3km swims earn Joanne Member of the Month Award

A Tullamore woman who has unable to swim one length of the pool this time last year and who now completes three kilometre swims before starting work has been named as Aura Tullamore's Member of the Month. Joanne Weir from Mucklagh manages to chalk up a staggering 120 lengths each time she visits the pool and has also gone from being a newcomer to the gym to excelling at indoor cycling. "I decided last year that I wanted to make the most of my membership. The goal was to have more energy, to lose weight, to shape up and to enjoy a new lease of life," Joanne explained. She has since dropped two dress sizes and is a trim size ten having combined her early morning swimming routine with fitness classes which see her at the gym up to four times a week. "I had no interest in going to the gym and I had it in my head that I didn't like the gym. I could not motivate myself until I started the classes. Once you start the class you have to keep going for 45 minutes and the group exercises kept me from leaving," said Joanne. Joanne's determination to get fit and to continue improving her level of fitness was applauded by Emmet Scully, Operations Manager at Aura Tullamore who said that she was an obvious choice for their Member of the Month Award. "The level of fitness that Joanne has achieved since she started to combine her swimming with classes in the gym is hugely impressive. All she needed was a little bit of motivation to get going in the gym. She is a shining example of just how far someone can go when they put their mind to something," said Emmet.