Colchester fitness instructor helping people with their mental health

Exercise has helped Lucy Taylor cope with her borderline personality disorder for several years, and when her mum unexpectedly died in 2016, fitness became her lifeline.

With her mental health deteriorating following her mum’s death, she decided to quit her job in IT and solely focus on a career in fitness.

The 33-year-old from Colchester said: “When mum passed away I felt so alone as a new mum battling a mental health condition and working away a lot.

Lucy Taylor's fitness classes

“I realised teaching Zumba and Clubbercise on the side for fun had become my platform to help more people never feel as alone and broken as I did, to the point where they felt they had no purpose.

“I made it my mission to make other people happy.

“That became my drive, my focus and my purpose.”

Lucy Taylor's fitness classes

Over the past five years the mum-of-two has built her business, called Lucy T Fitness, around creating exercise classes, dance classes and online challenges as well as workouts to practise mindfulness.

Read more:

• Eight stunning beaches in Essex you may have never heard of or visited
• More than 40 schools in Colchester in areas with 'dangerous' levels of air pollution

She is now set share her knowledge and experience of mental health and fitness by training other instructors in her purposely designed fitness concept called Decades Reloaded.

Lucy said: “I tell all my members, you can’t get anything done knowing upstairs is a mess.

“If you want to make positive changes to your life and your fitness goals, the mind must be right first.

Lucy Taylor's fitness classes

“When the mind is right the rest will follow. A healthy mind makes healthier decisions.”

She said joining fitness classes, virtually or in person, can be vital for people who are experiencing poor mental health.

“Feeling alone and isolated is one of the biggest contributing factors to the devastating effects of mental health deterioration,”Lucy added.

“We must not confuse mental health with mental illness.

“Equally someone without a mental health related condition can too experience times of poor mental health as can those with a mental health related condition.

“We need to support our mental health when it is good, to keep it good, like the maintenance of your car.

“You service it regularly to keep it running the best it can, not just when things get on top of us, where our mental health isn’t as good as we need it to be.

“We want a smooth running reliable engine. It is easier than waiting for the car to break down and then trying to get it going again.”

Lucy regularly runs fundraising events for Mid and North Essex Mind and last year she she raised more than £2,000 for the charity.

Lucy Taylor's fitness classes

For the past 11 months Lucy has been working from a virtual studio which she set up in her garage during the first national lockdown.

“We have kept to social distancing rules and done pilates and stretch classes in my garden,” she added.

Lucy has also held a variety of virtual classes and will continue to do so until restrictions ease.

To find out more visit lucytfitness.com.