From uncertainty to unstoppable.

Before Goodnick

Before Goodnick, Dawn felt uncertain about her health as she got older. "Just unsure of what to do, really." Retirement had quietly slowed her down. "When you're working and busy, joining gyms and clubs and doing a lot, and then you retire and you still do a lot, you still go out a lot, but you do become slightly less active. I've got a large garden so that keeps me pretty active, and I've got a dog so I walk twice a day. But I thought, I ought to do a bit more."

Her biggest fear about ageing was tied to her independence. "Ill health, because I live on my own. I haven't got children, so I don't have anyone who would want to be a carer, and I don't really want a carer. I want to continue living in my home. I love my house, I love my garden, I don't want to go into a care home." She's pragmatic about it. "I know it's down to me to do the best I can to prolong my good life as long as I can."

Gyms had never stuck. "I did join a few gyms, but like a lot of people, you go for the first couple of months and then you find an excuse not to go, and all of a sudden you're not going at all and you're still paying this ridiculous fee." Goodnick was different. "I found Goodnick, and it was right up my street."

Getting started

Getting going was easy. "I just went online and bought the weights and the resistance bands. It wasn't a major output, and because it's indoors, at home, it's fine." The four-times-a-week, 20-minute rhythm suited her. "Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. I always know Monday, Wednesday and Friday is when I've got a workout, but if I can't, I just did it on Tuesday. Most weeks I fit it in really easily, and I look forward to Saturday's stretching."

Skipping the gym trip was a big part of it. "I live in a village, so I've got to get the car out, and sometimes these gyms fill up so the parking's a pain, then you've got to have a shower. It's just a pain. When you're here, when you finish, I'll just sit down and have a coffee."

What changed

After two years, the results had built up. "I haven't lost a load, but I've lost a good half stone, and it's not going back on. Everybody's always telling me how good I look." The strength came through in daily life. "I really feel healthier, and my body is more capable. Gardening is a lot of squatting, bending and carrying, and Goodnick has definitely made a difference." She credits the weights. "Using weights, which I'd never really used before, I find that's made a difference."

She's proudest of her consistency. "Sticking with it, the fact that it's over two years now, I'm pleased I'm still doing it, because I've never stuck with a gym or anything else." And it rebuilt something that had slipped. "The hardest thing about getting older is you lose confidence in lots of things. I used to be able to go anywhere, do anything. Now I'm more likely to think twice, but I try to overcome it. Goodnick has given me confidence in my body that I can do things. I can stride out there like I used to."

Her outlook is positive. "I'm feeling pretty positive about my body and how it's working. Touch wood, I haven't needed to go to the doctors, I haven't got any aches and pains, I know I'm pretty physically fit." The community adds to it. "It's quite nice to feel that there are quite a few of us out there. Sometimes I'll read the comments, sometimes I'll put comments if I particularly enjoyed a workout."

What she'd say to someone thinking about it

Dawn's advice is unequivocal. "It's never too late to do anything. Ever." She thinks it's good value, too. "It's certainly been worth the money. I'm enjoying it." Asked for one word for what being a Goodnick gives her, she settles on confidence. "Something that gives you confidence is quite important."