deeply committed to helping them get the most out of sport during the challenging years of puberty. And these coaches really know their girls—their challenges, their potential, everything. What's so cool about working with people who are so invested in the girls they work with is that this is what girls want. They want a coach who cares, who takes time to get to know them and build a quality relationship. Research shows that the quality of this relationship is more important to girls motivation and confidence in sport, compared to boys, who might focus more on their coach’s credentials. We covered key topics for anyone training girls, from the menstrual cycle and period pains to nutrition, body confidence and injury prevention. Really important conversations surfaced on how coaches can help make girls more comfortable in sports with actions that may seem small but can sit with their teenage athletes for the rest of their lives. For example normalising conversations around periods, creating a positive narrative about food, and understanding the impact of poorly fitting / men's fit kit. Since lots of the coaches in the room were men, we also talked about what a powerful role model they can be to boys, showing them how to acknowledge and understand girls experiences, openly and empathetically, rather than with judgement or criticism. In fact, the openness to learning and supporting their players from all the attendee's, but especially the guys who openly shared that some of these topics were new and unusual for them to talk about, is a reminder of the importance of having everyone on board to promote change in sports for girls and women. I left the workshop feeling deeply inspired by everyone’s commitment, and I’m already looking forward to the next session with this group led by Baz Moffat and PEBE's Lucy Horsell, covering kit, sports bra's and pelvic health in girls. Thanks to Orna Murray / Ní Mhuirithe and Giovana Penatti for workshop support, and to Marc Leckie👋and Dayne Matthieu and all the group for such a warm and engaging welcome to The Foundation. The Well HQ #womenssport #girlsinsport #femaleempowerment #workshop

Today for World Menopause Day, we are sharing the fantastic progress of our Female Health First programme with The Well HQ. Launched in 2023, we now have over 60 gym teams nationwide, equipped with the knowledge and understanding of the unique needs of the female body and life cycle, and skilled to deliver our female health-focused classes. Together, we’re not just talking about these important issues—we’re actively working to support our community and teams.  We’re also proud to uphold our Menopause Friendly commitments. Recently, we hosted Over The Bloody Moon for an impactful allies workshop. Our male colleagues had the opportunity to experience some menopause symptoms firsthand through innovative tools like the MenoVest™ and VR headset. This experience supports further empathy and understanding, equipping our colleagues to be even better allies. We will always strive to creating a supportive and empowering environment for our teams and members, providing a great workplace and work out space, where everyone feels valued and understood. 💙  

It's newsletter day for us... And yesterday as we were working in House of Sport LDN we had a lovely visit from our friends at London Sport to say how much they loved our newsletter -it was like being given a gold star by a teacher at school. I think our newsletter is working for us as a business because: ✍ We have a professional journalist who writes it - who is such a craftsman, and will never be replaced by AI ⏲ There's a system and a process behind the scenes that is invested in...we don't just wing it and do it last minute. 😃 But we don't over engineer it, we let the people who are great at writing newsletters and gathering content do their jobs with the freedom they need to be bold and terrific. It is really working well for us as part of our marketing strategy and even my Mum has started to comment on the content as opposed to picking up on the typo's! If you'd like it in your inbox every other week then please do sign up at the bottom of this page: https://lnkd.in/e2V5KaUm 🇺🇦 Ally Millar Tamara Short Giovana Penatti