From despair to daring.

Before Goodnick

Before starting with Goodnick, Beth felt a long way from herself. "Rubbish. It really was. I'd gone through nearly 15 years of operations on my ankle and nerve damage and everything else, and it just left me feeling not myself. I'd always been very active before that." Losing walking, running and cycling in the Cheviots had left her, in her words, "fairly depressed."

Her biggest fear about ageing was clear. "Being dependent on somebody. I've always been a very independent person, and the thought of not being able to do things for myself, that scares me."

She had tried other fitness programmes, but they didn't suit her. "There was one which was a bit of kickbox. I quite enjoyed it, but it was very much the same and it just repeated itself. There was no progression, so I very quickly got bored." Goodnick's progressive, encouraging approach was different. "It's a lot easier than some of the programmes, and because it's progressive I found that very encouraging."

Getting started

Starting took a little push, mainly over budget. "I'd prevaricated quite a lot before I joined, mainly because of being a pensioner on a limited budget. And my husband actually said, look, try it, this is your Christmas present." The gentle check-ins helped her commit. "They always kept in touch with me, not in a sales kind of way, but just to let me know they were there."

The three 20-minute sessions fit straight into her day. "I just do it straight away as soon as I get out of bed, and then I don't have to think about it. I haven't found it hard to stick to." The at-home format was a major advantage in a rural area. "I would hate to go to a physical gym. I've tried it over the years and I really don't like it. So this is just so much more convenient."

The coaching made the difference. "Emma is exceedingly good at explaining things and showing how the exercises should be done, and she's very encouraging throughout."

What changed

Beth's progress showed up in small but significant moments. "There was a very definite point which sounds daft, but because of my ankle and the nerve damage I've not been able to jump. And I actually did a hop on that foot. It left the ground and I thought, wow, did you see that?" The physical changes surprised her too. "Looking down at my legs and saying, what's that? Then realising it was the muscles toning up." Everyday movement got easier. "It's being able to step up and down levels with more confidence. Also climbing five-bar gates and just walking with more purpose."

It shifted how she saw the years ahead. "I was really rather worried because of the syndrome that I have. Some people have ended up in wheelchairs, and I couldn't give that any mind room. Now my outlook going forward, even after this operation, is that's fine, I'll get back to where I was, which I wouldn't have had before." Her confidence to try new things came back too, from a mountain trike to a cold-water swim. "It was cold and it was such fun. I've stepped outside my comfort zone, which I used to do but hadn't done for a long time."

What she'd say to someone thinking about it

Beth's message is simple. "Just try it. You've got nothing to lose." She won't hear that it's too late. "It's not. When you see the 82-year-old lady who swam the English Channel recently, if you're fit enough to do it, you're lucky enough to be fit enough to do it."

More than anything, Goodnick restored her confidence and her appetite for life. "It's given me a lot more confidence to go out and try things," she says, describing moving from housebound to embracing the outdoors again. The accountability kept her going. "That thought of, somebody's going to contact me here, I better get it done."