Show Notes
In this episode, I'm joined by Tat Armstrong Gray, a personal trainer based in East London, who is here to share her story of recovering from a serious spinal injury through lifting weights.
At about 19, Tat broke two vertebrae in a skiing accident and had a spinal fusion, with a bone graft from her hip to rebuild the one that was shattered. She has also lived with type 1 diabetes since the age of 14. Over the years that followed, the pain got steadily worse and the weight kept going on, until she could barely walk. At 31 she decided to change that, and went on to lose 30 kilos, and the back pain went away. Then something surprised her: being smaller felt frail rather than strong, and that is what led her to the weights.
We talk about approaching strength training with a fragile back: finding a trainer who will listen, starting with no weight at all, and learning to tell the pain of getting stronger from the pain that is a warning. She explains why a scaled-down burpee is a good way to measure progress, why technique is everything with a deadlift, and why the advice from a consultant was to be as strong as possible while being as light as possible.
We also talk about what lifting gave back beyond strength: a sense of autonomy over a body with conditions that can't be controlled, an outlet for rage, and needing about half the insulin. And we get into the barriers that stop people starting, from personal training qualifications that barely cover medical conditions, to exercise referral schemes that turn people away for the very things exercise would help, to why she thinks the health at any size message can hold people back.
In this episode: A skiing accident, two broken vertebrae and a spinal fusion Living with type 1 diabetes and chronic pain Losing 30 kilos, and feeling frail rather than strong Being as strong as you can while being as light as you can Starting strength training with a fragile back Good pain, bad pain, and a traffic light system Why burpees make a good measure of fitness Autonomy, rage and the mental side of lifting Why so few people are ever pointed towards the gym The risks and costs of doing nothing Health at any size, and why it worries her Leading by example, for friends and for children
As Tat puts it: fitness people want you in the gym.
If you enjoyed this, listen back to my conversation with Mick Wadge, who started lifting at 85, and his coach Ross Starkie: "He Started Strength Training at 85. This Is What Happened": https://pod.link/1762298788/episode/NGQ2NmZmNzQtMjI2NS00YzI0LWE2MTktNTRkZmI5ZTAyMTE4
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