Hello everyone! My name is Amy and I work in the External Relations Team at Liverpool Hope University. I’m 29 years old (quickly approaching 30!), obsessed with Harry Potter and one of the laziest people you’ll ever meet. I have moaned about not being fit for years. I will sit on the sofa watching sports contests while eating chocolate covered pretzels, tangfastics and Morrison’s chipsticks, complaining how I’ve still got my Christmas indulgence weight from 2014. I’ve tried many times to “get fit”, but I’ve only ever got so far as cooking the odd healthy(ish!) meal, washed down with a not-so-healthy serving of chocolate cheesecake.

Last year I made a New Years Resolution to get in shape, and I started following the Joe Wicks Recipes, but found them really time consuming to prep, the amount of washing up the meals created was ridiculous, and the recipes required some pretty random ingredients that made food shopping really expensive! I also found that by following a specific diet, I was just so miserable and really missing my favourite treats. As usual, I gave up.

I then thought about exercising, but the price of gym membership really put me off – and I was terrified to go to the gym in case people judged me for not being a gym expert. Another year passed and another year of me feeling frumpy and lazy.

So 2018 started, and the countdown to my wedding in September 2018 really began. It was time for action. But saving for a wedding and paying for a gym membership was really putting me off, as well as being really nervous that I was a total novice and would look really out of place in a gym! I got chatting to a friend in my office who mentioned Hope Park Sports as an option, so I investigated a little further…

Hope Park Sports offers an amazing package for staff and students! To become a member, you have to pay a yearly registration fee of just £25. Yes, you read that right, £25! For the entire year! This fee gives you access to all of the amazing facilities, including the gym, sports hall, squash courts and strength and conditioning suite. All of the fitness classes are also included in this fee – and there’s a whole range of classes to choose from.

I went to have a look around the facilities and was completely sold. Registration was super easy – I just went on to Hope’s Online Store, paid my £25 and then arranged my induction with Laura, one of the lovely ladies who works in the gym. My induction was easy and smooth – Laura showed me around the gym, demonstrating how to use each of the machines and explaining what muscles they work best for. With my induction done, my gym shoes dusted off and my name booked onto my first class, I was ready to start my fitness journey…

I’m going to be blogging about my experience of going from a total novice to hopefully someone that enjoys going to the gym, without the additional pressures of fad diets and shakes. I don’t want that perfect gym body, I just want to feel a little bit better about myself. If you’re in a similar situation to me and wanting to join Hope Park Sports but not sure you’ll enjoy it, or not sure whether it’s worth it, I hope you’ll follow me on my journey to see how Hope Park Sports *is* for everyone!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Amy

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