A mother of a workout

Since then, I’ve been going to the gym twice a week. I use the pool, the weight machines and do aqua aerobics a few times a week. I’m confident enough to create my own workout without a trainer now. My next plan is to try one of the yoga classes. The gym has also become a bit of a social scene for me – I keep bumping into my neighbours and sometimes we even meet for coffee after our workouts.

Thanks to my daughter I am certainly fitter and stronger, but the main change I’ve seen in myself is my sense of wellbeing. Now I leave the gym glowing and feeling much more confident. I am definitely going to keep it up.

2. The mum: Sarah MacPherson, 52

   ‘My daughter, Cam, helped me step up my fitness routine by taking me to an aerobics class.’

   These days, I consider myself very active because I walk, run, ski, play tennis, ride, go to aerobics and do yoga. But I can honestly say that I would never have stuck to it or even done half of it if it hadn’t been for my daughter, Cam.

   I was active when I was younger, but like most people I started doing a bit less as I got older. This all changed when Cam took a real interest in keeping fit. She started going to the gym and doing aerobics classes and asked me to go with her one day.

   I didn’t want to do aerobics because I didn’t think I was co-ordinated enough. But I was really pleased that Cam asked me and I was also keen to know more about the things she was doing, so I decided to give it a go. To my surprise, I really enjoyed it and we had a real giggle together. We’ve kept it up and now I go on my own when she’s not around. I like aerobics so much I’ve even set up a class for the teachers at the school where I work.

   Cam started training for the London marathon a few months back during a time when I was trying to shift a few extra pounds. She suggested I go running with her and even though I hadn’t run for years I knew it was a great fat burner so I agreed. Now, I run about twice a week for around 20 minutes and it’s helped me to lose some weight.

   My daughter and I always chat about things we’ve been doing at the gym, fitness articles we’ve read and we give each other tips on certain exercises. I think it’s great that working out is a common interest for us. On the days when I don’t really feel like doing anything, having her around and knowing I’ll have such a great time exercising with her is all the motivation I need to get moving.

3. The daughter: Heidi Stanley, 19

   ‘My mum, Jane, helped me discover exercise through walking the dogs.’

   I used to hate the fact that my mum was so active. She always did loads of walking and cycling and she went to the gym constantly. My mum even has more home workout videos than pairs of shoes. The rest of my family is also really active and health conscious and I always felt like a bit of an outsider. I’m the one who always wanted to sleep until lunchtime and they all wanted to get up early and go hiking. I wanted to go on beach holidays and they wanted to go skiing. I always opted out of what they were doing and stayed at home and watched television instead.