Hi my name is Elizabeth and I am an exercise addict. It’s been 171 days since my hip surgery and I haven’t been able to train every day. Probably sounds funny I know but we all have our vices and mine is sport. As I have gotten older my ability to train long hours every day without injury has diminished, but I didn’t listen to my body and take a break. I pushed through the pain like I had trained myself to do. Turns out it was the wrong kind of pain to push through.

I’ve had constant right sided hip and leg pain for 3 years and had surgery a few months ago. The rehabilitation road has been slow. Prior to the surgery I ran, cycled, swum, did boxing and weights although in decreasing amounts as the hip injury got worse. Now I am attempting to rehabilitate my hip. PARC is giving me an awesome opportunity to increase my rehab activities as there are so many options available.

My obsession with sport for at least 38 yrs has meant I have occasionally woken up at 4.30am to get my training in. So any other self-confessed fitness junkies out there will understand my excitement at being able to start my exercise at 5am thanks to PARC’s great opening hours. I have 2 children so any mums out there will also understand how hard it can be to get in any exercise once our little angels are awake. I find early morning sport is the easiest time and it also puts me in a great mood for the whole day. Exercise in any form is great for our minds and bodies increasing our endorphins and making us feel good.

My initial consult was fantastic. Andrew Castillo is an exercise physiologist and spent extra time with me because of my injury and surgery. His knowledge is invaluable, not just for injury rehab but also for anyone who wants to increase exercise volume safely. After a certain age our bodies need extra care in sport as general wear and tear can take its toll. There is plenty of gym equipment at PARC to suit all levels of fitness requirements. There are also plenty of friendly staff around to help you work out how to set up the equipment – so don’t hurt yourself just ask for help. I’d rather sound like an idiot than look like one getting stuck in a leg press machine!

There are a phenomenal number of group classes available which is lucky for me as my movements are restricted post-operation. The deep water running class is great as it decreases the load on my hip so I can get in some cardio which has been impossible up to now as I can’t even walk for 30 minutes.

I have to be honest, starting from scratch is very frustrating for me but having been out of action now for so many months. I’m just excited to be getting my gym on again.