A DETERMINED grandmother is encouraging more women to take up weightlifting after it awakened a newfound passion for fitness and helped combat health issues.
Ruth Child was told she would need to be on medication for the rest of her life due to her high cholesterol levels. But, after taking part in Life Leisure’s ‘Strongher’ weightlifting course, she has removed the need for medication and found a new determination to keep strong and healthy.
Ruth, who is sharing her story for International Women’s Day (March 8), said: “I have absolutely loved the course and would recommend weightlifting to anyone who is looking to increase their fitness like me.
“It’s shown me a completely different way to keep active, without having to run on a treadmill or do high impact exercises, which I’d never been keen on.
“I don’t feel intimidated because I’m with women who are like me, and the focus is purely on being strong and building muscle, it’s not about body image or simply losing weight.
“We have a good time together – it’s women supporting women and it’s really uplifting.”
Ruth regularly attends a yoga class at Life Leisure Houldsworth Village gym in Stockport and walks every week, but realised she needed to commit to more exercise following a visit to the GP.
She added: “I knew I was going to have high cholesterol because my mum had it, but I was shocked when the doctor said I’d need to go on statins. I thought I was doing enough to keep it at bay.
“I didn’t want to take the medication because I heard that once you’re on them you never come off them, so I was determined to find another way.”