Before retiring from my nursing career in 2017, I\u2019d been on my feet every day. Now I could barely walk<\/a>. I decided enough was enough. I tasked my daughter with finding me a personal training gym, and she found Roar in London<\/a>.<\/p>\n What to Read Next Anne Somauroo<\/p>\n When the day of my consultation arrived, I felt anxious \u2013 and I was convinced that my age would mark me out as different. I needn\u2019t have worried about it. Not only were the trainers welcoming, but they were knowledgeable about my condition and how weight training<\/a> could help to strengthen the muscles surrounding my joints.<\/p>\n Anne Somauroo<\/p>\n I signed up for a 12-week programme, made up of three hour-long workouts each week. The first session was hard. I was so out of breath and had no idea what the exercises or equipment were. But alongside teaching me how to perform the moves, my trainer explained to me why we were doing them.<\/p>\n ‘I\u2019m no longer in pain, I sleep deeper and I have more energy.’<\/p>\n Sticking to the schedule was tough, especially at first. Each week, we\u2019d do a full-body<\/a>, upper-body and lower-body session, with a focus on leg exercises<\/a>, as walking without pain was my main goal; that way, each muscle group got a rest<\/a>. And having a PT to hold me accountable really helped to keep me motivated.<\/p>\n Anne Somauroo<\/p>\n Three weeks in, I began to feel different. I had more stamina, and I was finishing every session with a huge sense of accomplishment. And as my strength improved, my pain began to feel much more manageable. By the end of the 12 weeks, I got through a day without ibuprofen \u2013 the first time in more than a decade.<\/p>\n Anne Somauroo<\/p>\n Two years on, I\u2019m still doing the same routine \u2013 only the weights are heavier and I\u2019m doing more advanced exercises. When I started out on my fitness journey, I couldn\u2019t do a squat and had never heard of a leg press; now, I can do both with 40kg.<\/p>\n But my confidence in the gym is the least of it. I\u2019m no longer in pain, I sleep deeper and I have more energy; it\u2019s no exaggeration to say I feel 20 years younger. I walk up to 15,000 steps a day and I\u2019ve booked a walking holiday in Japan.<\/p>\n Anne Somauroo<\/p>\n My approach to training has led to an interest in nutrition, too. Breakfast might be eggs and smoked salmon, lunch could be chicken with rice and vegetables, and dinner is fish and vegetables. The biggest game changer has been upping my water intake; now, I drink 3L a day.<\/p>\n When I retired, my biggest worry was how I\u2019d fill my days \u2013 I even moved my retirement date back three times. I only wish I\u2019d started my fitness journey sooner. Now that I have, I know I\u2019ll keep training for the rest of my life. As Women\u2019s Health UK\u2019s fitness director (and a qualified yoga teacher), Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism. She secured her first role at Look Magazine, where her obsession with fitness began and she launched the magazine\u2019s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!. Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner\u2019s World and Red.<\/p>\n![\"woman](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image00005-6509a1b762b3e.jpeg\" "\\"woman")
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