Exercise is a great way to de-stress too and after you have trained hard I believe you really do feel better and more confident about yourself. Fitness has, however, always been a hobby for me – that was until I discovered the Training Room and the fantastic range of courses – and, most importantly for me, the flexibility.

I was greatly inspired by my personal trainer who filled me with confidence and the belief that if I put my mind to it, I really could achieve anything. With an ever-changing business climate I decided it was time to acquire additional skills allowing me to pursue alternative lines of work.

As I am so passionate about fitness, this seemed the natural direction to take. The Training Room offered me the chance to study to become a personal trainer over a period of six months and at the same time qualify to teach spinning, gym based boxing and circuits.

I didn’t want to give up my day job and I could not afford to take several weeks off to study. The Training Room provided me with the perfect flexibility to study at the weekends and in the evenings. After looking at various courses with different companies, the Personal Training course with The Training Room fit everything I was looking for. I was already a fully qualified boxing coach with the Amateur Boxing Association so this seemed a natural progression for me. I attended one weekend a month for six months and studied at home in-between with constant on-line and telephone support from my tutor as and when required.

I loved the course and learned so much – it went beyond what I had expected with a complete module on nutrition. I met new friends and acquired new skills and qualifications. Everyone really helped and motivated each other – we were all in the same situation, trying to hold down full time jobs and study at the same time. Lead Tutor, Lyndsey Todd, was an absolute inspiration. She was with me every step of the way to help and encourage and really went out of her way to support me.

Having left education more than 20 years ago, this was the first time I had returned to study and had to revise for exams. It was a daunting prospect – but with the support I received from Lyndsey I am proud to be able to say I achieved over 80% in all of my exams and 96% in one of them. Even  before finishing the course I had secured three classes each week, teaching spinning and boxing and just a week after I completed the course I secured a further spinning class and my first personal training client – I know none of this would have been possible without the guidance and support which I received on the course.

Jane Woodhead

We’re looking forward to seeing you there.

Several big-name companies, such as Tesco and John Lewis, will be attending the fair and all have jobs on offer. Visitors will also be able to attend a selection of workshops on career opportunities. We are excited to be attending amongst these companies and hope to offer another career path to Reading’s residents.

If a career in the fitness industry is something that interests you then make sure you come by and see us at the fair. We will be in Room 1 at the Penta Hotel from 10am until 5pm.

All the up-to-date information about the event will be available by following Reading Job Fair on Twitter and Facebook.

After much soul searching I decided I would venture into the unknown world of self-employment as a life coach, consultant and freelance trainer. I was fortunate that the organisation had given me a broad range of knowledge, skills and experiences and an extensive contact list in order to get started.

What became apparent quite early as a theme amongst the people I was talking to and working with as coaching clients was health and well being, whether that was getting a greater balance in their lives or working towards being fitter and generally living a healthier lifestyle.

I can’t claim I had an immediate light bulb moment after engaging in these conversations and it was only when I first saw the Training Room advert that I suddenly thought to myself, ‘Hold on a minute, I might be missing a trick here’. Rather than working with a coaching client up to a certain point and then parting ways and wishing them all the very best with their personal trainer or at their local gym, it made more sense to provide a completely holistic service myself.

It sounded great in theory, but of course at that point I had no idea what I was letting myself in for…

After completing the online application process, telephone interview and ordering the manuals, I had five weeks to mentally and physically prepare for my course, which started on 20 February 2012 in Chelmsford, Essex. In my favour was an interest in sports and over 8 years worth of experience as a sports coach – in both football and cricket – and the innate ability to talk to people, build relationships and rapport, something that I now know cannot be underestimated if you want to become a successful personal trainer.

Having never really been a regular gym user and certainly someone who had never stepped into that rarefied atmosphere of the weights room, I quickly made the decision to join my nearest gym and improve my overall levels of fitness. Whilst I still didn’t venture into the weights room – the very concept of ‘free weights’ was something I thought I might be able to pick up at my local sports shop – I did pound away on the treadmill, cross trainer, exercise bike and rowing machine like a man possessed so my cardiovascular fitness levels – I thought at least – would stand me in good stead.

The next challenge was the manuals. When they arrived in a box big enough to hold 20 shopping catalogues, I knew I was in for some extensive reading! Being the eager type, I sat down that very day and ploughed straight in to chapter one; anatomy and physiology. After about 15 minutes, I went back to my original application form and paperwork just to check it was personal training I had applied to qualify in and not becoming a Doctor. ‘It will get better’ I told myself, only to be confronted by nutrition next. Suddenly I knew I would have to up my game if I wanted to pass the course.

