By Emily Carubia,Greta Simpson

Copyright irishmirror

A man who shed nearly half his body weight within 12 months has revealed the ‘pivotal moment’ when a chair buckled beneath him at a family birthday celebration. Martin Fletcher, who tipped the scales at almost 26 stone at his peak, told the Liverpool Echo he realised something ‘had to change’ when the metal seat he was occupying at a family barbecue gave way under his bulk. He characterises the incident as “the main physical turning point” that spurred him to transform his existence. Martin, from Netherley, told the ECHO: “By the time your 30s come along, all of a sudden the weight is there and you’re morbidly obese,” reports the Manchester Evening News . “It became a vicious cycle. Every time I tried to train, I’d get injured. I did high intensity workouts and ended up with a limp for eight years. I tried football, damaged my ankles. “I was always sore, aching constantly, I was exhausted all the time and I couldn’t play with my kids.” Martin, a musician, attempted to secure a record contract in his early 20s. However, the music business told him he was ‘too fat to do music’. Wounded but resolute, he dropped four stone in merely three months. Yet the weight crept back during his 30s, and this time proved more stubborn to budge. By his early 40s, he had ballooned to nearly 26 stone and was grappling with numerous physical ailments. He subsequently received a diagnosis of severe sleep apnoea, a condition causing him to cease breathing whilst asleep. He said: “I’d wake up sweating, gasping for breath, as if I’d run a marathon in my sleep. I could sleep for ten hours and still feel completely exhausted. It was unbearable.” When he finally managed to shed the weight, remarkably, Martin didn’t join any slimming clubs or alter his diet, and in just 12 months, he dropped an incredible 10 stone. Medical professionals had offered Martin weight-loss jabs such as Mounjaro or bariatric surgery, but he declined both, and started a particular type of yoga that he claims has “saved his life”. Martin’s eureka moment arrived after viewing a former paratrooper’s now-legendary transformation footage. Arthur Boorman was informed he would never walk unaided again, but he beat the odds using a distinctive low-impact fitness regime called DDP Yoga. Created by ex-professional wrestler Diamond Dallas Page, DDP Yoga blends yoga, calisthenics, dynamic resistance, and sports rehabilitation methods into a joint-friendly, high-impact workout. It’s crafted to be suitable for individuals of all fitness abilities and has attracted a massive following for its life-changing success stories. Now, Martin rises at 5.30am and completes an hour of DDP Yoga six days weekly, before his hectic existence as a working musician kicks off. He currently weighs 14 and a half stone – a massive reduction of over 10 stone in less than a year. He said: “DDP Yoga is now the only exercise I do. I haven’t changed what I eat, just when I eat, and I’ve kept disciplined. “Without even leaving the spot, your heart rate’s through the roof. I’m dripping in sweat by the end of the hour. I’ve done no other exercise but that. It’s saved my life. “I didn’t want my kids to grow up remembering that day at the barbecue as just another point where things got worse. “Every single day used to be horrendous, mentally and physically. I was aching, limping, depressed. I didn’t want to become a statistic. “I wanted to see my kids thrive, my wife thrive, and myself thrive. The only way I was going to lose weight was by getting my mind right and committing to myself. This time, I told myself a better story. “I took it each day at a time. If I can not do any particular move on any given day, I focus on being able to do it someday and I kept putting the work in.” Martin revealed the most touching moment of his transformation came courtesy of one of his daughters, explaining: “She hugged me and said, ‘Dad, I can get my arms around you now!'”. He’s now beginning the journey to become a qualified DDP Yoga instructor, determined to motivate others just as Arthur Boorman motivated him. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here .