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The contradiction began to bother: “What kind of example am I setting for the players?”
Experienced football coach Petri Plym spends much of his day on the sidelines of a football pitch, encouraging young players to stay active. At the same time, he had given up physical activity for years.
“I’ve been more or less overweight for the past 20−30 years. I wondered what young people would think if I kept telling them about wellbeing but didn’t take care of myself?” he says.
Everyday life became a struggle
As a child and teenager, Petri was very active and played football himself.
As time went on, other things took over. His family was growing and they were building a house, while Petri was also coaching alongside his day job. His days could start at five in the morning and not end until eight in the evening.
When Petri became a full-time coach, his work shifted to evenings and weekends. He would wake up early but remain in bed for a long time in front of a screen.
Gradually, fatigue began to take over his daily life.
“My lack of exercise had reached a point where I simply didn’t have the energy to do anything. I felt tired all the time, like I was just trying to get through each day and cope with the chaos of everyday life. In fact, I didn’t feel anything anymore”, Petri recalls.
Football remained Petri’s escape. He jokes that he would put on his “Pete mask” and immerse himself in the atmosphere at training. But after a workday, he was completely drained.
“When I got home, I didn’t have the energy to do anything, and when the weekend came around, I didn’t have the energy to go anywhere.”
More than just a coach
The long days on the football pitch were taking a toll on his body. His hamstrings were constantly tight, his back ached and he gained weight.
At the same time, Petri found himself reflecting on his responsibility as a coach.
“The players are young, so for some of them, I’m more of an authority than their parents. What I do, what I say and how I behave matters,” Petri says.
“I want to do my job as well as I possibly can. Taking care of my own wellbeing is an important part of that, so that I have the energy to do my job and also set a good example,” he adds.
Getting started wasn’t easy
When Petri’s partner got a gym membership, Petri decided to take advantage of a free trial as well. The gym was only a short walk away, so getting there should have been easy. Still, his gym membership went unused.
During the Christmas holidays, his partner asked him to come to the gym with her. This time, he went. He could feel that first workout throughout his body the next day.
“I could barely sit down. Everything hurt. Even so, I had a feeling that I wanted to go back again the next day.”
Nordea’s wellbeing benefit has provided additional motivation for Petri Plym’s lifestyle change. “It was interesting to see how my progress started from zero,” he recalls.
Small choices became a new routine
“I decided to go to the gym in the mornings before work and at weekends before matches. I no longer spend my mornings waiting for work to start in front of the television,” Petri says.
His daily routine also includes walks and outings in the woods with the family dog.
His eating habits changed too. Petri began planning the week’s meals in advance and making sure there was food ready at home after work.
“I used to go without eating until lunchtime and then eat far too much at the buffet. Starting to eat breakfast was a big change for me. Now I’m just the right amount of hungry by lunchtime,” Petri says.
The wellbeing benefit provided extra motivation
Petri came across an ad for Nordea’s wellbeing benefit around the same time as he was thinking about becoming more active. By exercising regularly, he would be able to increase his insurance cover at no extra cost.
“At first, I thought it sounded a bit corny that the benefit would only come into play if something happened to me. Then I thought about it and realised it wasn’t corny at all. My family members benefit from me being more active, having more energy and feeling better. The financial benefit is a bonus,” Petri says.
Petri already had life insurance with Nordea, which automatically included the free wellbeing benefit. He had not used the benefit before, but now he downloaded the MyLife app to his phone and started using it. At first, he tracked his activity points every day.
“It was interesting to see how my progress started from zero,” he recalls.
These days, Petri uses the app to track his progress and keep up with new benefits and offers. For him, the app’s most important role is to make his progress visible and show that he is heading in the right direction.
“You have to want to make a change yourself, but the app encourages you to keep going,” Petri says.
“No need to put on my ‘Pete mask’ anymore”
Just a month after he started going to the gym, Petri’s hamstrings were no longer giving him the same trouble as before. Now he wakes up feeling more refreshed, and after his morning workout, he feels full of energy and ready for the day ahead.
“When training the teams, you always have to turn up the energy and go a bit over the top, but I don’t need to put on my ‘Pete mask’ anymore,” Petri says with a smile.
He has more energy at home too. “Now I have the energy to do things around the house and be active at weekends. The sofa is no longer the first thing on my mind,” he says.
Lasting change doesn’t require perfection
Petri had tried to make a change before. Back then, he started going to the gym six times a week, before five in the morning. The intense routine didn’t last: once he missed one workout, it wasn’t long before he started missing others too.
“This time, my goal was to make changes that I could stick with for the rest of my life, rather than something I could keep up for two months before giving up and ending up right back where I started,” Petri says.
His new lifestyle now has room for rest days and family pizza nights too.
“It’s important to be persistent, but also to be kind to yourself. If working out doesn’t feel right one day, you don’t have to force yourself to go,” he advises.
Petri encourages everyone to find a form of exercise they genuinely enjoy. Getting started can also be easier with a friend.
“I believe that everyone can find a way of being active. The most important thing is to find your own reason for wanting to get moving,” Petri says.
For Petri, that reason wasn’t reaching a certain weight or looking a certain way. He wanted to feel better for his own sake, as well as for his family and the players he coaches.
“I’d say I’m a better dad and coach now than I was before.”
He now understands that lasting change doesn’t come from changing everything at once. It comes from small actions that fit into your everyday life and that you want to keep doing tomorrow.
This article was published in October 2026.