Those five weeks passed by in a flash and before I knew it, there I was, on the morning of day one, sitting in a room with 15 strangers, all of whom looked considerably younger and fitter than me! We were met and made to feel very welcome by our tutors, Claire and Kevin, who impressed right from the outset the importance of acting professionally in all things throughout the course in order to instil good habits. Things like good time-keeping should never be underestimated, especially if you keep a paying client waiting.

We did some of the usual things you would expect on day one, various ice-breakers, ground rules and introductions and when it came to my turn, I confidently stood up and announced that within 5 years, I wanted to be where Claire and Kevin were; a tutor for the Training Room. How little I knew!

That first afternoon, we headed over to the gym, Fitness First in Chelmsford; and Claire and Kevin put us through our paces with a cunningly crafted whole body circuit workout. 16 stations, 1 minute on each with 15-30 seconds rest in between each one. In less than 25 minutes, the cold dawn of realisation slammed home and I understood, despite my very best efforts to prepare, that I was a long way short of the fitness levels I would need to become a PT and more importantly – a long way short of where I would need to be with my knowledge of how to put together a killer exercise programme and which body parts and muscle groups were being worked. That night I will admit I went home and told my wife that I thought I had made an awful mistake!

Never one to shy away from a challenge however, I returned the next morning, sore in body and bruised of ego. Our first introduction to A&P ensued and despite having read the manuals several times, I found that my basic grasp of Latin was failing me and the ability to remember names of bones had leaked out of the brain like a sieve.

The remainder of that first week passed by in a blur; a healthy combination of theory and practical application in the gym environment; although I will be the first to admit I had moments of blind panic in those first few days. The very thought of doing my first practical in front of the group, despite many years of experience in other fields of doing similar things, filled me with terror!

Suddenly though, in week two things began to make sense and the pieces of the jigsaw started to come together – I felt like I understood what was required of me and more importantly – was starting to really love what it was all about. Passing the mock A&P and Principles exams helped build my confidence as did a good first practice run for my assessment and with week 3 and the formal exams and assessment looming, I felt quietly confident.

Success! Week three came and went and I was fortunate enough to pass all the Level 2 exams and my assessment at the first time of asking and earn my spinning certificate to boot! The latter I was most proud of because on the day, not only did Claire put us through our paces with a 45 minute spin class to begin with, there was an extra spin class run by Fitness First in aid of Sport Relief. Of the group, only myself and one other student decided to complete it – and that was before we then had to be in the saddle again for all of the assessments the group had to take. Madness in hindsight but at the time adrenaline kicked in and it was an absolute blast!!    

No time to rest on your laurels though as week four meant the start of Level 3 – with a return to A&P – and at the end of the week, gym-based boxing! If you have never experienced the latter, the feeling in your shoulders and arms the following morning after blasting away at those pads for several hours cannot be described – but as fitness workouts go, it is hard to beat and great fun.

By week five, I was chomping at the bit, ready to work with my Level 3 partner to design our exercise programmes, put them into practice, get my teeth into nutrition (only figuratively) and pass my A&P exam – all of which I did, not without more moments of self-doubt along the way mind! The feeling of elation and sense of achievement having completed them all though was overwhelming and with all the extra work in the gym, my all round fitness and strength was improving beyond all recognition too.

The final week arrived and the remaining hurdles that needed to be overcome were before me. After successfully negotiating the Nutrition exam, all (all!) that was left was the final Level 3 assessment. My partner Scott was absolutely brilliant. An experienced gym user and very knowledgeable, he guided me through any remaining areas of concern, as had Claire and Kevin throughout the entire course.  Their knowledge, patience and diligence had been a major factor in my journey and the successes I had on the way. I simply couldn’t have achieved what I did without them and I will be forever in their debt and grateful to them for going the extra mile whenever I called upon them for help.

In the end, due in part to my own hard work and determination and in part to the hard work, effort and support of the people around me like Scott, Claire and Kevin, the final assessment was relatively straightforward. I felt confident, competent and for the first time, like a proper Personal Trainer! The feeling when Claire told me I had passed was unsurpassed, except perhaps the birth of my two children and my wedding day (always best to include that one for the sake of peace and harmony!!)

I am under no illusions my journey as a Personal Trainer is at its infancy and my knowledge will need to extend further still if I want to remain in the industry and be a success. That said, I am hugely grateful to the Training Room for the opportunity they provided, the quality of the course material on offer and – above all else – the high quality of the trainers Claire and Kevin, aligned to the help and support of people like Scott who were on the course, someone who has already become a close friend. Finally, what about that initial goal to become a Training Room Tutor? Well, let’s just say you might see me up front and centre at some point in the future on a course near you….

