Hellooooooo and welcome!
Who is Leonie the Pink Trainers PT? Well now, there is a story. Are we sitting comfortably? Good, then let us begin...
Basic stats. I’m a 46 year old mum to prenager Georgia (aka Pickle when she is in a good mood, and Gloria when she is not) married to jet set Nigel who works globally and is rarely here and I live in Hove plate spinning my way through life. I’m a qualified Level 3 Personal Trainer, Level 2 Fitness Instructor and Nutrition Coach. Physical achievements include Ironman 70.3, ride London to Paris, Full Ironman distance Aquabike, Ultramarathon, Great North Swim 10km and many more that I DEFINITELY never thought I'd be capable of when I was extremely unfit and unhealthy at 40 years old. I am now totally addicted to cycling and strength training and they have changed my life! Give a girl a barbell and pink trainers and she can conquer the world.
Back to the beginning
At 40 I was somewhere VERY different. I owned a luxury retail business for 13 years and poured my heart and soul into it, but in the end, it burned me out. Working 7 days a week, being a mum and wife, keeping house, phone always in my hand to answer customer queries at the drop of a hat… guess what was not even on my radar or priorities? My own health. I frequently ate nothing all day then binged on cheese, bread, chocolate and wine at night. This was not balance.
Eventually I took a deep breath and carefully planned the beautifully orchestrated closure of my business, which took some mega guts because it was successful. I took on a new role as a COO of a retailer membership group in the same industry. Working with a very small team of the most exceptional women, I loved it, but I still hadn’t addressed the root of the problem. My life was all work. However, I knew this so tentatively started to make some changes. I was now working from home, so I joined the gym at the end of my road and started working with a PT to try and get a little bit fit.
Breaking point
One day something went horribly wrong with work and I was seconds away from a full-blown mental breakdown. I sat at my desk at home and it felt like the walls were closing in. I have never felt so close to defeat in my life.
In a complete fight or flight moment I chose flight. In that moment, the need to get outside and move literally gripped me. I put on my shiny hardly used pink trainers and walked to the seafront. I tried to jog but between the crying and not being able to breath properly from panic it was more of what I now affectionately term ‘shuffling’. I then sat on a bench in the wind and rain and sobbed for hours. But when I got home, I felt a bit better. That was when it clicked. I needed exercise to save my mental health.
Every Day I'm Shuffling
For the next few weeks I made sure I got out at some point each day for a shuffle because it got me away from my desk and gave me time to quiet the noise in my head.
I started to take training with my PT more seriously because I was starting to feel better. He was just brilliant. Patient and kind but hard enough to push me out of my comfort zone and face fears. I was starting to get through that ‘just started to exercise and everything is hard’ barrier into ‘this is actually quite fun and hard is quite addictive’. Carving out time for this became an essential part of managing the mega stress of other parts of my life. Training time was time for me.
Time for something new
One year later and after much soul searching and support from friends, I decided it was time to leave the industry that had been my life for 15 years and retrain as a Personal Trainer myself. This exercise lark and working with my PT had literally saved my life and I just wanted to help other people find that cure too.
Sometimes I have to pinch myself when I see the incredible physical challenges I've taken on. You can too! OK you don’t have to do a triathlon or cycle to a different country, I’m a bit crazy and know it, but you can certainly put on some trainers and move your body and feel better in body and mind. Let me help you find out how.
Find out more
Check out the following links to find out more about the services I offer...
