“Exercise is very beneficial. You can see the changes mentally and physically.”
For Nick Percy, Gym Instructor at Monash Health, it’s the physical and mental health of his clients and patients that’s the most important part of his work at Monash Health.
For the past 7 years, Nick has been one of our qualified instructors at Healthwise Fitness, our on-campus fitness centre for our employees and affiliates. Nick instructs many group classes at Healthwise Fitness, such as spin, boxing, strength and more. However, you may also find Nick in the wards, or the gym helping patients and clients exercise and do physical activities at the Clayton campus.
Nick first started working with our patients in 2016 through Stepping Stones, the Adolescent Unit and Transition Program at Monash Children’s Hospital (MCH). At the time, the team needed help getting a young patient more active, starting him with a weekly program at the Healthwise Fitness gym.
“The feedback from the team and patients was that it was too hard for them. Trying to convince someone in the hospital to exercise was hard – the last thing a patient wants to do is exercise.”
But with Nick’s patience and persistence, he began working with the young patient in the ward instead. Soon enough, Nick’s exercise programs took off with Stepping Stones and the Outpatient Clinic. In 2018, the Psychiatry Inpatient Unit at P Block also started using Nick’s exercise programs.
“I know how to connect and communicate with patients and clients and earn their trust to let me instruct them.
“The patients didn’t expect to do exercises that were light but still challenging.”
As a result, Nick’s work at Monash Health is now split 50-50 at Healthwise Fitness programs and patient programs that support physical and mental health.
“Some of the patients have stayed with me since 2016 until 2023, even going through COVID-19 and when everything stopped. They couldn’t come for years, but they still came back.
“I have a passion for mental health as well – that’s why I stuck around for so long.”
Nick is most proud of his recent work with the Perinatal and Infant Inpatient Unit (PIIU). The opportunity was personally proposed to him by the unit manager, who was a regular attendee of his class at Healthwise Fitness. The unit manager had heard of Nick’s exercise classes in P Block and wanted sessions for the PIIU.
“We were hesitant in the beginning because the other unit manager wanted a female instructor.
“Introducing a male into the unit can be challenging, especially given the vulnerable state some mothers might be in. Nevertheless, I believe the unit I worked on is among my most successful projects. Almost every patient who has completed the program provides positive feedback, saying that the class was one of the highlights of their hospital experience.
“After a recent session, one of the mums said to me, ‘I was so looking forward to doing this from the weekend, knowing that you were coming on Tuesday.”
Working with a variety of patients and clients within and outside of Monash Health, Nick has developed his own style of teaching which complements the clinical treatment of patients.
“I think my style has a lot to do with my experience. My exercise style is where you exercise to the limit and the endorphins kick in. Exercise gives you endorphins; a natural ‘happy’ chemical in your body.
“My exercises are easy, but the repetition makes the endorphins kick in. That’s why people feel good and happy after people do sessions with me.
“Working with the clinicians, the patient’s treatment isn’t just medication, it’s physical activity as well. That’s where I come in.”
In his former life, Nick was an accountant turned restaurant manager. Had Nick not found his calling in fitness and mental health, Nick could have also continued to be a television star.
“I remember one year, I got roles on 11 television shows, but I needed a career change…I was thinking, ‘What other thing would give me freedom and flexibility if I ever had a TV shoot?’ I had a passion for fitness, so I thought, ‘I’ll do that’.
“I studied, looked up online and got this Healthwise Fitness job. Then everything started picking up at Healthwise Fitness and the patient programs.
“I had to choose what was more important. I decided to stay in the fitness and mental health field because I have a passion for it.”
True to his passion, Nick completed the Centre of Perinatal Excellence Accredited Program, Basic Skills in Perinatal Mental Health in May, complementing his Certificates III and IV in Fitness, the Boxing for Life Certification, Suspension Training and Certificate of Functional Mobility.
“It’s rewarding to see the smiles of my patients and clients at the end.”
Our Monash Health employees and affiliates can connect with Nick and Healthwise Fitness during their supervised hours.
Approved by Silvana Sgro, Acting Executive Director, People and Culture