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about me

 

I remember it like it was yesterday.

 

It’s a Saturday morning. My 8 month pregnant wife and I have just woken up. I have barely slept. I am summoning up the courage to tell her that I am having thoughts I am better off not here. 

 

Why? Well 7 months earlier I contracted COVID, which materialised into Long COVID. I was bed-bound, in constant pain and my condition was unchanging. I saw no way out. I didn’t know how I would look after my wife and child. I had lost my health, my purpose, and my self-worth. 

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It was scary to be in a place I never expected to understand. 

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Was this destiny?

 

I am a type A personality and (was a) perfectionist. Just prior to my illness I was working long corporate hours, coaching online fitness, training for the London Marathon and my wife and I were going through IVF. Sometimes I think COVID was the straw that broke the camel's back.

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And yet I still resisted. How could I not work and provide for a newborn in the house? So I rotated bed-rest with 30 minute chunks of work. 

 

A couple of months after our beautiful daughter was born, we made the decision that I would stop work completely after we looked at the worst case scenario - I don’t get better, we live on one income and move out of London to somewhere cheaper (which we did). But ultimately we made the decision based on giving myself a chance to heal. 

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I realised that health is a fragile commodity. It can be taken away in a second. 

 

This was the catalyst, along-with brain-retraining, but it took me another year and a half to fight my way back to a good health status. 

 

In that time, I discovered my purpose from this experience - to help people reclaim their identities and athletic selves after long COVID, chronic illness and other life changing circumstances. 

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It starts with 'The Baseline Club - an affordable membership containing the exact gentle movement program I followed, whilst recovering. You'll be supported by a positive community and 121 DM coaching. The program is not a progressive, it's not graded exercise, nor is it a means to accelerate your recovery. Rather it is designed to meet you where you are at, re-build the mind-muscle connection, slowly build your movement tolerance and keep your muscles and joints healthy until you are recovered enough for more.

 

That 'more' when you are ready is my unique 90 Day Rebound Method for the detrained body. There is no other program like it. I have piled all my knowledge and experience to create a safe, carefully curated and engaging program I think you will love. It is paced perfectly and crafted to ensure your successful return to strength and fitness. You can apply here to take part. 
 

I like to say that COVID saved me. It taught me perspective, gratitude, and the importance of rest. It made me address unresolved trauma and make important lifestyle changes. It destroyed me then cleansed me. It stole over years of my life but has probably given me back many more. 

 

"PERFECT GETS IN THE WAY OF GOOD"

 

I carry these lessons through to my coaching. To help my clients tackle their unique barriers, and embed habits to improve their overall well-being and performance. Addressing the mental side is essential to achieving physical goals. 

 

When you are chronically ill, you desperately search for answers but therein lies a problem. The internet and social media is full of solutions. Some science backed, many not.

 

So this got me thinking. 

 

How could I use my product management skills (from my corporate career) to help people make an empowered choice of what to incorporate into their own health and wellbeing roadmap.  

 

And so the Rebound Roadmap newsletter was born. In each edition, I take a deep dive into one health and fitness topic, presenting information within a prioritisation framework so you can make an informed decision.

 

Future editions are on hold, while I prioritise other parts of my business. You can check out the archive here.

 

For now, thanks for reading my story. And good luck wherever you are on your rebound journey. 

 

Rachael xo0

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