This month’s Profile of the Month is our gorgeous Gail Mathews. Gail is one of our PT clients that joined TF to regain her quality of life again. Gail’s was not a fat loss journey but a movement capacity journey.

When Gail first started PTing with me (Coach Terri) she was unable to raise both her arms up over her head due to restrictions caused after she had fusion in her neck, one and half years prior. She had very little strength and her overall mobility in her upper body was extremely poor, as per the structural balance assessment we conduct for all PT clients.

As a result we spent the first 3 months of PT focusing on improving Gail’s mobility and slowly building her strength back up so that she could start functioning properly again. Our aim was to get her to be able to perform basic functions again like washing her hair, putting shopping away in an overhead cupboard, that sort of thing. From there we progressed into continuing to build her strength, mobility and range of motion and were able to take Gail’s training to the next level, and start lifting heavier weights, rather than just using resistance bands.

Today Gail is a strong woman performing exercises such as Rack Pulls, Assisted Pull Ups and Military Press, which were impossible for her before starting PT.

Gail was already a pretty lean lady when she joined PT, so her focus was never on body composition. Despite it not being a focus, it has improved as a by-product however. Gail has dropped 9cm from her waist! Just a bonus for all of her hard work.

Gail had tried many different treatment programs with various allied health professionals before turning to personal training. Although she hadn’t found exactly what she needed to move forward in her progress, she never ever gave up. Gail continued to search for the program that would help her get mobile again and give her back, her quality of life. Her tenacity and resilience, is second to none!

The progress in Gail’s mobility is a testament to her tenacity, resilience, hard work, dedication and consistency in her work ethic. Gail always did her homework, taking on board everything I taught her. She did all her mobility exercises, training programs and stretches at home and even altered her work station and sitting posture in order to improve her mobility and lifestyle. She has never given up not even for a second. She was and continues to be, the perfect student.

To say I am proud of Gail is an understatement. What an incredible role model she is for her 16 year old daughter Jamie. To be able to teach your child(ren) incredible values such as tenacity and resilience in such a powerful way is priceless. Gail is not only helping herself, but helping her daughter in the process.

Keep up the awesome work legend! You rock Gail!!!!

Here is Gail’s story in her words:

“In April 2017, I had surgery Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF). Approximately 1.5 years after surgery I found Terrific Fitness and before joining I felt weak, frustrated with low self-esteem. 

Prior to surgery I played softball and swimming to stay fit and this all changed after surgery. Now that I found TF, my confidence level have increased. My body is moving again, I feel stronger, healthier, my fitness/energy levels have increased and I’m enjoying a better quality of life. 

A few examples of how TF has helped me and has improved my overall mobility:

• I needed a rest after a couple of hours of work and now are able to go for longer. 
• I could not walk or stand for long periods of time and this has improved. 
• Doing normal daily household chores, preparing and cooking food and even washing my hair was a struggle and getting so much better. 
• Travelling as a passenger for long periods of time e.g 1 hour of time would kill my back and now I am able to travel for longer hours.
  

Thank you Terri for sharing your story to help others as you sure have helped me which I did not think was possible. 

I hope my story is able to reach many other people out there!

My Physiotherapist recommended that I look into doing some personal training. At that time my husband had already done some research and found “Terrific Fitness” for my daughter to keep up with her fitness levels.

When my daughter joined TF, she received a welcome pack which included a book called “Unleash the best version of you” written by Terri Batsakis. My husband handed me the book and said, just read the first couple of pages “Terri’s Story” and make a decision which I did and so happy because it changed my life. 

Reading Terri’s story gave me hope and I felt confident that I found someone that could relate to my experience after having surgery. 

My training consist of 1 PT session per week and a PT program twice per week for approximately 45-60 minutes focussing on structural balance and strength.

[Did you change your eating habits, and if so how?] Yes, I have reduced my junk food intake and making healthier choices. Still a work in progress. 

I have been training with Terrific Fitness for 9 months. My family (husband and daughter) are the ones who can see the real difference. Hearing from them saying that I am so much stronger makes me feel very proud of myself. I’m a completely new person after joining TF. I feel more positive, confident and happy and have more zest for life being able to do more things and have a better quality of life. 

[What really gets you out of your comfy lounge to attend training?] Knowing how PT has changed my life thus far and that I want to achieve much more. 

[What would you say to someone thinking of getting started with Terrific Fitness?] Team TF is amazing… Go for it!” – Gail Mathews, Doreen