Reclaiming resilience.

Before Goodnick

Before Goodnick, Penny felt okay, but she was thinking ahead. "I used to do Pilates, which I loved, and some funny dance where you bounce around a bit more aerobic." Her biggest fear about ageing was close to home. "Losing my mobility, probably my mind as well, but certainly my mobility, mostly because my husband, who's quite a bit older than me, has lost his mobility. It's very, very sad to see. I don't want to go there, so I'm going to try and keep myself strong and mobile."

Her previous fitness routine had quietly wound down. "I used to go three times a week, petered down to twice, then once, then I suddenly thought, why am I getting in the car, driving to the gym, doing an hour's exercise and coming back?"

Goodnick offered a different way. "I thought, why don't I try this? It was well presented, and I thought I'll give it a try."

Getting started

Simplicity mattered to her. "Very easy, and I'm not techy, I'm hopeless, it's a miracle I'm actually talking to you. But I found it very simple indeed." The routines were clear to follow. "I watch on my iPad in our sitting room and it sits on a stool, and for the most part I can see exactly what Emma is doing and can follow without a problem."

The 20-minute, four-times-a-week format suits her. "At first I thought, is 20 minutes long enough? But bearing in mind it's directed at over-60s, and I'm 75, I find 20 minutes relatively easy, actually."

The at-home aspect was the clincher. "I love that. It's so much easier, and if I can't do it on a Monday I can do it on Tuesday or whenever I want." Staying with it has been no trouble. "I've been on the programme now for over two years, so I've never felt I've wanted to give up."

What changed

The improvements have been steady. "I do feel I'm stronger, so that's good." Others have noticed. "Friends do say that I'm looking good, and I tell them why." It's changed more than her strength. "I have a bit of a problem with discipline, so Goodnick has certainly made me more disciplined." And she's more aware of how she carries herself. "A lot of it is posture. I'm much more aware now of slouching, posture and core."

What she'd say to someone thinking about it

To anyone in doubt, Penny is encouraging. "It's never too late to do anything. I was reading a while ago about an 80-year-old woman who decided she wanted to do a university degree, and she did it." She'd tell anyone to try. "I'd encourage anyone to give it a try, and they do a several-week trial period, so if you don't like it you don't have to commit."