Dave Norriss

Dave Norriss
JLP Plumbing

For Men's Health Week, Master Plumbers talked with various men throughout New Zealand.

What your health means to you?

To me, my health means trying to stay fit and active. I’m generally in a much better mental head space after exercising (especially after “one of those days”) but finding the time to fit it in can sometimes make it hard. I have been pretty fit at various times in my life and used to enter a lot of running, mountain biking and multisport events, but I now just try to keep a good maintainable level of fitness where I can still do what I want, but avoid injury, works best for me. Being an older Dad with two young boys also gives me a great incentive to stay fit and active, as I want to be able to keep up with them and take them on biking, hiking trips, etc as they get older!

What steps you take to stay healthy?

Moving to more of an office-based role, has made it harder to stay active compared to being on the tools. A few months back I got a smart watch, and this has been a great motivator to get active again. It made me realise how inactive I could be some days when just based in the office with no site visits. While I have never used any type of diet, I try to eat a balanced diet with various food groups and lots of fruit and veg of different colours. I’m pretty bad at going to see the doctor and will tend to avoid it if I can. Something that I can improve on.

What healthy routines you have in your life?

Being part of a weekly mountain bike ride group helps to get me out on a regular basis. I often get up early on weekends before the family is awake, put the pack on with a bit of weight in it, and go for a couple of hours walk in the Hutt hills to stay pack fit. Recently I have also started hunting and this combines some of things I enjoy such as being outdoors, hiking, exploring new places and can also fill the freezer as a bonus! Camping out on top of a mountain range in the Southern Alps being surrounded by amazing country that goes on and on is one of the best things for clearing the headspace.

Any suggestions you want to share about health and wellbeing.

Find your happy place and do what you enjoy. Don’t put off things until tomorrow, do it today. Don’t look back thinking about what you could of/should have done, look forward and think about what you can do and want to do!