The Weston-super-Mare powerlifter 'living her life fiercely' at 71

Peeps Nicol started powerlifting aged 70

A 71-year-old woman with multiple sclerosis (MS) says she now feels fit and strong after she started competing in powerlifting competitions.

Peeps Nicol, from Weston-super-Mare, described herself as "unfit" before she took up the sport last year.

After the death of her husband and being diagnosed with MS, she felt it was time to take on a new hobby.

"Being here on earth is about being yourself and living your life fiercely," she said.

"When I was diagnosed, my future didn't look particularly rosy, but everything has changed.

"I found something I like doing. I just wish I started 40 years ago, but I didn't because I was a young mother," Ms Nicol said.

Ms Nicol is training for another competition in September

Her late husband, Brian Nicol, passed away in April 2020 from a serious chronic lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

"Because I hadn't been doing anything much, apart from looking after an ailing husband, I wasn't very fit at all," Ms Nicol said.

She had planned to take up triathlon, but struggled with her balance due to her MS.

"I've got a wonderful little racing bike, but I just couldn't balance on the road. So I gave up any ideas of being a triathlete," she said.

Ms Nicol trains at the gym three times a week with her personal trainer TJ Hudson

Last year, Ms Nicol joined a gym in Weston-super-Mare, where she met her personal trainer, and now trains three times a week.

She said her joints were very stiff at the start, and she was unable to do a bodyweight squat.

The powerlifting helped with her balance and she entered her first novice competition in march at JC Strength Academy.

"The other lifters, they made me feel so welcome. It's a really lovely community, people want the best for each other," she said.

Ms Nicol will enter another novice competition in September.

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