From Struggling to Walk to Training for a 23km Bike Ride: Alison’s Story

When Alison injured her knee in a skiing accident, she assumed that, with the right medical advice and enough time, things would eventually return to normal.

Instead, she found herself stuck in a situation that many people dealing with long-term pain know all too well—plenty of appointments, plenty of opinions, but very few real answers.

She underwent an MRI and met with two different consultants in search of a solution. Surgery wasn’t considered a viable option, and beyond being advised to rest and manage the issue, there wasn’t much direction on what recovery should actually look like.

For someone who had always lived an active life, this was incredibly difficult.

Before the injury, movement was simply part of who Alison was. She enjoyed ballet, Pilates and staying active in day-to-day life—constantly moving around the house, gardening and keeping busy. It wasn’t until that was suddenly taken away that she realised just how important movement had been to her overall wellbeing.

Without it, both her physical and mental health began to suffer.

She described feeling as though her musculature had significantly diminished and spoke honestly about how low she felt during that period.

“I ended up feeling like a slug.”

It was a simple but powerful way of describing what so many people experience when pain stops them from doing the things that make them feel like themselves.

Despite having a degree in human biology and a strong understanding of anatomy, Alison found herself in the same position many people do—understanding the body in theory, but having no idea what practical steps to take in order to move forward.

That changed when her GP mentioned CrossFit Structure and suggested she speak to Aaron.

The recommendation stood out because it offered something different. Rather than looking solely at the site of pain, the idea was to take a broader view of how her body was moving as a whole.

After speaking with Charlotte over the phone, Alison booked her first appointment—although she admits she felt anxious beforehand because she didn’t know what to expect.

That uncertainty quickly disappeared when she arrived.

Aaron immediately began assessing how she moved in everyday situations—watching her get out of the car, walk into the gym and move up and down stairs. He carefully reviewed her MRI report and consultant feedback before building a plan that would gradually progress over time.

What stood out most to Alison was the honesty of the approach. There were no exaggerated promises. Aaron didn’t claim he could “fix” her pain overnight. He didn’t promise a miracle cure. Instead, he focused on helping her rebuild what had been lost—strength, confidence and resilience through carefully structured training.

Aaron’s Approach: Understanding the Root Cause

With Alison we found quickly that specific parts of her core, glutes, hamstrings and part of her quads didn’t fire as well as they should have to support her hips and knees. Specifically her lower abs were very weak compared to her other muscles around the abdomen. As the lower abs were weaker her body had to compensate most of her movement around those muscles which eventually started to cause joint pain around her knees. We always start the session to make sure all of the muscles in her core are firing as they should. So not just doing normal planks but doing planks with the intent of making the correct muscles do the work. 

Once we would get the core engaged we then move onto getting the glutes to fire as they should by using her own bodyweight with glute bridges and gradually building up to doing things like sandbag deadlifts to help strengthen the muscles. We would then begin to work the muscles in the quads that weren’t firing as they should (vastus medialis) with isometric holds. Once they were firing correctly we would then start going to things like squats and sled work to get all of the muscles we’d woken up through the session working together as they should. 

Week by week we would begin to increase the weight as long as Alison felt safe. A lot of times for people it’s not about just being strong enough but also confident enough to lift or move the weights. If someone is scared or nervous about lifting the weight, the likelihood of compensation is much higher. So we progressively go heavier for strength as well as building the confidence. 

Alison noticed improvements quickly.

With each session, she felt tangible progress. And while the exercises themselves were important, she also credits Aaron’s coaching style as a major part of her recovery. “Aaron is so uplifting, so positive, so precise—you feel completely safe in what he’s getting you to do.” She believes his attitude and the confidence he creates during sessions are just as important as the physical programming itself.

What makes Alison’s progress even more impressive is how few sessions she has actually had. She began working with Aaron in mid-February and has only been training roughly every other week. Before coming to us, she had largely been resting and avoiding activity altogether.

Now, just a few months later, her life looks very different. During her most recent session, she ran up and down the gym. She’s back to running upstairs at home—currently one step at a time, with the goal of eventually taking two at a time again. And she is currently on a very active holiday with lots of walking and swimming and moving pain-free!

For many people, that may seem like an ordinary challenge. For Alison, it represents something far bigger. It represents independence. Confidence. Freedom. And a return to the active life she thought she may have lost.

Her story is a reminder that recovery doesn’t always require more scans, more opinions or endless rest.

Sometimes it requires the right plan, the right coaching and someone who understands how to rebuild confidence in your body one step at a time.

At CrossFit Structure, that’s exactly what we aim to do.

If you’re in a similar position—feeling stuck, frustrated, and like you’ve run out of options—know that there may still be a way forward. You don’t have to accept pain as your normal. With the right guidance and a fresh approach, it’s possible to rebuild strength, restore confidence, and get back to the things you love.

If Alison’s story resonates with you, reach out and let’s have a conversation about how we can help you take that first step. Book a No Sweat Intro here, or call us 07480 589 827