YOU’RE FREE TO BE fit

Take a cue from one amazing curvy trainer, who ditched fitness ideals to unleash her inner athlete

As early as she can remember, Louise Green fantasised about being a runner. But her lifestyle didn’t fill the bill.

“I smoked, drank and ate crappy food,” says the Canadian fitness trainer. “I’d go to the track, muster up one or two laps – and quit.”

Desperate to lose weight, she cycled through failed diets, most of them ending in a discouraging binge. Green felt lost, alone and also trapped in a defeating cycle.

But she didn’t quit. Instead, she signed up for a learn-to-run 5K clinic. When another curvy woman decked out in workout gear introduced herself as the group leader, Green’s jaw dropped. She’d never seen someone who looked like her in the fitness field, much less a trainer.

Heading home that night, Green couldn’t stop smiling. “I realised that I didn’t always have to struggle,” she says. “I could live my athletic dreams in my current body.”

Green ran that 5K. Then she ran a few more.

Today, she no longer dreams of being an athlete – she is one.

And she helps others become the same.

“I train for triathlons. I swim, run and cycle,” says Green.

“Exercise wipes my head clean.

I have to have it.”

Got athletic dreams of your own? Read on for Green’s top tips.