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Jess is a 30 year old office based Admin Assistant. She has been with Platform for almost 12 months now and she is one of those members who is always full of energy and makes any room happier.

She has been through a remarkable transformation, not just in weight lost but how she has gone from not even confident enough to even set foot in a gym to a major part of our community, a seriously hard worker and an even bigger bundle of fun.

Starting out in a gym about 10 years ago she was the typical ‘had a gym membership for years but never used it’. She was a member of the village for 3-4 years and went twice over that time.

She then spent 3 or 4 months going to HIIT classes with friends ‘because she should’, she had to drag herself there once a week.

Then unfortunately 3 or 4 years ago Jess went through a really low period in her life where her self esteem hit rock bottom and that created a negative cycle where ultimately she hated how she looked and felt about herself.

She was very low and didnt feel confident enough to even set foot in a gym.

She knew something had to change, she couldn’t carry on how she was so she started calorie counting on her own, her friend Rosie (who is also a Platform member and the person who got Jess into Platform) gave her support and guidance.

"My friend Rosie (pictured) helped me Calorie Counting and introduced me to Platform" - Jess

“I did it slow, just with restricting my food, no gym or exercise. This did make me feel better and I did lose weight but what happened was I was just a smaller version of myself, my shape didn’t change, I still felt like I had loose skin and this made me even more conscious”.

This is a common thing we see with people before they make strength training a part of their fat loss/ health routine: there is science behind it too.

If you create a calorie deficit but do no exercise then you signal your body to lose fat but you don’t provide the signal to preserve muscle (exercise) your body will catabolise (break down) both fat AND muscle.

Which means your physique is very similar to how it was it is just that you are a smaller version of yourself. This usually means even though someone has lost say 2 stone they dont look how they thought they would - their physique hasn’t necessarily changed.

What this meant for Jess was loose skin which actually made her more concious than before she lost the weight.

Her friend Rosie eventually managed to convince her to get her to come down and try Platform.

“From the first session the vibe was just sooo different to anywhere I’d ever been. I didn’t feel like I was going to the gym, I felt like I was going seeing friends. It never helt like a gym or hard work but it was actually the hardest I have ever worked in my life”

Through that hard work which she didn’t even realise she was doing Jess got some serious results and this time people actually noticed

“When I lost 3 stone from nutrition alone no one ever said to me ‘oh you look like you’ve lost weight’ but now after not just losing fat at Platform but building muscle people started to notice and ask me what I’d been doing! Platform gave me that bit that was missing, my shape has changed, not just fat loss”

She is seeing muscle now for the first time ever and she loves it.

“All I talk about now is the gym and what I am going to do. I don’t think people in work don’t actually believe what I get up to in the gym, what I lift and how hard we work. They here about the themed workouts and the socials and say ‘oh are you going to the social club again’ but honestly I recommend Platform to everyone!”

"My attitude to my health has now changed dramatically" - Jess

Jess now comes to Platform 4 times per week and sometimes when she is in she will do a double session with either 2 Team sessions back to back or a PT session and a Team session together.

“The thing for me now is that through losing weight and building muscle I have got my self esteem back and where I couldn’t even step foot in a gym I am not confident enough to go talk to other members and give the coaches shit”

(She does this a lot!)

“My fitness, mental health and my attitude to my health has improved. Where I was in a real low now I WANT to improve my health, my strength, I love weightlifting and I want to progress.”

Jess ‘wasn’t sure’ about weightlifting which is why she was unsure about trying when Rosie tried getting her to come but now the PT sessions are her priority so she can focus on getting stronger and changing her shape and the Team sessions are just a bonus.

We know what she has got from Platform and what got her started so we asked why she stays.

“The coaches. They go out of their way to get to know you, they learn you and they push you to do way more than you thought possible. I’ve lifter heavier weights than I ever imagined and with their help I know I am only just getting started.

Let me give you an example. I had a 10kg doing a Goblet Squat and I got given a 17.5kg, I said I couldn’t do it, my coach told me I could and he was right, I repped a full 8 out. That’s happened lots of times. The coaches know me well enough to do that and I love that at the start they made sure my form was good enough before they pushed me.

The PB’s are my favourite thing and when I am pushed to hit them it gives me the inner confidence to do things. I have pushed on more at work than I would have without the Gym. I can’t give Platform all the credit for that because it was me who did it but it 100% gave me the confidence to push more and do more and that has lead to pay rises and bonuses which I’m sure I wouldn’t have got without the gym.”

Jess’ advice to people thinking of getting started?

“Take that first step, when you do something everything gets easier”

If you would like to start on the journey that Platform Hero Jess went on then you can follow her footsteps here:

Learn About Our Beginners PT Program