Lifting With CF - An Article By Rob, a CityGym Member

May 2015 I was a completely different person. My Cystic Fibrosis (C.F.) had progressed to the point where my lung efficiency had fallen to below 40%, I was seriously underweight and my Liver was beginning to fail me so I was now being assessed for the Liver transplant list.

Having heard about Gar’s personal story through a mutual friend I went hesitantly and met with him. Instantly I knew he wasn’t full of crap and what was to be a quick meet and chat turned into an hour and a half of us both swapping hospital stories.

Here was someone who had brought themselves from a place of ill health to the embodiment of health, fitness and energy. This is the kind of person I need to train with.

We started training in June 2015. In the beginning it was slow and tough. I was constantly tired and couldn’t do much. But we chipped away at it, making the smallest of changes here and there. If anything this also taught me patience.

Fast forward to today and all I can say is I never thought I would have the quality of life I have now ever again.

My lung function is increasing slowly, my weight has increased thanks to more tailored nutrition and muscle mass and my Liver is no longer on red alert at the moment so I can breathe a sigh of relief for the time being.

Simply put I owe Gar Benn more than he knows for helping to give me a quality of life my family or I could only daydream about.

Don’t get me wrong I have a long road ahead of me, with plenty more challenges but being healthier and stronger leaves me better equipped to deal with those challenges and as of right now for the first time in a very long time I’m feeling normal and normal never felt so good.....and for anyone hesitant about lifting weights and the dangers of pushing yourself in exercise I recently heard a quote that sums up my feelings perfectly....”You think lifting weights is dangerous, try being weak, being weak is very dangerous”

- Rob Sheahan