THE STORY BEHIND FIT + MUSCLE THERAPIES
MY JOURNEY
I have always had a fascination with anatomy and the biology of the human body, it’s a subject I can spend many blissful hours investigating. The more I learn about it, the more unanswered questions seem to pop into my head. We all have the same basic anatomical structures and yet no two of the many clients I have treated are the same.
Anyway...enough about that, I could ramble on that subject for a very long time!
A question I get asked a lot is how I came to be in this line of work...my journey into holistic therapy really got started in 2007 when I trained as a Nutritional Advisor. After working in this field for 7 years I was ready to expand my skills and challenge myself to enter the ranks of manual therapists. After doing extensive research I decided to complete my studies at The North London School of Sports Massage (NLSSM), one of the top UK Sports Therapy colleges. After qualifying I worked as a Sports Therapist in a multidisciplinary clinic, which allowed me to get experience in treating a variety of sports and occupational related injuries, and pick the brains of the other therapists if a client with a particularly challenging soft tissue problem came in. It was here that I was introduced to Personal Training and experienced first hand the benefits it can have for clients from many and varied ages, backgrounds and training levels.
After a year I decided to strike out on my own (a somewhat terrifying prospect at the time) and since then have been working as a mobile therapist in and around South London. My clients varied quite widely from office workers who have very little time for exercise and need treatments to reduce the impact of long hours spent at a desk to professional athletes.
The next question to consider was ‘what should I specialise in?’. I seemed to be naturally drawn to two groups of clients- runners and performers. I had been involved in dance and performing arts from the age of 4 until my early 20’s so you could say I have a pretty good understanding of how a career in these fields can put very unique demands on the human body (don’t get me started on what dancing on a raked stage does to soft tissue structures). I have had the privilege of working with a number of West End performers, singers and television actors to support their individual needs.
I was introduced to treating runners as a very nervous student 8 weeks into studying for my Sports Massage diploma. My class was sent to work (under the watchful eyes of our tutors) on charity runners who had completed the London Marathon. As the day went on the nerves soon gave way to curiosity and figuring out how we could use the skills we had been shown in the last few weeks to help these people. By the end of that day we were physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted...but it felt amazing to have helped so many people. Even now working at the London Marathon is one of the highlights of my professional year...only now I get to supervise some of the awesome new talent who studying at NLSSM as they venture into the world of Sports Massage.
During the lockdown of 2020 I found I had a lot of spare time on my hands, so decided to make good use of the opportunity to qualify as Personal Trainer Exercise Referral Specialist. This enables me to work with clients who would like to improve their health and fitness levels, but need specialised programmes due to physical or mental health limitations. It was also during this time that I started offering online fitness classes and 1:1 programmes to clients from all over the world. I relocated my practice to Leicestershire in July of 2020 and now offer mobile treatments or sessions in the local area and online.
Do I get tired at the end of a work day? Yes- being a Personal Trainer and Sports Therapist demands a lot of physical and mental energy, but I still love it...to quote Mark Twain: “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”. I enjoy the challenge and every opportunity to learn from each one of my clients. They are are all unique and present a biological jigsaw puzzle that must be completed in order to provide the best support for their body and circumstances. If you feel that this approach could help you please feel free to reach out- I’d love to hear from you!