Frontline Fitness
2025-11-20T11:43:10.925Z
I reached out to Frontline Fitness just over 6 weeks ago at a time when I had hit absolute rock bottom in my life. I had had my kindness ruthlessly betrayed and abused over 3 agonising years, was defrauded and ended up losing all my life savings, and as a result suffered crippling anxiety and depression causing me to be bedbound on weekends. There were moments I came very close to suicide. I had hid my issues for so long that when I finally let it out, I became a great source of shame to my family. The toll was also physical. I had neglected my fitness during those 3 years and had developed bad habits including occasional drug abuse just to get me by. In this neverending turmoil, I felt like my spirit's dying embers were about to be extinguished for good.As much as it terrified me to consider going to a gym and trying something new while carrying all this excess baggage, I knew that I had to change something in my life. After three years of hiding in my chamber of hurt and doing things the same way day after day, I had achieved absolutely nothing of value. I made that courageous first step to walk through the doors in spite of my fears and what a difference it has made 6 weeks on. I am now regularly attending at least 3 times a week and feel very welcome.The coaches there are excellent and highly motivational, on top of being very good looking. I had been so accustomed to being mocked for failure (whether through myself or others) that I did not know what it felt like to have someone cheer for me even when I failed to complete that set or did an exercise in the sloppiest way. They also keep you accountable and make sure you are turning up, and set tailored programs where you track your progress across each exercise week by week.There's also a great community of all different ages and body types. Some of the women there really put me to shame in terms of what they've achieved and how they are looking after every aspect of their life and taking this seriously. Perhaps the one surprise is that Frontline's health coaching seems to expand to life coaching outside of the gym which makes such a difference for people with a lot on their plate (and not just plates in the gym).In terms of size, it's not a big gym and there's not a lot of equipment. However, the space is surprisingly well shared and I've never had to wait very long to use weights or machines, and I never feel overwhelmed by the number of other people present (typically you might see no more than 6-8 others training in the space a given time).As to my own journey, I walked in finding out that while my BMI was normal, I had the classic skinny fat syndrome where my body fat % was actually rather high in comparison to muscle mass. It was heartening to see myself lose 2.1 kg of body fat (a 3.7% decrease from 23.5% body fat %) and gain 1.8 kg of muscle within my first four weeks of training. Beyond the numbers, I have started to feel palpable strength in my legs, and my terrible posture is improving. Remarkably, I've had a lot of fun training and have even been called a gym rat by one of the coaches (definitely not something I would have foreseen in myself years ago).I had not really developed any goals during my 3 year bleak period, but now that I do have some goals, I finally have motivation and willpower to do something positive for myself, and for myself alone. I discovered that it is so, so easy for a person to completely lose themselves and destroy their lives, but there perhaps exists an even greater divine Jesus-level force out there to rebuild lives stronger and more resilient from the ashes, like that of a phoenix. While it will take me time to heal from the emotional and financial damage caused by the person who abused and derailed me, I've at least put one step in the right direction, and any physical benefits gained are a cherry on top of the cake.Thank you to Moe, Fin and my guardian angel in Jason for believing in me and allowing me to be better for myself, and thank you to the Frontline family for their support and encouragement.