Knockout gran!
I’m not on the ropes yet..!
Maggie Clarke, 64, Birmingham
Lowering myself into my chair, I gritted my teeth. Ah, that’s better, I thought, sinking into the cushions. It was last March, and I was in agony, suffering constant shooting pains in my joints.
I was completely exhausted, and it showed.
‘You alright, love?’ my husband Bob, 59, asked. ‘Just sore,’ I replied. I was a gran of eight, but only 63 – I shouldn’t feel this frail yet!
In that moment, I decided I had to get fit again. But how?
A week later, in the city centre, I was handed a leaflet for a local kickboxing class. Looks fun, I thought. Extreme, perhaps, but just what I needed. ‘I’ll try it,’ I told Bob. He seemed shocked, but supported me.
Walking into the class for the first time, I felt nervous. Everyone else was far younger, fitter. Still, I got stuck in. I was soon paired up, throwing punches, learning how to kick.
I loved it, and went twice a week – and I lost weight, started to tone up.
But, after six months, I was frustrated. Despite being the oldest there, I could still pack a punch, yet the side kicks pulled my ageing joints.
‘Maybe you should try boxing instead,’ my trainer suggested.
So I went online and found a local woman’s boxing club.
That weekend, Bob took me to check it out.
‘I see some new faces,’ trainer Jason said, spotting us in the sports hall.
Bob and I watched as Jason put the class through their paces. This is more like it! I thought. ‘It looks intense,’ Bob said. But fun, too – and, before I knew it, I was at my first session.
Walking into the new club, I was excited and nervous.
Yet everyone was just as welcoming as Jason.
Pulling on my boxing gloves, I was soon paired up with another woman.
Younger than me, obviously.
But I was delighted to see she wasn’t afraid to hit me with her best shot.
Spurred on, I didn’t pull any punches, either!
I worked up a real sweat and it felt great to be punching and working hard.
I went back three times a week. And, each time I was paired up, I pounded back just as hard as I could – blocks, uppercuts, hooks.
‘You’re tougher than you look!’ Jason grinned to me.
And he’d push me a bit further every session.
I soon saw a change in my body.
Bulging biceps, thighs of steel – not too bad for a gran!
I felt so much stronger and I was full of energy.
All my old aches and pains had vanished, as well.
‘I feel like a new woman,’ I told Bob.
‘You look like one, too,’ he said, beaming. He was so proud of me. Now I’m preparing for my first real sparring!
I’m just waiting for Jason to find someone suitable for me to go up against. All I can say is, bring it on! I might be over 60, but I’m one tough cookie.
And I just can’t wait to get in the ring.
Bulging biceps, thighs of steel – not so bad!