I am not going to lie, I tried every excuse that I could think of when my friend Gillian suggested that we do some personal training sessions with Burn It Fitness. 

Gillian and I would normally meet a couple of times a week to go for a 5 mile walk.  We would often come across Burn It In The Park sessions in Howden Park.  As we approached I would put my head down and scurry past as quick as I could, ashamed of how how unfit I was.  Fortunately, Gillian was on a mission and would not take no for an answer, and we booked a block of 10 PT sessions. We first met Paul in early September 2017.  He carried out our basic fitness test, gave us some nutritional advice, outlined what the personal training sessions would involve and encouraged us to set some realistic goals. Before the first session I was really nervous, apart from walking and a short gym membership the previous year, I had not done any exercise for the past 30 years!  Paul immediately put me at ease and reassured me that if I was prepared to commit to putting in the hard work I would quickly see a big improvement in my fitness levels. 

The PT sessions were hard.  I have never sweated or swore so much in my life!  Crucially though there was an equal amount of laughter, and I found myself really looking forward to the sessions. Paul was always positive, pushing me to do my best and gradually increasing the intensity level of the exercises.

After several PT sessions I felt confident enough to join the Burn It In the Park sessions.  This was a big move for me as I am not a particularly confident person. I was concerned that I would not be able to keep up and that I would hold the rest of the class up. However, I needn’t have worried. There were all levels of fitness in the class, everybody was supportive and encouraging. The sessions were fun, but hard and exhausting.  Some nights I felt like giving up thinking that I wasn’t good enough.  But I kept on going, with the support of the instructors and my new found Burn It friends.  There is no better feeling than realising that your stamina is improving and that you are running faster and for longer distances without stopping. 

After completing the 10 PT sessions I had my health check.  The results were amazing.  I lost 12.8kg of fat and gained 8.1kg of lean tissue.  Overall I went from 45.7% body fat to 32.9% in six weeks, I still have a way to go, but I am excited for my next health check which will hopefully reveal more improvements.  This is probably a life saving achievement!

Since the middle of October I have been attending 3 Burn It In the Park sessions a week.  I love working out in the outdoors.  even in the rain and the snow.  The bad weather just brings out a better team spirit in the group.  Every week I am seeing improvements in my fitness levels.  This encourages me to work even harder to continue bettering myself.  On Paul’s advice I downloaded the Couch to 5K which I have recently completed.    I now run 5K twice a week in between Burn It sessions.  I am still really slow, but this is a major achievement for me.  On my first PT session I struggled to run a single lamppost without collapsing. I told Paul that he would never get me to run!  I have just signed up for the Burn It Running Club which starts this spring.  I am really looking forward to see how much I can improve my running.  My goal is to reduce my 5K time from 36 minutes to under 30 minutes. I have also registered for the Park Run, and I intend to complete my first one in the next couple of weeks, In September Gillian and I have registered for a 7K obstacle race! Just a few months ago this would have been unthinkable.

Over the past 5 months my life and my fitness levels have improved drastically. In such a short time with the support of Burn It Fitness and a lot of sweat, laughter and tears I have achieved things that I never imagined possible. One of the best parts has been sharing is experience with Gillian, encouraging each other and seeing the positive impact this has had on our lives. I am still at the beginning of my fitness journey, but I am now a fully reformed couch potato. I am fitter now in my mid forties than I was in my twenties! It has also had a positive impact on my partner who now runs with me. If I can do it anyone can. Outdoors is indeed the best and I would encourage anybody to give it a bash.  What have you got to lose? You never know you might love it and it will change your life!