There are no limits to what you can do, only the ones you create yourself

AN intensive gym programme has enabled cerebral palsy sufferer Ben Pietruszka to get out of his wheelchair for the first time unaided. He’s lost nearly three stone and is looking forward to learning to drive, something he could have never imagined two years ago when he was at his lowest ebb.

He trains at Kiss Gyms, Swindon, five days-a-week and credits his exercise regime and the fitness trainers and friends he has made there with turning his life round.

“People ask me why I’m at the gym so often and my answer is that it’s my way of staying level-headed - it helps with my physical disability, and anxiety and depression too,” said the 29-year-old from Old Town. “I’d been in a dark place, and the gym made me realise I had the ability to change my life.

“It’s taken a long time, but I would say to anyone else in the same situation that you have to take baby steps and keep going - you will need determination and perseverance but you will start to feel better and as you do you will make bigger steps forward.”

Former DJ Ben has part-time carers to help him live independently and an upsetting experience with one of them set him off on a downward spiral.

He explained: “I had real problems with a personal assistant who turned out to be not very nice and took advantage of my good nature. It kind of destroyed me and I lost all confidence, faith and trust.

“In the aftermath it got to the point that if I didn’t do something to move on I was probably going to end up dead. It knocked me for six. I felt like I’d let myself down.

“Then I got another PA, who was short-lived, but did one thing for me – she got me into the gym, and for that I am grateful. If I ever get the chance to tell her that I will. The gym changed my whole outlook on life. ”

With personal training, in the first instance with gym manager Adam York and now with Jason Banshee, exercise has transformed Ben’s life.

One of twins, Ben was diagnosed with cerebral palsy after their premature birth. His twin sister Sophie is not affected.

Ben has diplegic cerebral palsy which is quite severe and affects the right side of his body causing severe tightness and stiffness in the muscles. It affects the motor skills (movements made using the muscles) making him slower and weaker. Doctors predicted the weakness could progress over time so it was important to keep fit, making it easier for him to cope. He gets around in a motorised wheelchair and until he went to the gym he could not get himself in and out of it unaided – but now that has all changed.

He makes the short bus ride from his home to Kiss Gyms in Princes Street every weekday, and often spends most of the day there.

“I fell in love with the gym lifestyle and realised that I can do this for the rest of my life,” Ben explained. “I used to go every day at first, and I think I was a little bit addicted, but now I have weekends off, and it works well. It’s a real community there and I’ve made loads of friends.”

Ben has made astonishing progress at the gym and can now transfer himself from his wheelchair and on to a piece of gym equipment. At home he can do more for himself, but he does still need some personal care in the morning and evening, and help with cleaning and cooking.

“It has made me much happier not to have to rely on other people so much,” Ben said.

“I would like to be able to work one day, but my focus at present is the gym, and I am learning to drive – I’ve sent off my medical forms and waiting for my provisional licence, then I can book lessons and look for an adapted car.

“I’ve got a long way to go, but I have to remain focused. I want to do more with my life and driving is a big aspect of that, it will allow me more freedom. And yes, I would like to meet that special person one day too.”

Two years ago fitness trainer Adam York started Ben with one personal training session a week, doing half-an-hour of cardio exercise on a hand bike which is accessible for a wheelchair user.

“After realising that I was going to have to deal with my depression I began training, and as I improved Adam started to add in more exercises building up by shoulders, biceps and triceps – he adapted exercises to work each part of my body,” Ben revealed.

“Then I got on to doing bench weights and made a great friend in personal trainer Jason Banshee, who heard my story and said he would like to help with whatever I needed. We have been training together for the past year and are great friends too.

“I started by lifting the free weight bar which weighs 20kg, but now I am up to 120kg. And now I can get out of the chair I am doing a lot of floor work – army crawls, push-ups and weight training on the mats.”

And Ben has a message for others like himself: “I now realise there are no limits to what you can do, only the ones you create yourself. Keep pushing forward and you can do whatever you want.”

His phenomenal progress has been boosted by losing weight, dropping from 16st to 13st 8lbs, and he is “over the moon” with that.

“I now have a personal assistant, Hollie Gassa, who I met at the gym and is studying to be a personal trainer, and she comes in one day-a-week and cooks healthy meals for me. Then they are frozen and I eat six of those small meals every day, plus breakfast, and I drink two litres of water per day too.”

Ben is relishing life and looking forward to a brighter future. He has even been offered a streetwear modelling opportunity.

“There aren’t many disabled streetwear models. It’s more than I could ever have imagined,” he smiled. “I love my family to pieces, and we have become a lot closer of late, and I have a lovely bunch of friends, I couldn’t ask for better.

“I’ve met loads of people at the gym, and they go there for various reasons. It is a wonderful stress reliever, it feels incredible, everyone should go to the gym. Lots of people have a false image that it’s all body-builders but it is far from that – people just want to feel better about themselves, and it really works.

“To be honest, the doctors told me it wasn’t safe to do this and that at the gym, but if I listened to them I wouldn’t have done anything. I put on the weight because I was depressed and comfort eating, and they were worried about that, but now I can show them that the exercise and a good diet has resulted in me losing a lot of weight.”

Ben is currently recovering from a hernia operation. The hernia occurred when he was overweight and now, having lost a lot of weight, he is planning to talk to doctors about surgery to remove excess skin from his stomach.

“I don’t know if I can get that done on the NHS, if not I may look at doing it privately,” he said. “These days I have no intention of being held back.”

• Kiss Gyms Swindon manager and Ben’s first fitness trainer, Adam York, said he was impressed with the perseverance and progress that Ben had made.

“He came in with one of his carers and told me he wanted to exercise to improve the quality of his life and boost his confidence.

“He was really quiet to start with and initially would only speak to me. It was a slow process to get him going and boost his confidence, but now he’s like a new person. I believe mental attitude is the driving force behind every physical progression.”

Adam, 34, who has a Masters degree in clinical exercise physiology, has three other gym clients who have cerebral palsy, but he said that Ben faced the biggest challenge as he is the only one who is wheelchair-bound.

“Exercise benefits everyone with cerebral palsy or other physical disabilities,” he said. “They may only make tiny improvements, but they make a huge difference in terms of mobility.”

“Ben’s progress has been incredible, his mobility has increased massively. He can even catch a ball with one hand now, and throw it back at me! He’s lost loads of weight too and made lots of friends.”

And Adam added that if anyone – disabled or able-bodied - was nervous about visiting the gym for the first time, he was more than happy to meet them outside the premises, have a chat, and then go in with them.

For more information visit the website: www.kissgyms.com/swindon.php or call 0845 644 2318