After signing up to her local gym Anytime Fitness Chelsea in October 2019, little did Sophie Vaughan know that it would be ten months until she would set foot in there again.

Not going for a few weeks turned into a few months and as time ticked by, it seemed less and less likely that Sophie would ever return.

“What held me back was the anxiety and embarrassment of how long I’d left it to pick my access fob up,” said Sophie. “I didn’t want to collect it and face up to how long it’s been sat there unused, it wasn’t something I’d feel comfortable with.”

The first national lockdown proved to be a turning point for Sophie. Not happy with the way she looked, Sophie got an exercise bike and started getting into the habit of using it daily. It was a habit that she stuck to and quickly she was doing over 10 miles every day, as well as making significant changes to her lifestyle.

“Over the first lockdown, I lost two-and-a-half stone in just over five months,” added Sophie. “That period of time changed everything for me and I’m so pleased that I made those changes.”

When gyms were permitted to reopen in July, Sophie felt physically ready to return, but the anxiety that had been there before still loomed large. She went to the point of calling the club to cancel her membership and was reassured by their understanding.

“When I called the club, they couldn’t have been better,” said Sophie. “To put me at ease, they offered me a personal training session with their personal trainer Georgina and it was all such a weight off my shoulders.”