Rachael H.

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 materialized 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. 

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

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.

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. 

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

This was the catalyst but it took me another year to fight my way back to health, mostly through brain retraining after nothing else touched the sides.

In that time, I discovered my purpose from this experience - to help people reclaim their identities and athletic selves after Long Covid. 

Leaning on my experience as an ex-athlete, personal trainer and with Long Covid, I am able to firstly relate but also coach clients how to build their detrained bodies back safely, overcome exercise fear and regain confidence in their exercise tolerance. 

It starts with my unique 90 Day Rebound Method. I have piled in all my knowledge and experience to create a structured yet engaging program to ensure a successful return to strength and fitness. 

Life on the other side. 

I like to say that COVID saved me. It taught me perspective, presence, 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 2 years of my life but has probably given me back many more. 

At the time of writing, I have finished my phased return to my corporate job, launched my online fitness business (Rebound Athletic) and resumed my passion of playing Padel Tennis. Most importantly I get to enjoy time with my beautiful daughter completely symptom free.

If you are reading this during recovery, stay hopeful and always remember if you can recover a little bit, full recovery has to be possible.  

Click here to read Rachael’s top tips for returning to exercise with long covid. 

You can follow and connect with Rachael on Instagram here.