Total Mind and Body Wellness

  How pushy can you be when you are self-employed, to try and encourage new clients? I'm naturally quite respectful of the privacy and boundaries of others, maybe I'm just a little bit too polite and English when it comes to shouting about my business? I forget, that with social media, people CHOOSE to look at what you've put out. If they don't want to, they don't have to, so can I really worry that my business posts will annoy you? I'd like to say that I've done things differently trying to build up my business again in North Devon, and since the re-brand, but one thing still remains the same, I like it, when my clients come from personal recommendation. I know, that when my clients come to me from this avenue, those clients will undoubtedly stay with me. This, of course takes time, but how long can I sit and wait for this to happen? I can't! I have to multi-task. Whilst waiting for those recommendations to come through, I have to put myself out there, ...

  I've been a qualified Personal Trainer for over 12-years. I've been teaching fitness for a lot longer though, in Kickboxing and Boxercise. I originally qualified so I could do fitness part-time outside of work hours, but, I was made redundant, couldn't find any work and so I took the plunge and turned my hobby into my business. I set up 'Fighting Fit Devon.' You've probably heard my story before, so I won't bore you too much with it again, but looking back, what did I HAVE, or DO that set me apart from other PT's? I suppose in the early days, it was all about 'fighting fitness' and that was my initial focus. A female PT who taught fighting was certainly a different approach back then, not so much now. I still say though, that kickboxing is one of the best ways to become fit, strong, flexible and self-aware. As my experience grew, my business evolved, I still had a feeling that I had to keep it unique, special, and this has changed as I have. Th...

  I have always loved, what I would call, 'healthy eating!' Mostly meaning that I have always loved my veg. My Mum never had to bribe me to eat vegetables, in fact, I would wait next to the kitchen sink on a Sunday, like a hungry Labrador, watching my Mum wash, peel and chop carrots, in the hope of getting a couple of pieces to snack on before lunch. There was, however, a time in my life where I didn't want food. At Middle school, I decided that anorexia was going to be my friend. And yet, I continued to do sports, dance and hobbies at the usual rate. This WAS NOT me, being the best version of me, and I battled, or should I say, I still battle this awful disorder on a weekly basis. The only difference now is that I want to be well and healthy. I want to show my clients, lead by example of how fit and healthy I am. You cannot do this by letting an eating disorder ruin your life. |In reality, my job, my business, has helped me stay fit and healthy, and I am most grateful for ...

  We all FAIL at times in our lives. We get things wrong, getting things wrong is how we learn and improve. BUT what is what went wrong really wasn't your fault? Even though you ultimately feel responsible. I know that I have a successful business, and my clients are either still with me, or they are making their own way in fitness having learned all they needed to from me and are going it alone. BUT, in a way, with a few clients, I feel that I have failed, because they didn't continue their fitness journey with me, or anyone else, they didn't continue at all. There was only one client that I walked away from because I knew for sure that they were getting nothing from the sessions, they didn't like putting in the work and moaned about sweating! I couldn't sustain it and maintain my integrity as a trainer. I wasn't quitting as such when I walked away, I was just being realistic, I was certain that I could not make a difference to someone who didn't want to ch...