‘I’VE FOUND A HABIT FOR LIFE’
Alison Davies, 52, lives in west London. She rediscovered fitness in 2019, following a divorce.
I was finding my way back to myself after a long and difficult marriage ended, when I came across a woman paddleboarding along the Regent’s Canal in July 2019.
I’d never have normally approached a stranger, but on that day, something compelled me.
I’m so glad I did, because it ended up marking the start of a whole new chapter in my life.
The woman explained that she was a member of an all-female outdoor adventure group. It was exactly what I needed, at exactly the moment I needed it – and not long after that conversation, I was out on the water, too. Learning a new skill – paddleboarding requires a strong core, as well as balance and coordination – felt empowering. But more than that, it was about carving out some space for myself. It wasn’t about the paddleboarding – fun as it was – but about taking some time to myself to process what I’d been through, and be alone with my thoughts.
In the months that followed, I went mountain biking in Bath and I was signed up to go rock climbing when Covid arrived, putting all our planned trips on the back-burner. It was a woman I’d met through the group who told me about Strongher – a women-only weightlifting gym in east London. It was the kind of thing I’d always admired from afar while never having the guts to try for myself, particularly in the context of a mixed gym.
But with my other fitness plans on hiatus, I decided to give it a go.
Within a few sessions, I was hooked. Besides the health benefits that come with lifting weights in your fifties – it’s a brilliant form of training for your bones – it did something amazing for my confidence. Lifting weights – first kettlebells and dumbbells, and later barbells – challenged my body in a way I hadn’t experienced in any other workout before, and having proof of my own progression via heavier and heavier weights felt powerful.
It was only after I experienced a heavy dose of FOMO, after finding out my gym had put forward a team of women for another fitness competition, that I realised competing was something I wanted to do. Still, I never imagined for a moment that I would be picked for the NFG, so finding myself on a sports field in Loughborough, throwing myself over walls and lugging sandbags, was surreal to say the least.
The electric atmosphere of the NFG was a far cry from the serenity of paddleboarding down the Regent’s Canal, but the common thread that’s tied my fitness journey together is being surrounded by like-minded women. The bond I built with my NFG partner, Maxine, and the other women on the team was so strong that we’re talking about entering more competitions together. And with my outdoor adventure group, I’m going rock climbing and learning how to skateboard. It almost doesn’t matter to me what I turn my hand to next, because in fitness, I know I’ve found a habit for life.