Here’s a little insight into my life before and now as an AMF Crew Member...
As a child born in the 70’S, well 1970 if I’m honest, I grew up always aware that I had puppy fat! That’s what they called it in those days. Maybe today we are not so polite or kind with words ... anyway my parents thought I would slim down a bit when I got taller however that didn’t actually happen because not only did I not slim down full stop but I didn’t grow any taller !! The next stop was to enrol me in a swimming club. It became my passion and something I was finally good at. It improved my health, my weight and overall my ability to feel good about myself.
This was great throughtout my teens. I found fitness fun getting involved in lots of different activities including running the 400 and 800 meters ..that’s not something I often share. Then I found boys and at 18 because I was earning a wage I found the pub and takeaways.
Fast forward 10 years and marriage and a baby and another on the way, my health & fitness had become a thing of the past. My love for swimming never went away and becoming a swimming instructor gave me a new focus. Any hope of loosing the baby weight faded when the oldest was about 10 years old. I spent my thirties overweight and most of my forties if I’m honest and the fifties didn’t seem that far away ..so it was then that I joined a slimming club which gave me a new focus and something to aim for....... to be slim at 50 !!
I also wanted to be fit at 50 too but I was never brave enough to wear Lycra so loosing weight first seemed the right thing for me. After losing over 4 stone I was ready to get my Lycra out but what to do and where to go? I’d worked at a Leisure Centre for almost 15 years by then and never liked the gym. My only real experience of a fitness class was seeing some energetic fitness instructor taking the Aqua Zumba class at work and thinking wow she can move. Her dancing ability was amazing...... how on earth can you copy that in water with out drowning! Her play list was unreal where did she find those songs !!
Someone mentioned Clubbercise.... dancing in the dark and glow sticks all in the same sentence. That was enough for me, that’s what I was gonna to try. Making sure I took some friends, we rocked up at Reach Academy in Feltham........ And who’s the instructor OMG that lady at work you know the Aqua Zumba girl ..my first thoughts where thank god there’s no water and I know the music will be fab (haha) and that was it, my first experience with Anna Martin .. and she still rocked those moves. I was hooked.
It didn’t take long to progress from Clubbercise, to HIIT, to lifting weights. You name it I’ve given it a go. It’s made me more toned, helped me to loose those last few lbs (well 5 stone of them now) and in the almost 3 years I’ve been doing these classes I even dropped another dress size whilst maintaining my weight. My flabby bits aren’t so flabby and the love for fitness has been restored ... my Lycra collection now even has its own drawer !!l And me, well when I’m tired now it’s not because I’ve done nothing all day and wallowed in self pity. It’s because I got up and did something for me ..I’ve got back my self belief ..and my husband thinks he has a new wife........ increasing your heart rate doing exercise helps you do lots of other things too... :)
In two years I will be 50 ....... slim at 50 and now fit at 50 too Xx
