How I get fit done
Ashleigh Charlesworth, a 29-year-old nurse from Sudbury, suffered thirddegree burns in a ‘reckless act’. Almost two years on, she’s just achieved her biggest challenge yet
I was enjoying a long-awaited trip to the pub with my cousin as lockdown restrictions eased in April 2021, when another customer recklessly sprayed alcohol on to an open flame. It exploded into a fireball, setting both of us alight.
As an A&E nurse for the NHS, I knew we had to ‘stop, drop and roll’ – afire safety technique – and I put my hands to my face to protect my eyes. But the fire was too powerful.
I was rushed to hospital and spent 48 hours on life support in intensive care. Both my cousin and I suffered severe third-degree burns to our faces, chests and hands, and in the days that followed, we had multiple skin grafts. I was so terrified of my reflection that I covered all the hospital mirrors.
It was fitness that helped me build back my confidence. Due to my injuries, I had to pull out of a bikini body competition, but I was determined to compete again.
In June, five weeks after I was finally discharged from hospital, I attempted my first workout at my local gym. My hands were still bandaged, so I trained my legs, and while it was utterly exhausting, it felt amazing.
From then on, I started going twice a week, training with an online PT. We focused on my legs while using a grip strengthener for my hands. Seven weeks later, I managed to hold a 6kg dumbbell in my hands. I was elated.
Fast-forward 20 months, and I can lift the same weight I used to (my PB is a 120kg barbell deadlift). I train four times a week: legs on a Monday, cardio and a push workout (training th