Tim Bamforth-White

Help for Heroes was launched in 2007 with the aim of supporting men and women of our Armed Forces who have been wounded in the service of our county. Help for Heroes has raised over £100 million in four years which has allowed them to make a real difference to the lives of the wounded. Every penny they raise is spent or allocated to the direct practical support of men and women in the Armed Forces whose lives are affected in the line of duty. Help the Heroes allows a way for everyone to get involved from individuals to big corporations and it is something that we are hugely proud to be part of.

The Training Room will offer 50 free courses over the next 12 months to the wounded, injured, sick and anyone who has been medically discharged. Our course will enable these service men and women to become fully qualified Personal Trainers and also help place them into work. We are really excited about this opportunity to contribute to Help the Hero’s plight and hope to make a real difference to these people’s lives.

Please keep an eye out for updates as we sign up these 50 service men and women and watch their progression through our training process. Working in the fitness industry can prove to be an exciting and rewarding career so we hope to help create great opportunities for the people involved.

The UCAS convention brings together universities and colleges within the UCAS scheme to inform and guide prospective students. The event plays a vital part in helping applicants decide about what and where to study within higher education.

In addition to this, for the first time, the UCAS London Convention will include an area dedicated to employers. This area, or “Career Zone”, will include a selection of companies that are keen to speak to students about employment opportunities. These employers will have a selection of employment routes for young people, from the traditional graduate path, to sponsored degrees, apprenticeships and much, much more.

Never has the need to know the different paths to work been so important, and UCAS is delighted to bring this new addition to London. Students will be able to speak to a variety of employers in order to understand what they will need to be able to work with them and why they might want to consider a career with them.

We’re looking forward to talking to prospective students about life as a personal trainer and potential career paths within the fitness industry. If you’re there on the day you can find us at stand number 78.

I set my alarm bright and early on a Saturday morning and headed off to the station. I was about to start the first day on my journey to becoming a Personal Trainer. I arrived at Fulham Broadway tube station with just 10 minutes to spare according to the route planner on my phone. I had killed some time earlier sitting in a Starbucks at Embankment. That hadn’t gone too well either as no sooner had I got my latte than we parted company when I managed to drop it and had to queue for ages to get another one.

I got out my phone as I arrived on the pavement outside the tube and set the search map and then, bang, my phone died. I had forgotten to charge it. I looked at my watch, I only had 5 minutes to go, I ran like a lunatic along the road, not having a clue where I was going, but then got a stroke of luck as a black taxi appeared. I managed to flag it down and begged the driver to take me to David Lloyds as quickly as possible. He looked at me rather strangely and just 50 yards later I was back outside Fulham Broadway station, the driver hadn’t changed his expression and pointed above the building I had left 5 minutes earlier. I felt like a right idiot but he was kind enough not to charge me. I raced up the escalator, making a mental note to myself that there was actually a Starbucks in the building. I needn’t have panicked though as at that point it was just me and two other guys there.  

We were greeted by a lovely young woman who introduced herself to us as Kerri and was then joined by another tutor called Dean. They appeared laid back and quickly put our class of twelve at ease. You know what it is like when you meet a group of total strangers for the first time, it is all rather quiet.  Kerri then got on with it by saying, turn to the person next to you and find out their name, where they are from a bit about them and one secret we wouldn’t know about them. Now this was an easy task for me as I was born just plain nosy and am not afraid to ask. When it came to our turn I proudly introduced my new found friend as Pia, a dance teacher. I went on to talk a little about Pia, she had told me her secret was she had studied Agriculture. So, I chose my moment and came to the punch line ‘and Pia’s secret is…she used to be a man!’ Well, you could have heard a pin drop as all the smiles on people’s faces started to evaporate. So I quickly added ‘not really’. The class erupted into laughter and Pia also found it funny, which was just as well. The good thing about this method of finding out who your neighbours are is that it was a good opportunity for me to tell Pia my secret. I am disabled and this is an issue as I find it very hard to tell people that I can’t hear or see too well. I recently completed a massage course and couldn’t bring myself to let the tutors or students know. I tried to bluff it and instead fell way behind the others as I didn’t hear or see what instruction was being shown. I failed and had to go back and re-sit because I didn’t have the courage to let anyone know.

With the ice broken, Dean and Kerri then started the class by diving straight into the manual and it wasn’t long before I thought that I was in the wrong class and that this was a course to become a doctor or a surgeon. We weren’t just learning about bones and muscles but their composition in a dissected state and numerous names I couldn’t pronounce let alone spell. Dean then turned off the screen and told us he was going to test us on what we had just learnt. The class then reeled of a quick list of the longest names in history. Meanwhile I was still staring at a shoulder blade thinking ‘that’s a shoulder’. I glanced across at one of the other students though and caught him sneaking a look at his notes and was relieved that I wasn’t the only one that hadn’t managed to memorise all those names instantly.

