Mark’s bootcamp story in Rotherhithe

Mark is a 35-year-old from Rotherhithe who arrived at Stave Hill weighing 18 stone and, six months later, had lost three stone and passed 100 sessions. This is his account, in his own words where we have used them.

The years before he found us were not kind. Mark became a father at 17. His son has cerebral palsy. His mum died. His marriage broke down. Somewhere in all of that, food became the thing that made the day bearable, and the weight went on quietly, the way it usually does.

The moment he stopped being able to ignore it was a flight of stairs. Twelve steps, and he was out of breath at the top.

The gym did not fix it

Mark did what most people do first, which is to join a gym. It was not enough. Walking into a room of machines with no idea which ones to use, and nobody who notices whether you come back, is a fairly reliable way to stop going.

So he searched for a bootcamp in SE16 instead, found Steph's sessions at Stave Hill Ecological Park in Canada Water, and got in touch.

The first hour on the hill

He is honest about how that first session went.

Dragging my blubber up and down and around that hill for an hour.

He finished it, and left feeling encouraged rather than humiliated, which is the part that matters. The next day was worse. He describes walking as though he had been hit by a freight train. He had to miss a session, because there is no dignified way to do a burpee when you cannot walk. Then he went back.

Six months on

By the time he wrote this, Mark had lost three stone, completed more than 100 sessions and changed his fitness beyond recognition. He puts the credit for how he now trains and eats squarely with Steph.

She has changed my life.

What actually keeps him coming back

It is not the weight. Ask Mark what bootcamp is and he talks about the people:

People from all walks of life getting together, laughing, joking, training and encouraging each other.

That mix is the whole point. On any given morning at Stave Hill there are people in their late twenties and people in their sixties, people who ran last weekend and people who have not exercised since school. Everything has an easier version and a harder version, and the coach points you to the right one. Nobody is watching what you lift.

Asked how long he intends to keep going, Mark's answer is short. As long as the bootcamp is running, that is where he will be.

If this sounds like where you are

The useful thing about Mark's story is how ordinary the starting point was. He was not looking for a transformation. He was breathless on twelve stairs and wanted that to stop.

You do not need a base level of fitness to start, and you do not need to know anyone. Everybody starts with a quick phone call. After that you arrive five minutes early for your first session, tell the coach it is your first time, mention anything that is sore or injured, and work at your own level for an hour with a group of neighbours from Canada Water, Rotherhithe and Surrey Quays.