I believe it is always good to know somebody’s back story. Being a personal trainer is about not just about providing a great workout and motivation - it is about trust, communication and experience.

My love for fitness began (way) back in my teenage years, when school was a god-awful place for me.

I didn’t really fit in anywhere socially, so I avoided lonely lunchtimes and bullies by going to all the sports clubs I could to fill time with. Anything to get me out of the playground or lunch hall.

Then I found that I enjoyed sports, I enjoyed belonging to teams of people who chose to be there (not because it was a lesson on their timetable). Like minded people.

I found I was actually ok at some sports. But I still had a shyness and lacked confidence, so outside of school I stuck to sports I could do alone.

I went and did the sports that I thought were ‘cool’. I put myself in very male-dominated environments. I don’t know what a therapist would say about that, but it was where I was more comfortable.

I raced motorbikes - badly. But I did it! For a long time was the only girl racing. I rode mountain bikes - it got me out of the house and gave me time to escape. I took up exercise classes - Classes that were HARD. Made me sweat, challenged my mind as well as my body. It wasn’t until I turned 17 that I ventured into the gym. This was my game changer.

At around the age of 19, I lost a lot of weight. It wasn’t a conscious decision, but looking back, I can see it was an act of desperately trying to control something in my life. I restricted my diet hugely, but my knowledge of nutrition and fuelling myself was limited. So, long story short I ended up weighing less than 6 stone, and I was labelled as anorexic.

Unfortunately no amount of visits to the GP, arguments with my family or sessions with nutritionists changed my thought process, despite me knowing I could not carry on that way. So, I signed up to study Fitness Teaching and Coaching, and Gym Instructing.

My knowledge of training and nutrition grew and after being turned away for a job in a gym because I was so painfully thin, I decided enough was enough. I chose to gain weight my way. In the same way that losing weight quickly isn’t sustainable, gaining healthy weight was not going to happen in a couple of weeks or even months.