My Story
I suppose the majority of fitness professionals would start their profile by talking about how they always loved exercise and wanted to work in the fitness industry.
That’s definitely not me. I HATED sport. I was awful at PE and did whatever I could to get out of sports day, PE lessons and anything else that closely resembled exercise!
I couldn’t do a forward roll, let alone cartwheel around the sports hall with the rest of my classmates.
I came 9th out of 8(!) in the 800m at one of the few sports days that I didn’t manage to escape.
I was always picked last at team sports – even when my friends were the captain… I mean, who wants the girl that can’t run/catch/hit on their team??
Another last place in the school sports day sprint! 
Not quite ready for Tough Mudder!
So, how on Earth did I end up here?
Having always been a ‘heavy boned’ child (thanks mum!) with a love of food, I started trying to build some exercise into my routines when I went to University to study Nutrition.
After Uni, I started working in the food industry and needed to up the exercise to counteract the masses of food I was suddenly consuming . So I joined the company gym and hid away on the back row of treadmills where nobody would see me fall off….
It was only when I moved to America that fitness moved from being a necessity to balance my love of food and wine to become a passion.
One day , I happened to spot gloved up pairs of all shapes and sizes pummelling heavy bags through the window of the gym studio in my building.
For the first time in my exercise life, I thought “that looks fun!” & found myself joining the beginners class. What was I thinking?!
But, before I knew it, I was attending classes 3 or 4 times a week AND doing PT sessions with one of the instructors.
To my surprise, I was loving it and one humid summer’s day, I found myself progressing to the proper boxing gym…. Eeeek. There I was, standing in the entrance way of a sweaty concrete box full of muscly 6′ plus men, desperately searching the room for my trainer. I was just about to make a run for it when he spotted me!
However, within weeks I was there virtually every day, honing my skills, toning up and improving my fitness to levels I never imagine possible for me. Those ‘scary-looking’ guys I’d felt so intimidated by on my first day were the most lovely and supportive people I could ever have hoped to meet, and they changed my world.
When I moved back from the USA, I went back to my old job, only to find myself missing my gym life so much I ended up quitting the food industry after 13 years and retraining as a personal trainer. It was scary at the time but I have to say I have never looked back.
After working for Virgin Active for a few years, I decided to go out on my own so that I could use my experiences to help others build their confidence and achieve their goals. That was when Forge Fitness & Wellbeing was born.
All I can say is that when you have the right trainer, the right support and the right environment, fitness suddenly becomes fun and something you want to have in your life. Those scary memories soon fade as you reach goals you never thought possible. I know I’ll never be a top-class sprinter or a world champion boxer, but I am the best version of myself and am in the greatest shape I’ve ever been in my life, physically and mentally.
Photo credit: @amandatarleymedia
Who knows? You might even discover YOUR own secret love (or at least a like!) for fitness along the way.