“Proud to say that I’ve been training at City Fitness for the past 7 years. As well as for general health and fitness, my main goals at the gym are cross-training for competitive Irish dance. I have been Irish dancing for 22 years and am reigning World Champion after winning the u27 World Championship last year. I cross-train to help overcome the sprains and strains from the high-impact and repetitive nature of Irish dancing. I have hypermobile joints, which means that I am always at high risk of injuries that take much longer to heal than normal. Because my injuries limit the amount of dance training I can do safely, instead I head to the gym almost daily to cross-train with weight lifting and cardio for strength and endurance. This cross-training paid off on the day I performed for my World Championship. Halfway through my four dances, I sprained my ankle badly. My strength and fitness training was able to carry me through the next two dances, and I ended up winning my Championship. There’s no way I could have carried on without my gym training! Since then, I have been so grateful to be nominated for the NQ Sportstar awards and the Mackay Regional Council Australia Day sports awards. The support that City Fitness has extended to me over the past two years, as well as their expert advice and world class training facilities, has helped me to reach my goals and overcome my injury limitations. I am so excited to see what the future brings as I train to defend my title at the 2023 World Championships!” Sarah Purnell
Member Spotlight
