Meg's Story: Daily Pain to World's Strongest Woman
If you've ever wondered about the motivation behind why we do what we do, look no further than our amazing SMMers.
We fully believe that EVERYONE in this world is just a few good months from achieving incredible things with their body and even life, changing every perception they have about what's possible with their body - they just need the right starting point and to know they are not alone!
A life changing achievement can be as simple as being able to go for a long walk pain free, going up & down stairs easily again, getting down to the floor to play with your kids and not worrying about how you’re gonna get up again, and those things can lead to so much more!
When Meg first contacted me, all we were trying to do was help improve her neck pain and get her back to normal training again pain free as she was considering hanging up her strongwoman boots… but things kept improving!
And because she kept putting the work in, check out what happened in her own words:
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Meg Austin:
Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped turned upside down. It’s gonna take a minute so just sit right there and I’ll tell you how a became princess of a thing called… Erm I can’t think of anything that is relevant to this story and rhymes!
We fully believe that EVERYONE in this world is just a few good months from achieving incredible things with their body and even life, changing every perception they have about what's possible with their body - they just need the right starting point and to know they are not alone!
A life changing achievement can be as simple as being able to go for a long walk pain free, going up & down stairs easily again, getting down to the floor to play with your kids and not worrying about how you’re gonna get up again, and those things can lead to so much more!
When Meg first contacted me, all we were trying to do was help improve her neck pain and get her back to normal training again pain free as she was considering hanging up her strongwoman boots… but things kept improving!
And because she kept putting the work in, check out what happened in her own words:
----
Meg Austin:
Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped turned upside down. It’s gonna take a minute so just sit right there and I’ll tell you how a became princess of a thing called… Erm I can’t think of anything that is relevant to this story and rhymes!
So, I shall just tell it how it is…
In 2011 I broke my right leg at rugby practice… Snapped and split my fibula. Rotation break in my tibia. Pins and bolts to hold it all together.
I was on crutches for nearly a year and limped for a very, very long time after.
I didnt rehab in anyway shape or form. I just started training again and discovered I really enjoyed lifting weights. My leg is still wonky because of it.
In 2013 I did my first ever Strongwomen competition and I fell in love with the sport.
I continued to compete for 5 years and had a pretty successful go at it… However, as I got stronger and put my body through more & more, the worse I started feeling.
Eventually I ended up in constant pain, severe depression, I would get to the gym and just want to lay on the floor and cry… Sometimes I did just that!
I continued to compete for 5 years and had a pretty successful go at it… However, as I got stronger and put my body through more & more, the worse I started feeling.
Eventually I ended up in constant pain, severe depression, I would get to the gym and just want to lay on the floor and cry… Sometimes I did just that!
Every time I went to the doctors, I was told I was over training, I needed to rest and stop lifting.
This all just elevated the depression and compounded how shit I felt about everything. There was other stuff going on in my life that was also very challenging, and I lost all hope of ever getting back to being strong, happy or pain free.
My lower back had always been an issue and so has poor mental health, this all made it skyrocket.
I had my second daughter at 40, another emergency c-section just like my first daughter, only this time I was 10 years older. So the struggle to recover was put down to age.
In 2020 I ended up working in a very physical job, working with Special Education Needs (SEN) children and on a daily basis I would have to choose:
- Do I pick up and play with my own kid? Take her to the park, do “normal” stuff.
- Or be able to go to work and do my job properly. Which would mean when got home I was in too much pain and too fatigued to be the mum and wife I should be.
My lower back pain was horrendous on a nearly daily basis. I had insomnia for years and suffered with bad anxiety. I did start getting into better sleep patterns, but it was very sporadic still and the slightest thing would trigger not being able to sleep for days.
The pain in my neck, shoulders, pecs, shoulder blades, right leg where the break was, elbows, wrists, jaw ache, headaches and a whole load of other symptoms on a daily or weekly basis, was becoming soul destroying.
I eventually had an MRI on my back and neck and had herniated, de hydrated discs and bone spurs.
That’s it, I’m done.
Game over…
Or was it???
I finally got diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and for the first year I was just told to take painkillers when necessary, which did absolutely nothing to help and still left me feeling desperate to get my life back.
