Going Wild
Gill Erskine (39) and her family live in Berkshire and are shortly moving to Fife. Her children are now 6 and 4 and when the youngest was about 7 months old she began to think she needed something exercisewise… but also something that wasn’t about being a mum.
“I’ve always been active but never into sport or going to a gym. But after having two children I needed more structure – something that would get me outside, moving and meeting other people locally,” she says.
“My sister and I started a small group that met in the woods playing around with movements like crawling, climbing trees, lifting logs and vaulting.
“This turned into a company that creates small, rural groups, with my husband Andrew – previously a personal trainer – as head coach.
“I’m now stronger and fitter than I’ve ever been, but interestingly I’m still incapable of making time to do any of it on my own – I need the group. Most of our members are women in their 40s with little to no exercise history.”
Gill now works part-time for the company, Wildstrong, and has four groups running.
“People find us mostly through word of mouth and our members come as much to spend time outdoors as they do to meet people or exercise,” she says. “Our average age is 42 but we have people in their 60s and in their 20s. We run Explore & Play – introduction to movements for longevity – and Strength & Conditioning.
“I never understood why we have to go ‘all in’ on something – lots of people don’t see themselves as exercisers but still want and need to keep moving. We help people to become confident allrounders, building skills and confidence around movements that we use every day – like getting up and down, climbing, crawling, lifting and thinking more about daily movement than a workout as such.”
Gill says being part of a group inspires her. “I never thought I’d be remotely interested in learning to lift really heavy objects or how to fall but it’s actually great fun. Despite being much stronger than I’ve ever been, I still wouldn’t do any of this stuff if there weren’t other people turning up to do it too,” she says. “I’ve a much better idea now of what I can do physically as I age, and realise the importance of maintaining social connections and spending time outside.
“I do worry about leaving my children one day, but hopefully they’ll have me for a good few years yet.”