About Move More for Health
How it started
I established Move More for Health so that I could help people become more physically active to feel better about themselves, reduce their chances of experiencing ill health, and to live a fuller life. As a Cancer Exercise Specialist I work with people before, during and after treatment for cancer with the aim of supporting them to move to feel better.
Move More for Health is dedicated to helping you improve your health and wellbeing using a holistic approach involving movement, physical activity and behaviour change, all informed by evidence-based science. In addition to the gym or your home, I also use natural environments and a mindful approach to further enhance your physical and mental wellbeing. My small group work and exercise classes help promote the power of community and the social environment is key here to helping recovery, supporting one another and feeling better. The patients in my cancer exercise classes, for example, really enjoy the social aspect and being with others with similar lived experiences; many have become friends. It’s about more than the exercise!
Qualifications
Level 3 Personal Training Diploma
Level 3 Exercise Referral
Level 4 Cancer Rehabilitation
Level 4 Mental Health and Exercise
Level 3 Exercise for Older Adults
Otago Exercise Programme Instructor (falls prevention for older adults)
BSc (Hons) Biology
MSc Environmental Management
Post Graduate Certificate in Education
I am First Aid trained (St John’s Ambulance three day First Aid at Work Certificate) fully insured with £10 million liability, Enhanced DBS check and Safeguarding trained.
A bit about me
I am Richard Farrar, a qualified cancer exercise rehabilitation specialist, exercise referral instructor and personal trainer, combining my love of health and fitness with helping people. I am also a lecturer at the University of Suffolk where I specialise in teaching on degree programmes in the Life Sciences including BSc Nutrition and Human Health and BSc Biomedical Science. My research interests at the University include cancer prehabilitation - developing and evaluating ways to use exercise, nutrition and wellbeing support to help prepare people for the rigours of cancer treatment. I am a Senior Activity and Health Practitioner member of The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA), and a Member of The American College of Sports Medicine.
Circumstances
In 2010 I was diagnosed with a blood cancer and was successfully treated using chemotherapy. Through this challenging time, exercise and time spent outdoors in nature really helped my physical and emotional health. Only a few years after treatment, I underwent major orthopaedic surgery following a cycling accident, which left me unable to walk for three months.
My recovery was long and demanding but was helped enormously through consistent physical activity and rehabilitation, and I am now fully recovered. I have experienced not only the physical but also the emotional and psychological journey of going through and recovering from ill health and am in a unique and privileged position to be able to use this in helping the people I work with.
If you want to know a little bit more about me, in June 2023 I was I was a guest on the lovely Melanie Green's podcast, talking about all things exercise and cancer, with a bit of my personal experience in there as well. If you fancy a listen, link here: But seriously, who knew
