The weightlifting granny...

This still makes me laugh. Me? Lifting weights?! Well, yes, it's true. I started in June 2016. But I had an absolute fear of the gym - what if I can't do it? What if people laugh? What if I hurt myself? After all, starting out as a 40-something granny I was no spring chicken! But neither was I totally decrepit, so I went along to Argos and bought a set of weights, a bar and dumbbells, and after about four weeks of being afraid to start, I eventually got stuck in to Joe Wicks' 12 week Shift, Shape and Sustain programme in my garage, living room or wherever no-one was likely to see me. I had to YouTube each exercise several times to make sure I was doing it half right. And I never knew pain like it...walking lunges were perhaps my worst - we were supposed to do them with weights and 50 for each leg. I couldn't do 50 in total with just body weight when I started!!

But, very gradually I started to get better. And fitter. And leaner. I felt fab, and had to buy smaller clothes. 

What I didn't expect was the negative comments about getting too thin, but I knew my shape was changing  based in a healthy framework, and when people realised the HUGE amount I was eating, they knew I wasn't starving myself!

And, very surprisingly to me, I kept going. Literally from strength to strength. Then I outgrew the Argos weights, and had to face it. I needed a gym. Terrified, I dragged my teenage daughter along with me for a personal training session. But it was great - so I continued and she didn't! I've never really looked back - of course life throws its challenges at you. When my dad passed away last year, I struggled to get back on track, but eventually got there. ​

​Now I eat 'clean' and train four times a week. I'm dead-lifting more than my body weight, and have goals for squats (my new nemesis). 

Most importantly, the process has taught me:

• 'Can't' is in my mind. At worst, it's just 'not yet'.
• Taking the first step is always the hardest.
• I learn from others and am inspired by them, but my biggest competition is me.
• I set goals and work towards them - and the discipline of doing so makes me feel awesome!

And actually, when I think about it, those are pretty good things to bear in mind for me as an OT, and for my life in general. My current training goal time-frame is the end of March, so I'll share an update with you in my April blog!!