Athlete Stories - Fit for an adventurous life!

Carmel getting after adventure in New Zealand

If ever there was an excellent example of the effects of the transformative power of exercise, Carmel Dal Ponte would clearly fit the bill. Carmel and I met in December, 2025, shortly after she picked up the cycling bug, participating in a cycling tour of New Zealand.

Carmel had experienced some major life shifts, including the death of her mother for whom she was sole carer, in previous months. The cycling tour sparked a flame in Carmel, where she realised that as a 65 year old retiree that now had time on her hands, she could begin to bring her own dreams into focus.

The experience of caring for an elderly parent cemented the notion for Carmel, that life was indeed short, and precious - and that it was a great idea to pack in as much adventure and experience as possible.

Strategy:

My exercise prescription brief centred upon, “let’s get Carmel as fit as possible so that she can enjoy an adventurous life”.

Carmel came to our first consultation well prepared - she shared records of past and future adventures, and shared that she had lost a significant amount of body weight (10kg) in the year prior, also sharing her DEXA scan results. The bad news was that seven kilograms of this loss was lean body tissue. Carmel’s doctor highlighted this to her, and I explained that one of the biggest keys to ageing well was resistance training. Not only did Carmel need to be fit for cycling, we also wanted to add lean body tissue back - as being stronger not only helps you to ride efficiently, it also helps mitigate ageing risk factors such as sustaining a fracture from a fall.

As we age, many people begin to believe that they cannot improve their fitness or get stronger, but thankfully, that is far from the actual truth. The miracle of exercise (and subsequent) prescription is that we can apply a graded exercise program across the lifespan and still elicit improvements. I often share this concept as the “miracle of exercise prescription”.

I set to crafting an effective exercise prescription for Carmel that would support her adventurous goals, whilst also quietly working at improving body composition and strength.

Key features of Carmel’s program have included:

1) A structured endurance training program, including some shorter high intensity intervals (to utilise all muscle fibre types and provide interest). From an improved body composition perspective, this also included re introducing carbohydrates to her nutrition plan - sandwiching them around training and within training. A well fuelled athlete will preferentially use both fat and carbohydrate as their energy source, both in training and at rest, rather than chewing into lean body tissue (because you’re in a big calorie deficit). This has been a significant and important change for Carmel as she has begun to embrace the concept that carbohydrates are not the devil, particularly if you’re seeking improved body composition outcomes.

2) A graded, progressive strength and conditioning program that took Carmel’s unique needs into account - she had experienced ankle surgery that limited range of motion in one foot.

3) Keeping regular swimming in the mix for enjoyment and endorphins.

Results:

I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Carmel over the last four months and seeing her fitness improve in leaps and bounds as she has gone “all in” on her program. It’s particularly inspiring to watch (and cheer her loudly!) Carmel enjoying her adventurous life on her bike touring adventures.

Carmel has recently had a follow up DEXA scan and shared her results with me. The results are remarkable and I’m honoured to have been part of the journey!

“Liz ,

I would like to personally thank you for all your professional support , care and positive reinforcement, in helping me get back on track, with my fitness .

Six months ago , at the age of 65, I was given a wake-up call by my medical professional , for losing around 7 kgs of muscle in a period of a year. With a decent amount of muscle being a key focus and need as I aged, the deterioration was not what I expected would happen to me so rapidly as I was still a very active retiree .

In December 2025 , after a personal recommendation, I contacted you not knowing what the future of my fitness would entail. You accepted the challenge in helping me regain my muscle AND embark on my newest passion, cycling .

In under 4 months , since starting your program Liz, I have :

Regained 1.8kgs of muscle
Lost 2.2kgs of fat
Reduced my BMI by 2.5%

But most importantly, increased my bone density by 2.8% through your strength training format . In total contrast to the norm, of spiralling downwards with age .  This is truly extra-ordinary for my age!

And my first ever cycling program, continues to delight and inspire me for even more bike tour challenges . I couldn’t be happier .

Liz , two simple but powerful words - THANK YOU .

Carmel

PS - carbs rule!”

Conclusion:

I’m looking forward to continuing to work with Carmel and watching her get the most out of life. Sports and exercise science is for everyone - in a nutshell, if your goals are important to you, and I can practically help you achieve them, then they are of the highest importance to me.