Our wonderful Manchester clients, husband and wife Carol and Alan have transformed their lives after deciding it was time to focus on their health, with the help of our Manchester personal trainer Chris, who is also their son!
Carol and Alan Rait, from Manchester, got in touch with their son Chris, who is our lead personal trainer at our Manchester gym on Peter St after Carol was diagnosed with Osteoporosis.
Carol, 63, who had also been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, got in touch with Chirs to ask if he could help. Chris was only too happy to help and encouraged his parents to train together with him at the gym.
Alan, 71, had been suffering from a frozen shoulder for many years and was looking to lose at least five kilograms in weight. Carol wanted to get fitter and stronger after her Osteoporosis diagnosis and at the same time she wanted to attempt to put her diabetes into remission.
On her reasons for starting Carol said,
“I made the decision to train at ABS after being diagnosed with Osteoporosis. I had been advised to do weight training to build muscle to help protect my joints. I also have Type 2 diabetes, which is under control with medication and remaining constant.
Before joining I was not very active, unless you count housework and gardening. I had quite high stress levels for various reasons which had a knock-on effect with blood pressure and weight management. I knew I wanted to focus on me and who better to turn to for help than my son Chris.”
Alan instead said he decided to join his wife and son after a period of doing some exercises at home and getting in his steps with weekly walks but wanted to elevate his fitness and shift more weights. He felt that training with his son and wife would be the best way to achieve his goal of losing at least 5kg and addressing his long-term shoulder issues.
Their goals were substantial, but ABS PT and son Chris was undeterred and developed an approach to their training and nutrition that would slowly allow both his parents to get stronger, fitter and healthier.
Chris said “My parents had not set foot in a gym for over 40 years, it was apparent that it was quite a daunting experience, but that quickly dissipated after our first session together!
I started my parents off on, what I frame as, a ‘lifestyle plan’. We looked at and addressed any glaringly obvious movement dysfunctions, such as my dad’s frozen shoulder issues. I then got them both started on a nutrition plan that consisted of whole, nutrient dense foods that wasn’t overly restrictive.
For my mum, those changes alone, with added accountability in and outside of the gym, saw changes in her diabetic HBa1C score (the measurement doctors use to take an average of someone’s resting blood sugar levels and a diagnostic tool for type II diabetes) from the danger zone of type II diabetic to “pre-diabetic” levels which is incredible.
With my dad, we immediately saw a drop in fat once we made some very simple changes to his diet, mainly adding in more protein and more nutrients. We then started working on increasing his strength.
After suffering with frozen shoulders for most of his adult life, we worked on mobilising some tight muscles and got him pressing weights overhead for the first time in decades! I don’t know many 70-year-olds who are capable of lifting 24kg over their head without breaking a sweat.”
Speaking about her results and journey Carol said,
“My goal was to strengthen and lose weight, both of which I have done, with a lot of encouragement and understanding. Losing weight has not only helped my joints but I am now classed as pre-diabetic. Another few months and I hope to change that to ‘used to be’! It did help that my PT Chris is my son. It took him a while to persuade me to go, however, I am so glad I have and will continue to do so.”
Meanwhile, dad Alan, said,
“After four months of training my weight is where it should be and I am considerably stronger than I was. It was a bit scary at first using some of the equipment but with the trainers’ unwavering supervision, the exercises have become more achievable. Having Chris by my side has helped beyond measure. I would like to continue my journey with ABS and see how much more I can achieve.”
These are incredible, life-changing results and Carol and Alan are a real insipration. They show that no matter what, you can make huge changes to your health, strength and fitness at any stage.
For more information on our personal training programmes, click here. For more information on our Manchester gym, click here.
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