Helen Efrat

What was your relationship to exercise before you started strength training at Fitology Hub?

Up until COVID, I was an anti-exerciser! My sister is a triathlete and I used to say to her, "You won't get me to run for a bus, let alone for fun!" But that all changed in lockdown. It was such a change for me from normal life. As a primary school teacher, I was used to being on the go all day, so I thought I'd better start doing a bit of something to stop myself sliding into couch potato territory. Also, it was the kids I teach. I was setting all these tasks for them during online lessons and one of them was daily PE with Joe Wicks. I thought, I can't tell them to do it and not do it myself! So I did! And I've been doing it ever since.

I've always been relatively lucky with my health, but as you get older, you start to realise that genes can only carry you so far. My mum has always kept herself fit and active - Nordic walking, line dancing, you name it! She's still active now in her nineties because she has made sure she always stayed active. There's only so much genes and luck can help you if you don't help yourself.

Life has thrown some very big hurdles at me in recent years and exercising has helped me cope. It's made me feel calmer and more confident in myself and my abilities. I started running and now do two 10K runs a week, which really helps keep me sane! If everything else feels too much, I can put my trainers on and just listen to the pounding of my own feet. It helps me focus on one thing at a time, or to just forget everything for a while. My sister can't believe it! She never thought this would be something we would ever do together - not in a million years! We don't get to see each other often because she lives in Spain, but the last time I saw her, we went for a run together and she was amazed. She said, "You're like a whole new person!"

How has strength training impacted your life?

When I first came to Fitology Hub, I could barely speak without crying. As well as some other very difficult family issues, my husband had become chronically ill and disabled. He was a welder and was always incredibly fit and strong, but after severe heart failure, diabetes and a partial foot amputation, he's had to close his business and can no longer work.

We're on one wage permanently now and I have to be fit and strong to carry the physical and emotional load of it all. Our roles have been reversed and it's been a mental struggle for him that his body can no longer do the things that used to be easy. I knew I had to get stronger and fitter to be able to cope, but also to protect him. My husband's health is more vulnerable now and I'm hoping that the fitter I can be, the more resilient my health will be, so I don't get every cough and cold going and then pass it all on to him.

I'd been doing Joe Wicks' dumbbell workouts regularly from home, but after a while, I couldn't seem to progress and, in fact, seemed to be getting weaker. Weights that had been easy before, suddenly became impossible to lift above my head and I always felt so depleted afterwards. I felt like I was working so hard to get fitter and stronger, but I felt weak and I was starting to worry about becoming frail.

How has being a member of Fitology Hub impacted your life?

I sought out Fitology Hub because I felt I needed help and didn't seem to be getting anywhere trying to do it all on my own. Working with the amazing people at Fitology Hub helped me understand the impact that prolonged stress had been having on my body and that it wasn't always good for me to try to keep pushing through. I've learned to listen to my body's cues more and that it's normal to have more or less energy on different days.

It's not like a normal gym here. Everyone's accepted for who and where they are in their training and the coaches guide us without pressure. It's so calming here and it's a lovely environment to be in. I wouldn't have been able to come without the amazing support they've given me with a partially sponsored membership. I now feel great after training - it's a lovely feeling! I feel like I can conquer the world - well, after I've had a shower and something to eat first! All the coaches have been amazing. They're all so welcoming, friendly and supportive. They really care here and I'd never feel worried about going into a session with a different coach.

Being in a 4:1 and mostly training with the same three other women has been a great support. It's a shared experience and, before I came here, I'd always done everything on my own and felt alone. It's been difficult feeling like I always have to be strong for everyone else, but training at Fitology has given me a place where I don't have to be strong for anyone else but me!

I can do things here I can't do at home. Yes, there's having the access to all the equipment, but it's the expert guidance that makes me feel safe enough to use it and to lift heavier. I feel braver to try things because I'm not frightened of injuring myself. I absolutely can't afford to injure myself because I need to hold down the fort. I now feel more confident that I'm able to.

I'm in my sixties now, but I feel stronger than I did when I was years younger.

One of the kids in my class said to me, "You can't do that, Miss, you're an old lady!" and I said to him, "Don't worry about me being an old lady; I'm strong!" He showed me his muscles, so I showed him mine and the whole class gasped! Then he said, "Wow! Miss has got muscles!"

Getting stronger in a supportive environment has given me a newfound confidence and faith in my body which has made me more adventurous. I recently tried paddle boarding and managed to get up the very first time! I absolutely loved it! My 29-year-old son said, "Oh Mum, I wish you'd been this fit and strong when we were little. Still, it's better late than never!" I feel transformed since being at Fitology Hub and it just goes to show that it really is never too late!