Before Goodnick

Sue had always been active, but in the few years before she found Goodnick her balance had started to worry her. "I have fallen over and hit my knees more times than I can remember," she said, recalling multiple falls that left her knees bruised. Despite walking regularly and past fitness efforts, she felt she needed something structured to maintain her strength and hold off frailty.

Her biggest fear about ageing was losing independence, shaped by people close to her. "My mum had a lot of health issues and she's one of my inspirations in the wrong way for looking after yourself," she said. "I just don't want to get like that." Her ex-husband's parents had become frail and dependent too, which only reinforced her determination to stay active.

"I have fallen over and hit my knees more times than I can remember."

She was no stranger to exercise, with a history of walking, a 100k cycle ride, and personal training going back to around 2013. "I got a personal trainer in about 2013, 2014 because somebody I knew did it and I saw the transformation in her." She trained in studio sessions three times a week and kept going online through lockdown, but after moving from Essex to Derbyshire her routine fell away. "We moved away and although I still walked, there was a lack of structured exercise." Other online groups she tried lacked the accountability she was looking for.

Getting started

Sue found Goodnick through a Facebook ad and began with the three-day free challenge, moving on to a paid multi-week programme and then the annual plan. "It came up on Facebook. I'm fairly certain that was where I saw it." The setup was simple. "I have it on my phone and I turn the screen back so you've got it full screen and I can see what's going on."

The three 20-minute sessions a week slotted into a busy life of helping with her granddaughter, singing and painting. "Monday, Wednesday, Friday worked out really well for me," she said, though she flexes when she needs to. "You can always go ahead to the end of the week if you need to."

She likes to train first thing. "I get up about half past six in the morning, I'll go into the living room, shut the door, sometimes the cat's on the mat and we have to do it together until she gets fed up." It sets her up. "Then I'll have some breakfast, and that makes me feel like I've had a good start to the day."

"There are a lot of benefits in that you can fit it in when it suits you."

The at-home format suits her far better than the late gym sessions of the past. "Sometimes in the winter I'd come back and I'd be bouncing around, but by that time it was about nine o'clock in the evening." Goodnick takes the travel out of it and lets her exercise on her own terms.

What changed

A pivotal moment came at a Sam Fender concert in Manchester. "I caught my foot on a bit of upturned pavement and I went forward, jolted forward, and I went quite a few steps, but I stayed upright," she said. "I really thought I was hitting the ground and then somehow I wasn't." She puts it down to the balance work. "I think working on the balance, it's got to be that."

Getting up from the floor was another milestone. "The thing that I couldn't do before was get up from the floor without pulling myself up, and now I can put one foot up and then the other and just lever myself up." Standing up from the grass at the concert, unaided, drove it home. "Now I can get myself to my feet without needing any help."

Her confidence has grown with her strength. "We're right on the edge of the Peak District, so there's lots of walking that can be quite challenging at times. I'm sort of feeling more up for that now." She's noticed the physical changes too. "I've definitely toned up a bit. My arms feel like they're getting back to where they were a few years ago." And the mental lift is reliable. "I always feel better after a workout. You never regret a workout."

There was even a playful test of her new strength. "I got my arms on him and I held him off, and he was pushing and pushing, and eventually he stopped and said to me, God, you are strong now aren't you?"

What she'd say to someone thinking about it

"I'd say it's definitely worthwhile doing it," Sue says. She points to the gradual progression and the flexibility. "If you're finding it's too much, you can always stop for a second and then continue." And to anyone who thinks it's too late: "I don't think it's ever too late, and you see people doing all kinds of things nowadays."

She's proud of sticking with it and pushing herself. "I'm always doing them at the top level, so I'm proud of that, and I'm proud of myself for sticking with it." Most of all, Goodnick has given her confidence in what's ahead. "Confidence in the future, and confidence in the things that I can do now, but also that in the future I'll still be able to do them."