‘Best Fitness Instructor’ and cancer survivor opens private studio in Ilminster

The day started off with a MacMillan charity coffee morning as a thank you for all the support, MacMillan provided Helen with during her own Cancer journey.

Helen said: “I wanted to do it for MacMillan because they have been so good to me. The support they provided has been amazing. So, I wanted to give something back.”

Throughout the day, people dived into a series of wellness activities – including a talk on skincare, a “gym and tonic” workshop, a nailcare class, a session on fitness with a MawFit pilates instructor and an impromptu weightlifting competition led by Helen herself.

She said: “I love lifting, before I was diagnosed I was going to compete in the UK Women’s Weightlifting Championship.

“Downstairs we had a deadlifting competition and at first it was just the guys but then one of my clients stepped forwards and said, ‘right let’s have a go’ and all the women got involved.

“It’s just so lovely how exercise brings everyone together.”

Everybody got involved and it was a great opportunity for the Ilminster community to exercise, mingle and have a slice of pizza from Salerno Pizza Van.

Helen said: “Everything is about balance. For me wellness is about mind and body, you need to have a lovely balance. It is okay to work out and eat pizza. Wellness for me is just something that is going to lift your mood and give you a sense of calm and that is what I wanted to create here today.”

The launch of Helfit studio

During this event Helen showcased her brand-new private studio Helfit to the public for the first time.

Helen is a Level 4 qualified personal trainer, who was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2022, and received a stem cell transplant in March, through her own private space, she hopes to be able to get back to training people in HIIT, clubbercise and soon pilates too.

She said: “Normally people should wait a year before they return to work because I have a brand-new immune system, and am highly at risk of illness and infection – so I can’t work the gym floor because it is too risky. I said to the owner of the gym that this would be the perfect space and here we are.”

She also feels her space will be beneficial for her clients who may find the main gym floor “overwhelming” and “overstimulating”.

She added: “I think it is perfect as it gives me the opportunity to focus on my client’s individual needs.

“I train people with Parkinson’s and disabilities, so the gym floor can be too much. In here I can change the music, dim the lights and create a safe, relaxing environment just for them.”

Helen’s cancer journey

For the stem cell transplant, Helen initially had to relocate to hospital accommodation in Bristol which was a real challenge for her and her daughter.

Regarding her cancer journey, Helen said: “I don’t think anything can prepare you, but I do think because I have continued exercising that it has really helped.

“It has all been going well, the stem cells are working, my brother was my donor, but I have something called graft versus host disease which has delayed my comeback.

“I still have a long route ahead of me, but I am determined. I have always been positive, but I just want people to realise that I am a perfect example of how important our health is. We all just think we are invincible until we are told we are not.”

When asked what advice she has for those currently going through what she went through, Helen said: “The biggest thing I have noticed with cancer is immediately you are told to change your lifestyle but there is not much else.

“If I wasn’t already a member of the gym, I wouldn’t have known what to do or where to start – you are going through something that is so sensitive and personal and you already feel massively self-conscious.

“I was on steroids which made me put on weight and I lost my hair, that’s all really tough, and  I think if there were more people like myself out here who have experienced something like this and were there for the people going through it to say ‘you know what, I know you feel horrendous but there are still little things you can do,’ it would make a world of difference.

“Even just a ten-minute yoga session will make you feel a million times better – its more for your mind than anything but it is all connected and will help. Just keep going.”

Helen’s top tips for wellness

Following the theme of the event, Helen offered five of her top wellness tips:

1. Sleep

Helen said: “I think we are all are rubbish with this – we don’t realise how important getting a good night’s sleep is, but it truly makes all the difference”.

2. Exercise daily

Whilst this doesn’t need to be an hour-long gym session every day, Helen highlighted at the event the importance of moving your body and staying active.

She said: “It can literally just be a twenty-minute walk – so just get off the bus one stop earlier or when a friend says shall we go out, go out for a walk.

“I say to my clients all the time if they haven’t managed to go to the gym to just go on a walk, just move your body, take advantage of it and don’t take it for granted.”

3. Prioritise yourself

Helen reiterated how it is always okay to prioritise yourself.

She added: “I think we all get caught up in that spiral of work and sleep and then completely forget about ourselves.

“Even if it is just going to a new class, meeting new people, going for a walk, doing a little gym session it is so important.”

4. Communication is key

Helen reiterated in our conversation the importance of open communication and that it is always okay to ask for help from those around us.

She said: “When I got home people just assumed I was better, so I had to be really careful and tell my loved ones that actually I was not doing great, and I could really use their support, and that’s so important.”

5. Fake it until you make it

Helen added: “People say I have everything in order, and I don’t. Its a total fake it until you make it situation.

“Through this cancer journey there have been some real dark times, and I am sure there are still dark days ahead. The reason I got into fitness in the first place is because of my mental health I needed something, so I got a personal trainer. I guess in a way I followed in her footsteps.

“You see someone on the outside and think I have everything together, but I don’t, I just make the most of every day as it comes.”