Jen B. Three years out, five weeks back. 70kg deadlift, and sleeping better than she has in years.

Where Jen was before

Honestly, she was low. She had not trained for nearly three years between work commitments and injury. Every time she tried to start again, she ended up in pain. She slowly stopped looking after herself, lost a lot of muscle and gained just under two stone. She was hard on herself, and she felt like she was sixty and old.

What she had told herself was no longer possible

Any form of training. She could not imagine doing anything with weights again. The ski erg was a no-go. She had done twenty-two physio sessions and two injections for the inflammation and bursitis in her shoulder, and a lot of high-rep home workouts that did not work.

What changed

Jen did our six-week PT programme. By the end of it her shoulder was moving better, her back was settling and her body had recovered far more than she expected. She hit a 70kg deadlift. She hit a 40kg bench press. Five weeks earlier, she could not have imagined either.

What sessions feel like now

At the start she was wary of new movements. She was nervous she would do damage and have to scale back constantly. Now she walks in wanting to smash the session and get a small improvement every time: a bit more weight, a deeper squat, a cleaner rep, fifteen seconds longer on the air bike.

What had felt out of reach

The biggest shift Jen describes is the belief about herself. She can do far more than she thought possible. She is stronger than she thought. And the worry that her body was broken and beyond help has gone.

What she would say to someone hesitating

That if she had not started, she would still be in pain, going to physio every two weeks, not training because it hurt every time she tried, and still feeling crap about herself. Five weeks of properly coached training changed that. It was not magic. It was the right plan, in the right room, with the right coach.