I'm not the coach who has it all figured out.

I'm Ana. I'm 43, I have two small kids (6 and 2), two dogs, two cats, and approximately zero minutes to spare.

I've been active most of my life — started CrossFit back in 2010, ran a gym in Dalston, fell in love with coaching, and when we closed last year I went straight into my PT qualification. Because coaching is the part I couldn't give up.

But here's the thing — I don't look like what comes up when you Google "CrossFit." Never have. I just showed up, lifted things, kept going and at 43 I am the strongest I've ever been. You can refuse to accept living with painful joints and low level of fitness as normal.

I've also never touched a fitness machine in my life. Free weights and compound movements that are actually useful in real life. The kind of strength that carries over.

I don't count calories. I've never had a perfect relationship with food or fitness. I've just kept moving, kept learning, and kept figuring it out.

And then perimenopause hit.

My energy crashed. My mood tanked. Suddenly my husband was breathing too loud and everything was just overwhelming.

It was only when I finally got on HRT that the fog started to lift — but what really kept me sane was carving out that time in the day just for me. Lifting my own bodyweight above my head. Picking up something heavy and putting it back down. Over and over again. Prioritising me before the mountain of laundry to fold. It sounds simple, but it made me feel like a million bucks.

And when I started paying attention to what I was eating, without excluding anything that is in social media world percieved as "toxic" or "causing hormone disruption" - just by reshuffling my plate a little ... my energy transformed. Suddenly I had enough in the tank to manage the kids, the dogs, the cats, the clients, loud breathing and whatever else the day threw at me.

That's the connection to Unpaused. Not just getting stronger — but having the energy, the clarity, and the headspace to actually show up for your life. And to enjoy it!

My real why for staying strong isn't a summer body. It's being 43 and wanting to run around after my girls now — and being the grandma who's still swinging kettlebells at 80, not watching grandkids from the rocking chair.

I want that for you too.

I'm a qualified PT with a deep passion for nutrition — and a very common sense approach to both. No rice-weighing. No guilt. Just small, practical habits that actually fit into your real life.

When we closed the gym, women messaged me to say they'd never felt so heard - because I get women. I understand our bodies, our hormones and our chaos.

I'm not here to fix you. You're not broken.

I'm just here to help you press play again.

Ana