Mytime Active Stories - Peter

Discovering a smarter way to train!

Peter, 64, is a retired Local Government Officer from Bromley, who has been working out at Mytime Active’s Pavilion Leisure Centre several times a week for the last two years, to aid his recovery from injuries.

He says: “I’ve had osteoarthritis in both my knees for many years, and have had an arthroscopy plus two steroid injections in my right knee, but it still caused me pain.” Peter also had back pain and sciatica, which was diagnosed in 2023 as two bulging discs in his spine. He explains: “I wanted to do some targeted strength work to help with my back and knee issues, which is when I joined The Pavilion. Although I had lost more than 10kg after being advised by a consultant that it would help my back pain, I was nervous about doing something to injure myself further, which is why I decided to work with Chris McGowan, a PT at Mytime Active. He’s great at making sure I maintain the correct form and challenging me to build my strength in specific areas and we started working more systematically on the muscles around my knees. Also, if I do get a twinge, he modifies the exercises so I can keep active without exacerbating any issues.”

Peter had progressed from simple exercises to weighted squats and bar work by the time new EGYM equipment was installed at The Pavilion in August 2025. “Now we incorporate EGYM into my exercises too,” he says. “The leg extension and leg curl machines have really helped challenge the muscles around my knee in a focused manner. I can now confidently perform the exercises on my own two or three times a week, as well as with Chris”

“Since using EGYM I'm much more motivated. I use the guided setting that paces my exercises, which means I don't rush, cheat or stop too soon out of boredom, as I often did on manual machines. I can vary what I do with the negative or adaptive settings, too. I particularly like the adaptive setting that lowers the weight throughout a set; I often switch to this after a couple of regular sets as it encourages me to do keep going. Normal equipment isn't as seamless as EGYM – I can change the programme at the touch of a button and the equipment sets itself to my height automatically; no more fiddling with seats!”

Stronger at 64

Peter wears an Apple watch and has always had an interest in health data, so he was keen to try out the new EGYM equipment as soon as it was installed. He says: “I track my progress with the EGYM App every time I visit the gym and the link to Apple Health works really well. The direct feedback from EGYM shows I'm improving, which is great motivation. My overall bio age has reduced from 58 to 55 since I started. I’ve noticed my weights have increased over time too and my overall strength bio age has decreased from 40 to 34. My flexibility score isn’t as good. It’s come down a little from 75 to 71, but there’s still a way to go. I’m a bit inflexible due to my injuries, but I have a target to aim for and am trying to introduce more stretching.

“The level of detail the EGYM App shows is incredible. I know that my upper body is stronger than my lower body and that I have a muscle imbalance between my quadriceps and my hamstrings, so I know where to focus to improve those scores. It’s great to see measurable increases in strength, as well as areas where I could do better.

Peter remarks on the wide age range of people he sees using the EGYM equipment at The Pavilion; everyone from very young members to older men and women. He explains: “Being retired, I tend to visit mid-morning when the gym is quieter, but even then the EGYM machines are busy. I've had some interesting conversations with fellow members about their latest workout; we often reference stats from the EGYM App and our bio age".

“It’s very rare that I even think about my knees now and I rarely get back pain, which is a testament to how much I have come on. My goal is to maintain the muscle strength around my knees as I age to keep any pain at bay, and to keep my bio age a good number of years below my chronological age! The strength work has definitely improved my posture and core, which makes day-to-day activities like lifting suitcases or heavy shopping much easier. Now I’m in my sixties, my overall goal is to maintain my physical strength to support my quality of life, as well as doing enough cardio to help my heart.”