Have your heard about our new small group exercise programme: RENEW?

Wondering whether to sign up? Ginny has been taking part in RENEW since January 2020, and she is here to tell you why you should sign up today. 

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I was inspired to do Trekstock's RENEW exercise programme after seeing one of their Young Adult Ambassadors speak about it on her Instagram stories. At the time, I was still in treatment and felt too poorly to even consider exercise but I made it a goal for something to do when I had finished.  

So I signed up for classes which were due to start a week after my radiotherapy had ended, and I was so nervous that I was jumping into things too soon. Trekstock sent me some consent forms and a questionnaire to fill out to gauge my activity levels so they could group me with similar people. As I filled it out, I felt like my fitness was so incredibly low, how was I ever going to go the gym? 

The team at Trekstock were great at sending me all the right information for me to feel prepared to start the classes.

Still, I was very nervous for my first session, but I was made to feel immediately comfortable by the other members of the class who just 'get it'. We all had a little giggle about how little we had moved and how we were going to encourage each other, no matter how little we could do. 

The first session involved a warm up, a series of exercises completed within 60 seconds (no-one else knows how much you can manage because we count for ourselves and record our own numbers in a booklet). This is repeated at weeks 4 and 8. The other classes are fun and mixtures of working the upper and lower half of the body, sometimes using bands, so everything you learn you could repeat at home if you wanted, as it is mostly body-weight exercises.

Our instructor, Teresa, is an absolute gem, she is sure to check in with us at the start and end of every class, and provides constant care, support, and guidance throughout. Teresa adjusts the exercises for our level of fitness and personal requirements, showing us moderations of exercises or substitutions so that each person can work to their own ability level. 

I have been tired and a little sore after each class, but in a good way, knowing my body has been working hard to move about. By week 3, I have less general aches and pains, my energy level increased and my confidence has increased exponentially. I've joined a local gym to continue my fitness after the RENEW programme has ended - something I would never have done before RENEW.

If you are considering taking a place for the next RENEW programme, absolutely go for it. Get hold of the Trekstock team and ask them all the questions you have, tell them your concerns if you have any, and really go for it. Take the opportunity because it's been so rewarding. I feel more in tune with my body now and what it can cope with - all part of finding that 'new normal', but my new normal is starting to look stronger every week.

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The next session of the RENEW exercise programme begins at the end of March 2020. If you'd like to ask us any more questions, please email Bryony on [email protected]. If you're ready to sign up now, click the link below. 

SIGN ME UP FOR RENEW