A MUM-OF-TWO who dreaded going into the office after piling on lockdown weight is now showing off a six pack.
Liz Brooke, a civil servant from Leeds, reduced her body fat from 42 per cent to just 14, having been inspired by actress Gemma Atkinson.
Liz was inspired by actress Gemma Atkinson who has a fit figure[/caption]
Gemma, 40, is committed to exercise and before being a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, in 2017, undertook a gruelling 12-week programme[/caption]
The 46-year-old, now 4st lighter, tells Sun Health: “I have never felt more confident and comfortable in my own skin.”
After being asked to return to the office after the Covid lockdown, she panicked.
Takeaways had become one of life’s few pleasures, and now she’d be forced to hide the consequences.
Liz says: “I didn’t recognise myself some days and I was disappointed in myself that I had allowed my weight to slip out of control.
“I was very self-conscious when I returned to the office to see colleagues. After such a long time away from the office it would be obvious to them that I had put on a lot of weight so I dreaded returning to the office.
“I didn’t want to talk about my weight or admit I had put on so much weight. I wanted to try and hide away.
“I wore dark clothes, trousers and long skirts. Even in the summer I would try and wear tops with sleeves or wear a cardigan or light jacket to cover my arms and stomach. I never wanted to be the centre of attention.”
Liz had put on several stone during both her pregnancies but had managed to drop the weight within six months.
As she enjoyed occasions such as trips to Bali or friends’ weddings, her weight would yo-yo.
But when the pandemic hit, Liz soon found the weight creeping on at a faster pace.
Before the pandemic, she weighed around 10 stone, but becoming perimenopausal at the same time as being stuck at home didn’t help.
“As we couldn’t go anywhere during Covid I had no reason to lose the extra pounds,” Liz remembers.
“I got too comfortable in loose-fitting clothes and the weight crept on. I felt as though I was fighting a losing battle.
“When the takeaways re-opened, having done all the cooking for every meal seven days a week, it was a good excuse to have a few takeaways each week as we weren’t spending our money on anything else.
“I enjoyed TV and a pizza with a glass of wine followed by a mountain of chocolate, my biggest downfall.”
After working from home full time, Liz was asked to return to the office and she realised she could no longer fit into any of her smart clothes.
Liz felt “miserable and embarrassed” about her body.
She was determined to slim down and tone up, but wasn’t sure where to start.
Having done slimming clubs in the past, she found that for her, they were only short-term fixes.
She’d long followed actress Gemma Atkinson on Instagram, admiring her athletic figure. Through Gemma’s profile, she became aware of the tough personal training programme Ultimate Performance.
Gemma had used the 12-week programme in 2017 to get in the best shape of her life, before going on Strictly Come Dancing.
Aayush weighed me three times a week – I couldn’t have a cheeky treat mid-week as he would know!
Liz Brooke
After a lot of deliberating, Liz bit the bullet and made an appointment to visit Ultimate Performance in Leeds.
She signed up for 36 sessions, committing to three sessions a week over 12 weeks – three a week.
Her first session was in February 2024 with her trainer, Aayush Paul, who encouraged her to use an app to track her weight, measurements, steps, food and photos.
“I was so nervous about the first session, but Aayush immediately put me at ease,” Liz recalls.
“He was so knowledgeable and explained the mechanics behind the exercises and educated me whilst guiding me on the gym floor through every exercise.”
Liz underwent a gruelling training programme. Every session involved heavy weight training, and she had to do a minimum of 10,000 steps a day during the week and 14,000 on a weekend.
Her trainer would monitor her compliance on the app so that she never missed her 10,000 steps.
At home, she would do HIIT three times a week on her exercise bike and walk on an incline on her treadmill at least three times a week with a weighted vest.
Aayush also prepared nutrition plans based on her food preferences, calculating her calories and macros, and advised her on what supplements she should take too.
“When I first started, I had to have my photos taken in my leggings and sports bra, which was nothing short of mortifying,” Liz remembers.
“Aayush did fortnightly photos and measurements to monitor not just the weight on the scales, but to see the physical changes and the measurements.
“Aayush weighed me three times a week – I couldn’t have a cheeky treat mid-week as he would know!”
After the initial 12 weeks were over, Liz decided to continue with her programme until the end of June this year.
Her body is now unrecognisable. She has gone from 12st 6lbs and a body fat percentage of 42 per cent, to 8st 6lb with a body fat of 14 per cent.
She’s dropped from a size 16 to a size 8, and has lost a third of her waist circumference (30cm).
She’s also learned an incredible amount about how to maintain her new look, busting the popular myths around dieting.
Hours of cardio and starving yourself is absolutely not the answer
Liz
“I always thought you simply had to be in a calorie deficit, but high protein is key to building muscle,” Liz reveals.
“I used to have a high carbohydrate-based diet, whereas now I eat fewer carbs, incorporate healthy fats and ensure I have protein with every meal, including breakfast.
“Weight training is the key to building lean muscle and the more muscle you have the more calories your body can burn. Hours of cardio is not going to build lean muscle.”
FITTER THAN MY 20S
Liz feels incredibly confident in her new skin, and says she now has a better physique than she had even in her twenties.
Her family and friends are blown away by her transformation – and she’s even showing up her teenage son when it comes to muscle strength.
“My 18-year-old daughter is my biggest supporter; she is so incredibly proud of what I have achieved,” says Liz.
“My 16-year-old son plays rugby and I think he is quietly proud of me, although a little embarrassed that his old mother can do more press-ups and pull-ups than he can!
“Friends who I had not seen throughout the initial six-month process have been utterly shocked by my transformation and all want to know what I have done to achieve my new body.”
Liz wants others to know that with tough discipline, anyone can achieve what she has.
As well as feeling proud of the way her body looks, she knows she’s healthier in her own skin, has seen mental health benefits and says the cost of the programme was worth it.
“Hours of cardio and starving yourself is absolutely not the answer,” she adds.
“Personal training at Ultimate Performance would be considered a luxury but you have to see the cost as an investment in your health. You cannot put a price on your health.
“It’s so important to weight train for so many health benefits. Weight loss and aesthetics are added bonuses.
“I can categorically say this was the best decision I’ve ever made and I wish I had done it years sooner.”
Find out more about Ultimate Performance.
Rules of weight training after 40
Stay injury-free to keep progressing
In your 20s, it’s easier to get away with mistakes like poor form, rushed warm-ups, training through pain.
In your 40s, joint wear and tear, past injuries and slower recovery mean you can’t afford to train recklessly. One small issue can derail weeks of progress.
Avoiding injury doesn’t mean backing off. It means being precise. That starts with proper warm-ups, joint mobilisation, controlled movement and technical execution.
Reduce the frequency of spinal loading
Heavy barbell lifts like squats and deadlifts are excellent tools – but they’re also demanding, especially on the spine and supporting structures.
As you get older, the tolerance for repeated high-load axial stress often decreases. Grouping these movements too closely together, or performing them too frequently, can lead to lower back fatigue, stiffness or injury.
One simple adjustment is to reduce the number of sessions that include direct spinal loading each week.
Build joint stability
It’s common to see clients in their 40s and 50s with weak stabilisers, asymmetries or poor control through key movement patterns. Before pushing load, those weaknesses need to be addressed, otherwise, injury risk increases with every rep.
Improving stability doesn’t require gimmicks or balance tricks. It means training unilaterally, controlling tempo, using isometric holds, and ensuring joints are properly aligned and braced during every lift.
Exercises like split squats, single-arm presses and tempo rows all challenge balance and control in ways that build joint integrity over time.
READ MORE: Ultimate Performance