WHEN Wendy Starkie gained a whopping 50 kilograms during breast cancer treatment, she decided to make a change.

    Now, the 68-year-old is a star at her local gym, wowing fellow gym goers with her determination and ability to squat over 110 kilograms.

    “Six months after my husband died from a brain tumor, I found out I had breast cancer and had to have a mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a whole lot of drugs,” Starkie said.

    “They have a huge amount of steroids in them so you eat like mad ... and I ballooned up to 96 kilograms.”

    Starkie was determined not to let the weight gain hold her back, and once she found out she was healthy, decided to focus on getting fit.

    “I went back to the gym and tried out aerobics classes, but you don’t realize how much you are out of balance when you’ve just lost a breast ... I tripped over and knocked nine people down in one go.”

    Starkie, then 58, decided to get a personal trainer and has never looked back. “I currently weigh 60 kilos and have been working out every day since,” she said. “I run in the Balmoral Burn every year and I won the Fitness First fitness title against people aged as young as 21.”

    Starkie rotates her training every four weeks, starting off with speed training, then power, balance, strength with cardio in between.

    Starkie also plays golf regularly off a handicap of 15 and says age should never hold anybody back from achieving fitness and health.(SD-Agencies)