So, the first blog post as Apex Fitness. Well this is exciting! Looking back two years ago did I ever think I would be in position I am now? Working for an incredible local personal training studio that stands for and supports a lot of the reasons why I got into personal training, and starting up my own business running alongside the great work I am doing in the studio. I think this scene from the ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ sums it up perfectly.
Anyway, back to what I wanted to write about. The reason I got into personal training. This for me is an interesting, and quite deep topic, that still pushes me to help others every day. It’s also quite a hard subject for me to talk about so please bear with me.
Let’s throw it back to four/five years ago. I was a guy, who had been going to the gym on and off for a few years, never sticking to any plan or really having any idea as to what I was doing. I was purely going to the gym to get a better body as I thought that bigger biceps and six pack abs would help with the ladies (it didn’t), and that by just lifting a few weights I’d see a difference over night (unfortunately doesn’t work like that). I gave up on this whole gym routine when I somehow got a girlfriend for my personality (seriously don’t know how).
But a year or so later, my whole world was turned upside down. My gran passed away from cancer.
Now don’t get me wrong, I know that life has to end, but it’s never easy when it does. For me, it was even harder. I lived with my gran and grandad, and my gran helped raise me and turn me into the person I was. She was always there at school sporting events to support me, picked me up from school, cooked me dinner, made lots of cakes and got me fat. She really pushed me and taught me life lessons that I honestly don’t think I would have learnt had it not been for her. She was a wonderful woman, and I still miss her to this day. But that was the start of a downward spiral for me.
Soon after this, I was diagnosed with depression. Depression manifests itself in many different ways for different people, it’s hard to describe how it was for me but I’ll give it a go. I lost a lot of weight, I wasn’t sleeping and when I was, I constantly woke up tired. I didn’t want to socialise with people because I felt like they would judge me because I was constantly feeling down (and to be honest, everyone just annoyed me). I started drinking secretly at home every night and I didn’t look forward to anything in life. I haven’t told many people this but I’m not ashamed of it, a couple of times suicidal thoughts cropped into my head. Granted they were only thoughts and I never acted upon them, but it shows how serious mental health issues are. I knew there was more to my life than what had happened and knowing how much I would hurt my family and friends is all that stopped me.
It was a pretty hard time. I was put on anti-depressants and was referred to a counsellor to try and talk through my mental health problems.
Both helped to an extent, but nothing stopped me from being depressed.
During this downward spiral, I made things worse. I won’t go into details, but I was a c*** and ruined things with my girlfriend at the time. I hurt a lot of people and it is something I am truly sorry for and regret.
I suffered through, taking the anti-depressants, still feeling the same feelings I felt before, if not more this time thanks to the added situation.
I went to see the doctor again, told him the anti-depressants were doing OK, but I was still depressed. He suggested I try going to the gym or exercising. What did I have to lose? So, I set myself a challenge. I wanted to do something to raise money for charity and remember my amazing gran. I set myself the aim of swimming the English Channel for charity. I unfortunately had to pull out after getting a shoulder injury but there’s always another time.
I started training, and training hard. I was swimming every morning before work, and doing gym sessions every evening after work. I had nothing else to do, so put everything I had into my training. Things were going great, I was starting to feel better and I was loving exercising. I had never felt like this before, and loved it so much that I wanted to push it further. So, I hired a personal trainer, and this is where it all changed.
The personal trainer I hired (Sam, if you’re reading this, thank you) was incredible. I only had 1 session a week with him, but in those sessions, he really pushed me to my limit. At times he had me sweating out of places I didn’t think it was possible to sweat from! But the thing that made me so thankful I chose Sam wasn’t the sessions and the pain he put me through. But the support he gave me mentally. Just knowing there was someone there who asked how your day at work was, how the week is going, whether I was looking forward to the football at the weekend or if I was doing anything special. That was what meant the most. The person that was there to listen and talk to, not just train you. That was the turning point.
It was at that point, when I wasn’t enjoying my office job that I decided to leave the corporate world and look at other career paths. I blew off personal training at the start as I thought it wasn’t for me and took up a job working in a local coffee shop. Perfect for me as I love coffee.
I met some incredible people in this coffee shop who really helped to shape me as a person and grow so shout out to you guys. But when I was there, I decided I would give personal training a go. I signed up to a course, started the payments (it isn’t cheap for anyone considering it) and started studying.
I was loving every minute of it.
Life at this point was pretty good. I had an incredible holiday with two of my best mates down the West Coast of America, I was working alongside some of the most caring and kindest people I have ever met in my life, I’d completed the London Marathon, we had THAT summer when we thought football was coming home and I was studying my hobby. Seriously, I didn’t think it could get this good a year earlier.
While studying, I always said to myself, I want to be the PT that people can talk to about anything. I don’t want people to just talk to me about training or the gym or their diet (all things I’ve studied and think I know pretty well), but I want them to be able to talk to me about anything that is going on in their life. Whether that be a shit week at work, or how their mental health is. What they are having for dinner or what they are doing at the weekend. I want people to be able to talk to me about anything, because for me, having someone to listen made the difference.
Fast forward a year, I’m a qualified PT, working in a small group personal training studio that champions exercise, socialising and a community spirit to push you towards your fitness goals, but also help with any mental health problems that may be present. Starting my own personal training business at a new gym with the intention of helping change people’s lives. I have an amazing social circle with people that are always happy to help if ever I need, and a girlfriend who is pretty decent to be honest.
So, a pretty long winded first blog I know but I wanted to explain where I come from and why I got into personal training. A massive thank you to everyone who has been there for me, supported me and helped me on my journey so far. My family, friends, colleagues & tutors. Thank you.
Exercise is scientifically proven to help reduce anxiety, depression and improve mental health as well as your physical health, so if you are struggling with anything please do get in touch with me. Even if you don’t want to train, I can just be that ear to listen or that person to speak to, it’s the reason I love doing what I do.
Thank you for bearing with me and reading this, I promise, not all of the blogs will be this deep. I’ll try to make them a bit more light-hearted.
If you want me to write a blog on any questions you may have, please do drop me a message to let me know, but until the next one, thank you again for reading.
Apex Fitness UK 