'It's not vanity I train to stay alive': How man came back from deathbed to become superfit gym bunny

Josh Llewellyn-Jones, 29, trains at least three hours a day - but it's not just about looking good

Josh Llewellyn-Jones was born with cystic fibrosis but keeping fit has kept him alive!

When Josh Llewellyn-Jones was born doctors gave him a 10 per cent chance of making it through the night.
He was born with cystic fibrosis – a life-limiting genetic condition which means the lungs and digestive system can become clogged.
Life expectancy for people with the condition is about 37 years.
Josh, who is now 29, survived that unlikely first night and has been determined ever since to keep as fit as possible.
He is now taking on a challenge which will see him exercise non-stop for 24 hours.

Josh trains for at least three hours a day in the gym and longer at weekends (Photo: Paul Fears Photography/JustGiving)

Josh, from Cardiff, told WalesOnline : "The advice doctors gave my family when I was born was to run me round in the fields and get me into sports and exercise.
"Being fit has saved my life. Some people train to stay fit and look good. I train to stay alive.
"I do some sort of sports every day and people don’t realise when they see me in the gym that it’s not for vanity, it’s to be healthy and keep going."
When Josh was 21 he was rushed to hospital with stomach pains and was told he had a lower chance of survival than he was given when he was born.

Doctors recommended Josh did exercise to improve his condition as a child (Photo: Paul Fears Photography/JustGiving)

He prepared for the worst and said his goodbyes to his family.
"I had a seven-hour operation and I was on my deathbed," he said.
"When they operated on me as a baby they thought I would die so they just put my stomach back in and my intestines were twisted. They had been twisted for 21 years.
"The surgeon said if I wasn’t as fit I wouldn’t have survived."

Josh had just a 10 per cent chance of surviving on the night he was born

Josh spends about two hours every day training and has now increased his time at the gym to up to three hours daily and a long session at the weekend.
In July, a few days before his 30th birthday, Josh will take on a 24-hour challenge he has set himself with the aim of raising £100,000 to add to the £600,000 he has already raised for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
On his list of challenges is a 100-mile cycle, a 10-mile run, a 10-mile row, 10 miles of cross training, a two-mile swim, lifting 100 tonnes, 3,000 sit-ups, 1,000 press-ups, and 1,000 squats.

Josh is now preparing a 24-hour fitness challenge to raise money for charity (Photo: JustGiving)

Josh said: If I complete those challenges in less than 24 hours I will keep going. I did 50% of the challenge three weeks ago and did it in nine hours and 36 minutes.
"I have also been training by running up Pen y Fan in an altitude mask to reduce the oxygen levels, which helps strengthen my lungs.
"The training is quite brutal but I have always had an inner belief that anything is possible.
"I don’t want people to feel sorry for me – there’s no need.
"There’s all sorts of doom and gloom about cystic fibrosis on the internet but I want to bring a happy story out of it for children and parents of children with cystic fibrosis.
"It shows you can lead a normal life with the condition."

To support Josh visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/24hrs4cf