"I know I'm not quite in my 'old lady' era yet [but] I know she'll thank me!"
Fitness & Thinking Fridays, from Louisa's perspective
‘Make sure that your old lady self knows that you were looking out for her while you still could.’
Jameela Jamil posted this on Instagram about a week before I was about to end my 12 week programme with Jack – a programme that has seen me achieve things I never thought I would.
Yes, I have lost weight and my waist is nearly as slim as it was before I birthed three kids, but it is the shift in how I view the gym, my body and the scales that are the biggest achievements. I’m not quite in my ‘old lady’ era yet but my body has gone through some radical changes this year and I know that my old lady self will thank me!
I signed up to coaching as I was about to have a total hysterectomy; something I have been waiting well over a decade for, and I wanted to be as physically prepared for the operation as I could be.
I’ve been a gym goer for years but I knew that there was more I could push my body to do, my current routine was not going to be possible for months after my operation and the thought of a 12-week recovery with no specific plan was not the one for me. Jack agreed to split the 12 weeks up into a pre-op plan and then a post-op plan that would be tweaked and personalised dependent on how I recovered. I already felt like this was such a brilliant idea but your coach checking in on you mere days after your op, and then continuing to do so throughout my recovery was something that I can’t imagine you would get with many other PTs.
The build up to my operation had me really pushing myself to brave the main section of the gym – something I had always shied away from as I felt like I wasn’t good enough to be in there and everyone would be looking at me.
Jack came up with some great strategies to support me (the time of day you go to the gym is key!) and, although I’m still convinced I looked a massive twat using the cables, I did it and I’m happy to keep this up after the end of the programme (although the cables are getting a swerve). The buzz I got from leg pressing double my weight and seeing the scales go down accordingly, meant that the day of my operation, I felt calm and focused on the healing that would come after.
8 weeks post-op, I felt ready to get back in the gym and Jack rustled up a new plan for me, which he adapted any time I realised that I wasn’t quite ready for certain exercises.
Throughout the entire process, I was also really interested in the science of everything. Jack always had an explanation for any blips on my spreadsheet (I’ll miss that spreadsheet!) and I soon realised that listening to him explain sudden weight increase or decrease was completely shifting my mindset about how I viewed my body. Put on 3 kgs over a weekend? Well some of that is inflammation and water weight due to dietary choices or lack of sleep.
As a teenager of the 90s, who regularly compared herself to the stick thin supermodels of the era, my brain has always told me that weight gain is bad and needs to be treated with restriction and limitation. Realising that under-eating can cause inflammation and being consistently told to eat more calories has made me stop and think and is something else that my old lady self will thank me for.
So yes, I would still like to lose a few more pounds and I am still navigating my new, post menopause, post hysterectomy body, but I have a focus and knowledge that I never would have had if it wasn’t for Jack. I reckon my old lady self might quite like some more muscles, so I will be braving the main area of the gym for the foreseeable and, who knows, maybe I’ll finally master the cables?!
Jack: While it took me years to master the cables – and I may still look like a twat while using them hahaha – the progress that Louisa made in two blocks of six weeks with me was incredible to see. From establishing health and fitness markers that PTs and doctors alike could appreciate to going on to better those markers post-operation, I was in awe of Louisa’s resolve to push for a little bit more each week.
If, like Louisa, you have a big event you’re mindful of wanting to look or feel a certain way for then that’s where a coach like me could help. From weddings to operations, I’ve helped countless clients on a timeframe get to where they want to be in the time they need to be there by. Sound like you? Hit reply and we can chat!
And that’s it from me!
Much love and I’ll see yas in the next one
Jack x