Description:When the country went into lockdown last March, George Millward, from Oxfordshire, weighed 22.4 stone.
Then the 21-year-old student caught coronavirus - which left him bedbound for days and struggling to breathe for weeks after.
"The first day I had a little cough, nothing major," he tells us. "The second day I had a terrible fever, my head was on fire but the rest of my body was freezing, and I was in bed all day.
"And the last day I was in bed all day again and felt like I had no energy, like my body was shutting down.
"When I'd come back from a walk, it felt like my lungs were closing a bit and I would have to sit down and focus on my breathing. And I was alone in my uni house at the time, so I was fairly worried that if I passed out because of this no one was there to help me."
After he recovered, the serious health scare left George realising he had to make a change.
But thanks to a national lockdown, it meant George could no longer count on the gym.
So he worked with what he had, using a set of dumbells and some resistance bands to exercise for a couple of hours a day, four times a week, as well as walking for up to three hours a day.
Sticking to his strict diet and exercise plan, George has managed to lose an incredible 7.8st (48kg) in the past year.
"My motivation was very internal," he says. "I've always loved sport and exercises, which is why I do a sports coaching course at uni, but it got to the point where I wouldn't look like your typical sports coach, and I was also not happy with how I look or felt, which impacted my mental health along the way too.
"My family and friends have also been a massive motivation for me, not allowing me to slip with diet and always encouraged me to keep going."
And in a strange way, lockdown has given him the opportunity he needed to kick on with his fitness goals, having recently launched a YouTube channel to encourage others like him to do the same.
Adding: "My plans and goals for this coming year are to improve myself mentally after the struggles of lockdown, and I also want to run a half marathon this year. That would be a massive achievement, as I was obese eight months ago."
But his story isn't unique. Pre-Covid, many of us would routinely amble to the gym before or after work, half-heartedly trudging along on the treadmill or attempting to lift weights with the big lads by the mirrors.
Then overnight, gyms were closed, sports teams were told to stop meeting up; and we were shut off into our flats and houses - none of the gear and out of ideas.
If you could do it outdoors, with little kit and for free, it was suddenly worth considering. Alternatively, your spare room, garage or storage cupboard was about to become a gym - if you could find a shop that had anything left in stock.
Figures from low-cost chain Sports Direct show that between March 2020 and the end of February 2021, the sale of training gear actually rose by 112 percent, with weight sales up 560 percent, and yoga mats by 1,035 percent.
The retailer also found that 37 percent of customers said they became more active since lockdown started, as 'working from home had given them more time to eat better and exercise more'.
Similarly, a survey of LADbible readers found that almost 30 percent of people said they actually became fitter during lockdown.
Insta - @george_millward_fitness
