About Evelyn

When I started my fitness journey in 2016 I never thought I'd be where I am now. I've struggled with orthorexia and disordered eating my whole life. I was very fatigued, and I had very unhealthy habits and ways of coping with life stress.

I started powerlifting in 2018 but frequently experienced soft tissue injuries, joint instabilitiy and frequent illnesses. It was not until 2020 that I found out I was pregnant, and then my life completely changed. A few months into pregnancy and I was no longer able to work out because of dizziness and feeling faint. I waited until my son was born hoping it would go back to normal.

A few months after my son was born, I lost my peripheral vision and my heart rate started to become very high. I lost my ability to become independent, walk long distances, and I had chronic pain. I lost a lot of weight. The pandemic had been hitting the UK hard since March, and I felt very isolated being young, with a newborn and unable to live as I used to.

As my illness progressed, I became mostly bed-ridden, very depressed with a low quality of life. Some days I watched the sun rise, and set again from my bed.

In 2021 I went for a tilt table test to diagnose Postural Orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, and I had my answer for my strange heart beat! I got put on beta blockers and this helped me start back at the gym. The biggest problem with POTS is deconditioning, and the longer you are unable to exercise the harder it can be. I was only able to manage 30 minutes workouts, twice a week, at a very slow pace, and I would often not be able to do anything else after it!

Over time I started to get better, and another medical test revealed I had joint hyper mobility. This started to lead up to a bigger diagnosis of Elhers Danlos Syndrome in 2022. There is no cure, or treatment for Elhers Danlos Syndrome, but I can prevent it getting worse by strengthening the muscle around the joint to prevent dislocations. Connective tissue is everywhere in the body, and I certainly feel some days are harder than others, but through fitness it's restored my quality of life! I can run around with my son, I can get out of bed and feel the sun on my skin.

See what fitness can do for your body and life, today.