photo set

page of 1

tools

"I learned to love the gym!"

15-03-2021

2021

Exercise

Three inspirational women tell Beverly Hadgraft how they conquered their fear and loathing of the gym and turned their lives around. Good Health; issue 0413; p128 - 131; Text Available

id169427410233043

supplier accountmagazinefeatures

file namegm1304-gm0413p128.jpg

place

credit

caption128 Photography getty images gm0413gymp128.pdf Page 128 12/02/2013, 12:26:30 PM

id169427410233044

supplier accountmagazinefeatures

file namegm1304-gm0413p129.jpg

place

credit

caption129 goodfitness. PhotograPhy getty images “I LEARNED TO LOVE THE GYM!” Shelley Warren, 39, Epping, Vic At primary school I loved school sports, especially running. But in high school a PE teacher told me I was very unfit. I was upset and sort of absorbed what she said which was stupid because after that I never cared about sport again. I grew up shy, introverted and overweight and then at three inspirational women tell Beverley Hadgraft how they conquered their fear and loathing of the gym and turned their lives around T he F-word is used a lot in gyms: fear. We fear looking physically inept and uncoordinated, we fear not knowing how to use the equipment, we fear being isolated, of putting our physique on show and of high-pressure sales tactics. yet if we can overcome those fears, a whole new life awaits – as these three women illustrate. “My PErSoNaL traINEr BECaME My gUarDIaN aNgEL” 35 I got a new job and decided it was time to kickstart my fitness too, so I joined FitnessFirst. I never went, though. I was 97kg and the thought of entering a gym was intimidating. In fact, when my job fell through, my motivation disappeared entirely so I tried to cancel my membership. The manager persuaded me to give it a go, reduced my membership fees and gave me three free sessions with a personal trainer. My trainer, Patrick, started by asking me to run 50m. I nearly vomited. He tested my core and general strength. I felt ashamed of myself. I had let myself go for so long. The next morning, I was so sore I couldn’t get out of bed. Patrick asked if I had any goals and I told him I was in my cousin’s bridal party in three months’ time. “I’d like to look respectable for that,” I said. So he set me a schedule and we started training together twice a week. I was still unemployed but he said I could settle up once I had a job again. gm0413gymp129.pdf Page 129 12/0

id169427410233045

supplier accountmagazinefeatures

file namegm1304-gm0413p130.jpg

place

credit

captionBy the day of the wedding I’d lost 8kg. My family’s shocked reaction inspired me to keep training. I decided my next goal was to enter a 5km fun run. Patrick set me new schedules and six months after joining the gym I suddenly realised I was starting to enjoy it. I’d met lots of good, motivational people and training had stopped feeling like torture! Also, I could see I was starting to get better. I finished the run in 25 minutes, far better than I expected, and went on to do several more, followed by 10km runs and then half marathons. Finishing the Melbourne half marathon with a lap around the MCG and my family all there cheering me on was amazing, and I sent Patrick a photo of myself with my medal. Looking back now I find it hard to believe what I’ve achieved in the three years since joining the gym. This year alone I’ve run two half marathons, done the Oxfam 100km Trailwalker and the 600km Great Victorian Bike Ride. Next year, I plan to run the Melbourne Marathon. I wish my old PE teacher could see me now! “Being a big-busted girl, I avoided playing sport like the plague. It was embarrassing. I avoided sport in adulthood too, and after having two children the weight piled on until at 39, I was 157cm, weighed 90kg and, according to my doctor, was on my way to a heart attack. I was nagged to join a gym but there was no way I would consider it at that point. I hated gyms and everyone in them, including the Barbie dolls who ran them. I imagined them sneering at me and thinking, ‘Hope she doesn’t break the equipment’. ‘I’d probably end up having a heart attack on the treadmill,’ I told myself. But all the same, when an ad for Fernwood women’s health clubs interrupted one of my TV-watching marathons, I found myself reflecting on how I’d feel if I didn’t lose this weight. I clicked on the computer and joined online. I still didn’t think I’d actually go, but then a

id169427410233046

supplier accountmagazinefeatures

file namegm1304-gm0413p131.jpg

place

credit

caption131 Deb Joyce, 51, Oatlands, NSW “MY SATURDAY TREAT IS THREE CLASSES BACK TO BACK” I was a single, overweight mum of three. I went walking but needed to do more exercise. I thought about joining a gym but hadn’t been inside one since the 1980s. I remembered them being very male-dominated, with lots of clanking weights. I knew things had changed since then and I liked the idea of spending some money on myself for a change, so I joined up. The hardest bit was getting through the door but once I’d looked around and realised there were people of all ages and sizes there, I thought: ‘Okay, I can cope with this.’ It was still really daunting, not knowing where to go and what to do, so for the first month I did nothing but walk on the treadmill. I really wanted to go to a class but watching people lift weights in Pump or emerge sweating from Spin, I felt too scared. I needed something that didn’t involve equipment so I didn’t get in a muddle. Eventually I tried Body Combat – it was great! The instructor was so enthusiastic it was infectious, and after that I tried other classes. Each instructor had the same exuberance and it was so much fun I started doing a class before work in the morning, then another in the evening. It was so much better than the monotony of walking by myself. On Saturdays I treated myself by doing three classes back-to-back – CX WORX and then Cycle and Pump – which I’d once feared but were now my favourites. It was motivating – I couldn’t walk out of a class halfway through – and it was also convenient. I really liked the fact that I could go to the gym when I was able. I also liked the fact that I now felt okay to wear a size eight fitted singlet and shorts! Doing all that exercise not only made me feel better physically, I felt better emotionally, too. I’d gone through a tough patch when I divorced but now I felt I could tackle anything. I became really health conscious and ate better as