I approached the Bourton Mill gym having seen a pop up advert for them on Facebook. Having had a hip replacement 15 months previous (my second) and needing a knee replacement I’d allowed myself to become overweight and very unfit. I rang, explaining my poor physical state and asking if they had someone there who could cope with someone with limited movement/unable to get up and down off the floor etc. Nicola replied that she felt she could help me.
At my introductory session she was keen to see “where I was” and what I might be able to do. We discussed my diet/lifestyle/goals etc and I came away feeling encouraged and motivated.
I have had several sessions with Nicola, now, every one of which has been varied with very little repetition (this means no dreading an exercise you may not have “enjoyed”!) and we work on all parts of the body always accompanied by that cry of “core strong”!
My goal was to lose weight, gain more movement in my knee, gain some cardio fitness and just generally feel fitter and better about myself. All those goals have been met and at the end of my 10 sessions, after just 5 weeks, I lost 5kgs, and I have continued to train with Nicola. My knee bends a little further and I have been on the rowing machine a few times (something I thought I would struggle to do ever again due to my reduced mobility in the hips and the unbending knee). My 500 metre time has come down by 25s.
I have enjoyed all my sessions. Nicola is very motivating in a quiet but commanding way and has found some great ways around my problems; always suggesting something new with “let’s just see how you get on with this” and then, if it’s caused my knee discomfort, finding a different exercise which exercises what she wants me to exercise but in a different way.
Approaching Bourton Mill gym has certainly changed me physically and mentally, too, leaving me feeling that I can do so much more than before. It was a good move.
