It took only one month back in the gym to reverse the effects of lockdown.

The thought of dusting off your old gym shoes after lockdown and reigniting your exercise regime from the bottom of the fitness ladder can be a somewhat daunting and demotivating prospect, but it doesn’t need to be! And to prove it, Phillipa our lovely Club Manager at Audley Mote House in Kent is here to share the progress of two Audley Club Members from just one month being back at the gym.

I'm both excited and amazed to share a story of two of my personal training clients who returned to the gym at Audley Health Clubs when we re-opened for Club Members in May 2021.

Gary and Christine have been clients of mine for the last three years and were making good progress before we went into lockdown. During the pandemic, they both encountered a few health problems and by the end of it lacked the motivation and energy to do much activity.

Back in February 2020, I did a body composition reading with our Tanita scale measuring their weight, body fat%, BMI, total body water %, muscle mass, bone mass, visceral fat (fat around the vital organs) and their basal metabolic rate. This was at the start of 2020 where we were going to set goals and monitor their progression monthly. Well, all that ended on the 20th March when as we all know, we went into lockdown.

Fast forward to May 2021, I did another body composition reading. We were pleased to note that their weight had stayed pretty much within a couple of pounds since before lockdown but there was a marked difference in how their body weight was made up. Both of their metabolic ages had increased because their muscle mass had decreased which meant they were burning less calories at rest. Their bone mass and body water % had decreased and whilst Christine’s visceral fat (fat around the vital organs) percentage had stayed the same, Gary’s had increased.

"The good news is that after just one month of being back in the gym following a programme I designed for them, doing both cardiovascular and strength training, they have lowered their metabolic age by a couple of years and their results are either the same as Feb 2020 or better!"

There are two key messages here:

• It won’t take as long as you think to get back to pre-lockdown fitness. Getting back into fitness as soon as you can, will get you on track again. Once you see the results, your motivation increases which keeps you working towards your goals.
• It pays to sign up for personal training sessions where a PT can design a bespoke programme taking any personal health concerns into account. Doing the body composition test is a real incentive especially when you see the improvements which are not always visible. Of course, we all want to get in shape to look good but more importantly, it’s our health and wellbeing that is of the greater concern.

"Invest the time and money into your personal wellbeing and see incredible results including having lots of energy to live the life you want to."

For Gary and Christine their only concern now is that as their metabolic age keeps coming down, it might end up being below 55 and they won’t be able to be members at Audley Mote House anymore!

Speak to your Club Manager the next you visit your local Audley Health Club to learn more about the Personal Training options that are available to you!