Free Spirit Fitness - Success Story
Mark & Sue
‘A Tail of Two Bunnies’.
Our story with Free spirit begins in September 2015, but our story with training goes back many more years. As a couple now in our early fifties we have always been relatively active – raising a family, playing golf, walking the dogs, but always knew there was little real cardio involved, let alone proper stretching. We also knew we were both a little over-weight and would benefit from a healthier diet. However, this all only lead to regular New Years’ resolutions to eat better, exercise more, join a gym – or all three – but none were ever fulfilled.
Only Free Spirit did our consultation over two sessions – a thorough discussion and then a return for a full training session. The others were fine but not as comprehensive!
So fast forward to 2015, and as our two sons had both completed university and so were moving out, the empty nest beckoned and with it some more free time and the opportunity to reset our lifestyle. This was helped by our elder son, being a fit cyclist and rower, accusing us of being ‘overweight, unfit and likely to die of a heart attack at any minute’. We both took this as a positive statement of his concern for our health! We were clear that gym membership was not for us – we just would not go regularly enough to make it worthwhile, and neither of us particularly fancied gym classes. However we did think that a personal trainer at home for the two of us – yes together (!) – would work and so started online searches to this effect. This threw up a dozen local possibilities, but only two were local enough to be interested, and we were also connected with Free Spirit by a lady temping in my office at the time. She observed we must give Vix (Victoria) a try as she ‘would soon have us standing on top of each other’. (Note, I presumed she was only joking – more of that later!)
So we had three home visits by the three possible options. In each case that involved a few questions, and then a taster session. Only Free Spirit did it over two sessions – a thorough discussion and then a return for a full training session. The others were fine but not as comprehensive, and we both immediately warmed to Victoria’s approach and engagement. So by October 2015 we were signed up and soon settled on two sessions per week, and to suit our other commitments these soon settled to regular slots of 07.45 – 08.45 on Mondays and Thursdays. We maintain this routine even over Bank holidays and only miss them if we are actually away. We do then re-schedule catch up sessions which will often be Saturday mornings. Victoria is very good at counting and ensures we don’t miss out – damn!
Victoria herself is a real force of nature and full of enthusiasm, compassion and knowledge. She has had us doing the most ridiculous things by simply asking and we have had the most tremendous fun in our sessions.
An advantage of having two of us at the sessions is that if one is unwell or just cannot make it, the session will still go ahead. That said, we have now had over 350 sessions and we would both have been there for around 330.
Victoria herself is a real force of nature and full of enthusiasm, compassion and knowledge. She has had us doing the most ridiculous things by simply asking and we have had the most tremendous fun in our sessions. Even when she explained we needed to fill out weekly food diaries in the early days, her humorous feedback made it light-hearted fun. Having said that, we still dread the ‘scales of doom’ when she has them under her arm on a Monday morning. Worse still is the exercise step under her arm, which suggests quarterly fitness tests are upon us!
Analysis of the food diaries lead to some quick wins – less desserts, less alcohol, less snacks, drink more water and generally cut down on portions and volume. This lead to early results with us both loosing between half and a whole stone and settling on a lower, healthier weight.
We liked the blend of exercise and yoga – often having one session of each in a week – and found both very enriching.
When we started Victoria had just one other associate, but the team soon grew to four. We always enjoyed the variety and never felt the need to specify particular individuals although we know that some clients do. A particular favourite of ours will always be when Vix turns up and announces we are going to do some acro-yoga. Refer to earlier – this is where one of us does yoga while being supported by the other. She is an excellent tutor and makes it very safe whilst challenging – but it is amazing what she has encouraged us to achieve. We apologise to the world for our bit of video where we ended up singing – but it just sort of came out as we were in rehearsals for a church choral piece for Easter at the time!
So after nearly four years, PT sessions with Free Spirit are now a permanent fixture in our lives and we just expect them to happen and do look forward to them.
So after nearly four years, PT sessions with Free Spirit are now a permanent fixture in our lives and we just expect them to happen and do look forward to them
When we go on holiday Vix is even good enough to send us away with homework to be done in a hotel gym or similar – we may not do it all (don’t tell her) but it does encourage us to join in with a local yoga session – especially if being held on a beach. This often leads to dreaded Instagram shots of us doing headstands on beaches (sorry!).
If we have particular events coming up requiring stamina work or strength training these have been tailored into our sessions, and the whole team are very good at accommodating any injuries or areas of weakness – they are genuinely concerned with the whole body and all aspects relating to it. We also get invited to the extra class sessions Free Spirit hold locally – normally group yoga – and have enjoyed the ones we have attended.
We are both now at a weight similar to that when we were married over 30 years ago, and may even be fitter and more flexible than we were then. Certainly the work on our core and flexibility has led to better postures and a more solid golf swing – and we can now stand on top of each other as was predicted all those years ago.
In closing I will simply replay the interaction with my online banking system when updating my monthly payments to Free Spirit recently. It asked how long I wanted the payment to continue – six months, a year, or until further notice? I clicked ‘Until further notice’. The system responded ‘Are you sure?’ I simply clicked Y.
Thank you Free Spirit!
Mark & Sue
Feel better, move better, live better.
If you are looking to take control of your health, and lose weight, build strength or transform your fitness, then book in for a FREE consultation today!