Level 3 Qualified Fitness and Health Coach + Ayurvedic Nutrition: I'm the PT for people who usually hate PTs!

Learn more about Anneka

• 1) What age did you start playing sport? Tell us about this time or moment in your life

  I've been particularly active from a young age. Whether it was climbing trees, hanging from things in the park or being excited to visit my cousin's place that had a trampoline.
  The moment I remember the most is when I was around 7 at school, we were trying out for sports day by racing each other to see who would represent their class in the sprints and long distance. I sprinted ahead and heard my classmates cheering and saying "you're lapping everyone! You're miles ahead!" which made me want to run even faster. From then on, I was competing in "track and field" every sports day, and looked forward to P.E.
  However, the thing that I remember most is the little injuries that seemed to come out of nowhere. Rolling in my ankles, my knee dislocating randomly, my shoulder feeling like it was going to pop out. Nothing major that needed surgery or the hospital, but it was almost as if my body didn't want to keep up with my active spirit. I was praised for being fast and flexible, but I kept having these niggling pains that held me back. There was very little support for hypermobile bodies back then, and even now a lot of PTs and doctors don't understand the nuances of it.

• 2) What are your favourite sports; those that you practice at a high level, a simple hobby, and a sport that you'd still like to discover?

  Because of my hypermobility, I was a natural at gymnastics. Unfortunately, being a child of immigrants / refugees, my parents didn't have the budget or interest for sporty pursuits outside of academic education; the basics like science, maths, english etc. And so I wasn't able to practise it at a higher level. I would also come back with a lot of aches and pains in gymnastics from over-stretching my body. So I shied away from sports in my teens and early 20s until I hired a PT who was a former gymnast. I fell in love with the gymnastic rings, calisthenics and weight lifting. It turned from a hobby to stay fit, to an obsession, to a career, and I had to learn the limits of my hypermobile body and how to work around it.
  A sport that I would love to discover is bouldering. I tried it out a few times during my travels, and I loved it!

• 3) What gives you the motivation and passion to pursue your sport?

  When people think of sports, it's usually for people who are able-bodied, muscular, lean and young. My frustration at my own limitations and the limited research and support for people with hypermobility/EDS/connective tissue disorder and chronic pain led me to pour all my passion into helping people understand that they can feel fit, healthy and athletic even if they feel like their body is "broken" or "too old" or "not the right aesthetic".
  Strengthening your body through lifting weights, mobility and rehab may not be deemed a "sport" in the traditional sense, but my mission is to help realise that any sort of movement is a form of sport and athleticism.
  Healing and understanding my own body gave me the motivation to help others. The more I learn, the more patterns I see, and the more studies that come out about hypermobility, the more passionate I become. Everytime someone comes to me with pain, disillusionment or having been fobbed off by their doctor because they don't know how to deal with a different type of body - I get excited and rise up to the challenge!

• 4) Do you have a sporting achievement that you're particularly proud of?

  I'm most proud of going from someone who felt weak, misaligned and in pain to someone who used movement to strengthen and heal myself and not be limited by my body's nuances. Going from being called a stick-insect in school to achieving my first pull up, push up, and lifting 3x my bodyweight in the gym.

• 5) How have your achievements and challenges made you a better sportsperson?

  My achievements and challenges are what shaped me into being a better coach, sportsperson and all round human; I went from feeling like a victim and giving up easily to embracing my differences and adapting to what suits me. The most important thing I learnt is that not all bodies are the same and everyone deserves access to sports and movement.
  If I knew what I know now from a young age I would have absolutely continued to pursue gymnastics and track. Sometimes it just takes the right resources, and having access to them

• 6) If you had to go for a jog with a famous athlete, who would you choose? And what questions would you ask them?

  I would go for a job with Simone Biles. While undiagnosed, she shows clear signs of hypermobility and still is one of the best Olympic gymnasts in the world. I would love to pick her brain to understand how she keeps herself from overdoing and overstretching, while still doing more than enough work to become a gold medalist.

• 7) How do you help people stay motivated?

  I like my clients to know that YES THEY CAN, and that they have the biggest cheerleader on their side. On days that they don't want to show up, I will give 100x energy to boost them up.

• 8) What makes you a Superprof in sports?

  Patience and understanding is as important as skill and expertise. You can be the best sportsman in the game, but if you don't understand how a body or fitness level might be different to yours, you almost always will lose patience. A super coach and teacher helps you understand your own body better, can help you move better with optimal form instead of just going through the motions, and most importantly can meet you where you are. Injuries, chronic pain, hEDS, a lack of confidence, fear of getting started only to go backwards again, fear of judgement - only a superProf will guide you through all of this and have you come out stronger on the otherside!