Using My Passion To Inspire Others

Date: 6 October 2022 Author: Energise Me

After discovering a love for health and fitness, Gemma set out to help others change their lives too. She hopes to educate and inspire her clients so that they can live happy and healthy lifestyles.

My History With Activity

When I was younger and in school, I didn’t like PE at all. This is something that now surprises people about me – I don’t know why. My passion for fitness started when I left school at the age of sixteen. I had a gym induction and the first burst of endorphins immediately hit me. After that, I was completely hooked.

Unfortunately, this led me down a not so healthy path. I became obsessed with calories and losing weight. I used to do three hours of training a day while living off of a bowl of fruit. My weight plummeted from 9st7lbs right down to 7st6lbs. And yet, I was still convinced that I looked “fat”. So, I kept pushing myself.

It was my mum who ended up getting me the help I needed. She noticed my weight loss and grew very concerned. The GP referred me to the priory where I received treatment for an eating disorder.

Once I recovered, I really wanted to start fueling my body correctly. This led me to start doing my Level 2 fitness instructor course. From there, I went on to complete my Level 3. I wanted to inform anyone and everyone about the importance of being physically active correctly. Especially young teenagers who are very vulnerable at such an age and are constantly surrounded by media of unhealthy body images. My passion only grew from there. I wanted to inspire others to love their body shapes and focus on feeling strong and powerful instead.

I wanted everybody to understand how important exercise and nutrition can be and how it can make a difference in your life.

Becoming A Personal Trainer

Between studying, I was also working at a doctor’s surgery. Of course, I wasn’t happy once I discovered that fitness was my passion. So, I started working as a personal trainer during the evening to get my business started. It was hard to begin with. Working during the day and then also working most evenings. But then my PT business really started to take off. Eventually, I was able to hand in my notice and began to PT full-time. It was the best feeling in the world. I got to wake up every day and make a difference to client’s health and confidence.

I started running different fitness classes as well. Insanity, PIYO, Buggy Fit etc. so that everyone could get involved no matter what their level of fitness, age or race. I wanted everybody to understand how important exercise and nutrition can be and how it can make a difference in your life.

When Lockdown Happened

When the start of lockdown hit, I knew that I had an important job to do. I knew that people’s routine was completely out of the window and that their mental health would suffer. Everything from sports grounds to gyms had shut. This was an awful situation because physical activity helps hugely with depression and anxiety.

I decided to run free online classes via social media six days a week for thirty minutes. The response was amazing. Everybody got involved. It gave people a purpose to get out of bed each day. It also gave people a bit of routine. People could chat via the workout sessions at the end too so that they didn’t have to feel so alone.

I had so much interest which fueled my determination to help others understand what the menopause really meant for us.

Helping Older Women

I am nearly 40 myself and had heard lots of scary things about the menopause. Things like ‘one day you’ll wake up and start gaining fat around your tummy, and there’s nothing you can do’. There’s this prevailing narrative that you’re basically doomed. This all got me thinking… Surely, it can’t all be true.

So, I decided to do some research and found a great course that would teach me the truth. Every female will go through the menopause so I knew I had to help others with what I’d learnt. Once the course had ended, I put it on my social media page to see if anyone else was interested in attending a free zoom call. The response was fantastic. I had so much interest which fueled my determination to help others understand what the menopause really meant for us. It was lovely to see so many females come together to support one another. We discussed the menopause and the best way to change your eating habits. It’s clear there isn’t enough information out there for us. Afterwards, I decided to start my own support and guidance group to educate other females, so they knew they weren’t alone.

If You’re Struggling

My advice to you is: don’t do too much at once. Start gradually. For example, get off the bus one or two stops early. Or aim for 5,000 steps a day. Take the stairs instead of the lift. Find something you really enjoy, that way you’re more likely to stick with it. Maybe find a workout buddy and make a decision to get fit together – you’ll find you motivate each other. Make your goals realistic so that they are attainable. If your goals are too unrealistic and you don’t achieve them, you’re more likely to feel deflated and not try again.

*Photos for illustrative purposes only