How it all began...

I remember finding a growing joy for running to clear my head of worries but suffering a lot with sore puffy knees and frustration because my body just didn't want to progress as fast as my mind. I found such joy in outdoor exercise but I knew I was at the point where I needed something more than just pounding the seafront to help me get better.

The thought of joining a gym and asking for professional help literally made me shiver. These were the kind of thoughts that would go through my head...I am willing to bet these resonate with many people....

Seriously I am not fit enough to go to a gym (that's kinda like cleaning before the cleaner comes right?)
I am overweight and unhealthy and everyone will stare/laugh/talk about me
Help! I am too shy and find it really hard to be in busy places
Nope...don't know what I'm doing but gym staff are scary. They are so fit and will think I am rubbish
I just want someone to show me the machines and leave me in peace and I'll do it for a bit till then can stop going
I don't belong in a gym I should just not bother

Oh my goodness I could go on!

BRAVE

Anyway, a little spark of bravery took me and I did sign up to a gym at the end of my road. It was small, which was what appealed. The smaller and quieter the better for me and my anxieties. I just wanted someone to teach me how to stop my knees and legs hurting when I was jogging. I was also overweight and wanted to shrink myself. That's a whole other learning curve I've been on for another blog post though.

I went for it and booked in with a Personal Trainer and then spent the next few days bouncing to and fro from wanting to be sick with nerves, to being tearful wanting to cancel, to telling myself I needed to do this for my physical health.

FIRST SESSION

My first session was a meet and greet and a few fitness tests. I could not even step up onto a bench without my knees giving way. The trainer was so kind and calm and there was a separate room to work in for PT clients. Bit happier Leonie.

It threw me completely when free weights were put in front of me on my first session though. Er what about the treadmill? We just run and you tell me how to do it better right? You want to get better at running Leonie? Well you need to start doing some resistance training to build some strength in those muscles! What on earth!!!! Anyway who was I to challenge the professional so I went along with it because I trusted him right from the start.

ANXIETY

I went through months of battling my desire to not be in a gym with other people looking at me but the private PT studio really helped. I would warm up in as quite and hidden a place as possible in the main gym and wait for my PT to come and collect me and transport me to the safety of the training studio. Some days I would work myself up to tears on the way to some sessions because I felt so useless. But I just wanted someone to fix my knee problems, help me shrink then I was outta there. However, the oddest thing started to happen...I started to love using the barbell. I started to feel my body get stronger. Those hurty knee runs started to feel a bit lighter and I could run for longer. I stopped worrying about what everyone else might think and started to enjoy my sessions and have a laugh with my PT. All in the safety of that lovely private studio (although it was a bit stinky...and the paint was peeling off the walls).

....AND NOW..

Then all thoughts of getting outta there pronto faded away and almost 3 years later I am going to 3 sessions per week with the same PT (although in a much bigger gym, with no private studio, that challenges my anxieties on a regular basis) and I am a qualified trainer myself. Again a whole other story for another blog post.

What made all the difference for me was that original private training space. As I was studying to qualify I toyed with all the different ways I could potentially work with clients. I thought about what had made me feel comfortable and safe and just knew that would be likely to work for others too.

PLANS FOR THE PTPT STUDIO

Plans for the studio began back in the first lockdown and this week I've opened the doors and seen my first clients. It is such an awesome place to train. Equipment includes a spin bike, all the resistance bands, dumbbells, squat rack, pulley system and functional training equipment. Not only that but the double doors open out onto a large garden so we can take parts of training sessions outdoors in nice weather but still be secluded for client privacy.

The aim was to create a space where someone could learn how to get strong without that gut wrenching fear of facing a busy free weights area in a gym...which I totally understand...been there...done that...still do even now!

It makes me grin from ear to ear to see PTPT HQ finished!