Fortunately, I then went to a military doctor, as my husband is military and we moved onto base. The doctor I saw was visibly upset that I hadn’t been given any kind of medication and that I had just been left to deal with it. I cried my eyes out walking out the doctors room as finally, someone was taking me seriously and actually cared. It was such a relief.
That moment was the first big significant event that led to things starting to turn around.
The doc put me on Amitriptyline, and I started sleeping loads better and my head was clearer. The pain lessoned on a daily basis, but it still didn’t take much to trigger days of being in agony and laid up not being able to move. Which would then set of the emotional symptoms and around we would go again.
January 2021, I still remember the exact moment that I stumbled across Tom Morrisons article on how he overcame herniated disc’s and all sorts of issues. I also remember reading a line from him that said something along the lines of:
“You’re not special, what makes you think you’re the only person that can’t be fixed”
Well damn, that told me!!
I sent Tom a DM and explained my situation and when he replied I remember thinking, this dude is the missing piece. Tom was so empathetic and so helpful and didn’t once go all salesman. I got all the good feels and just knew it was what I needed.
I purchased the Simplistic Mobility Method and got to work. The first time I did a thoracic bridge, the very easy regression, I felt my neck release and if there’s such thing as a neckgasm, I had one!!
The relief was unreal. I continued to be consistent with SMM but it was a real challenge a lot of the time.
As I progressed through SMM I really started feeling a difference. I started training again and everything was all going in the right direction. There were a few setbacks, but they didn’t last long and weren’t as severe.
Could I actually dust off my strongwoman slippers and compete again?
I re-hired my strength and conditioning coach, purchased End Range Training, which I absolutely LOVE and still incorporate some of it into my warm ups and cool down. I saw that Britain’s Strongest Woman Masters category was on in 6 months, September the 5th 2021, so I signed up.
The comeback was on.
I stayed fairly consistent with SMM and very consistent with End Range and even if I was in too much pain or too fatigued to train, I would do some light mobility.
I finally made it to comp day and came second, missing the top spot by 1 point. I was absolutely elated. Not too shabby after 5 years away from it!
I then qualified for The World’s Strongest Woman but unfortunately, I reverted to old habits. I started to neglect mobility and not warming up properly and slightly tore my right shoulder. Gutted. But it was my own fault.
Lesson learned.
Even though I was really annoyed with myself for not sticking to what I knew worked, I knew that I had come back once before, I can do it again…
Comeback part two, was on.
Back doing SMM and End Range and this time being consistent with all of it. I prioritise warming up properly over training. If I’m short on time, I cut the training session short, not the mobility.
Now, here I am, 10 weeks away from flying to the USA, to finally get my shot at competing at the World’s Strongest Woman. I got invited back as I couldn’t go last year. I do also have one big comp beforehand and it’s also very heavy!
I’m consistently doing one of the 10 minute mobility sessions from Stability Builder every single morning and I’m adding one of the Stability Builder sessions onto my strength training sessions. Warming up properly with the Stability Builder warm up is absolute top priority.
Not only is training going amazingly, but I can also give my daughter piggy backs, clean my entire house, build a rock garden and do “normal” stuff.
Being in constant pain had such a huge negative impact on my life for so long, that to finally be feeling good way more than not, it has changed everything.
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I can’t thank Tom and Jenni enough for not just their knowledge but their unwavering and continued support. It’s not just a sign up and get-on-with-it-alone type job. The Facebook group is as equally amazing and both Tom and Jenni are so responsive and willing to help whenever they can. As is the whole group.
I rarely recommend or rave about people, but I literally don’t shut up about these guys.
It was by far one of the best decisions and investments in myself that I have ever made.
So, watch this space and hopefully the next review I do, I shall be doing it with a trophy in my hand from the World’s Strongest Woman!
Tom and Jenni my Flong and Sexible savours!
Update **December 2022**
Thank you to all of you have supported my strongwoman journey this year. It’s been an incredible year. This time last year I could barely lift 50kg over my head due to injury and fibromyalgia flair ups.
Update **December 2022**
Thank you to all of you have supported my strongwoman journey this year. It’s been an incredible year. This time last year I could barely lift 50kg over my head due to injury and fibromyalgia flair ups.
I ended the year
🏆 Wining Arnold’s log and deadlift championships
🥈 At Queen of the North. Heaviest comp I had done up until
🏅Top 10 strongest in the world.
Here's to 2023!
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