After an hour or so of tibias and fibulas and their function, even the resident skeleton looked overworked as Dean reached for its arm which fell off in his hand. Dean looked a little embarrassed but in true professional style carried on holding on to the detached arm.

I was so impressed by Kerri as, not only was she easy on the eye, but she kept stopping and asking If could hear and see okay and then re-adjusted her position to make sure I could. For a person so young, I found her pretty amazing. In fact, they were both really good and knew their subject inside out.

After a short break, and just when I thought I had grasped the muscle system, we then moved onto the lungs. ‘Does anyone know what the lungs do?’ Kerri asked. There were lots of blank faces so I took my chance, put up my hand, and blurted out ‘help us breath?’ Kerri agreed and then reeled of another catalogue of benefits and Latin names that we had to remember and that I couldn’t pronounce let alone spell.

I sat there and wondered how I was going to make tomorrow. I know how to make people fit by using different techniques; do I really need to know what’s in a muscle fibre? But I reminded myself that knowledge is power, you would be impressed if your personal trainer could tell you why and how a muscle is injured etc. My wife works for the NHS and is medically trained but even she was surprised when I told her about what we had learnt and thinks I will end up knowing more than her. That’s when I realised this isn’t any normal course where you are issued a certificate and told to get out there and get on with it. The Training Room is obviously linked to top pro gyms and health clubs for a reason and their standards are high.

When I got home that night, some of what we had learnt seemed to have sunk in, I know I still have a month to revise, but I was proud of what I had learnt so far and I went on twitter to talk about my day. My poor friend had to listen to me twittering on ‘did you know a muscle is made up of 70 per cent water, 23 percent Protein and 7 per cent salt…’ She is 60 years old and wheelchair bound and the make-up of a muscle to her is about as useful as a builder with a paper hammer although she kindly humoured me.

I have my own gym and train about 10 people; I use free weights (dumbbells and barbells), boxing and kickboxing in my routines and have achieved some amazing results.  I was pleased to find out that I am not too far adrift from The Training Room’s methods. Kerri showed me a few things that would make some of my routines a little harder though, I put these into practice and a couple of my clients begged me not to return to the course!

To be continued…

Paul Reed

In my late 20`s I piled on some weight and found it difficult to lose this on my own so I had a PT who helped me achieve my goals. This was a turning point for me as I understood more about nutrition and health which led me to take control of my lifestyle habits.

A few months back I was laid off from work and was finding it difficult to make ends meet and doing jobs that weren’t giving me personal satisfaction. It was by chance that I happened to come across The Training Room website. I really liked what I saw and decided to take the plunge and go for it.

I’d never seriously been exposed to the gym environment before so everything I learnt on the course was totally new to me. I didn’t fully appreciate how tough it was going to be until I started but I had support and encouragement from the tutors, Chris Hole and Kirsty Skinner. Nothing was ever too much to ask of them which was great. I learned so much as the teaching was fun, inspiring and interactive too.

Since finishing the course over six weeks ago, I’ve been employed by Fitness First and am looking forward to my journey with them.

In the future I hope to run bootcamps in Spain as I am a native Spanish speaker. I also hope to run classes and charitable events for children in my area to help promote the importance of healthy living and of course to expand my knowledge with CPD courses.

Denise Glover

Opening Doors is synonymous with helping put young adults on the right path. The event is designed to showcase as many career opportunities and direct routes into work as possible for those who are leaving or soon to be leaving school and college.

The idea of the event is to show pupils that there is another option, an option to start a career in business and gain the vital experience at a company and develop the drive and ambition to progress their careers without having to go into further education.

Opening Doors will feature several seminars for young people to attend. In addition to this there will be over 50 businesses for the students to speak with on a 1 to 1 basis and find out more about the experience needed, the recruitment processes and the career paths as well as progression in the fields they may be looking to work.

I decided that I wanted to become a tutor as I wanted a new challenge and the opportunity to share my experiences in personal training by helping others achieve their dreams in becoming professionals in the fitness industry. I have now worked as a tutor for The Training Room for just over a year and thoroughly enjoy working with my students and helping them begin their careers.

During my time at The Training Room I have also continued to work as a personal trainer myself at Pure Health and Fitness, a local personal training studio where I personal train and also deliver sports massage. I currently do around 10 sessions a week at the studio. The flexibility of personal training has enabled me to work full time and fit in my social and family life, the possibilities are endless.

I have also continued playing sport even though I had to retire from football after playing for 15 years due to suffering a serious knee injury. I have now joined a hockey team, luckily hockey is something that I’m able to do despite the injury. I didn’t realise how much I had missed the team aspects and competition that a team event offers.