personal training everyone active

Personal Training at Everyone Active

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At Everyone Active we try to give all our Trainers the required support to be successful. The following are a selection of case studies of some of our successful Trainers

Lee Welch – Hartham Leisure Centre

Lee Welch, 29, was born with Spina Bifida and as such has always been a wheelchair user with some limited walking ability. However, with an innate passion for sport and exercise, Lee refused to let this hold him back.

“I joined my local wheelchair basketball club aged 13, and was scouted to join the GB U23 squad when I was 17. At the age of just 22 I made my senior GB debut.

After I retired I was determined to inspire other people to get fit and give something back to the community. I had always wanted to work in the health and fitness industry so completed a Level 3 Exercise and Disability Personal Trainer qualification with YMCAfit and joined Hartham Leisure Centre in 2014.

Last year I ran a free eight-week course of disability and limited mobility exercise classes to help show people what they can achieve. As a result of that I was presented with an InstructAbility award recognising the success of the scheme to engage disabled people in fitness activities.

Joining Everyone Active has given me so many opportunities, and being a fitness instructor is everything I imagined and more. I focus on helping people with physical and learning difficulties to lead healthier, more active lifestyles. I find it really rewarding giving something back and helping other people with disabilities get active.”

Samantha Gibbs – Watford Woodside

Sam Gibbs, 50, lost 4 stone while training at Watford Woodside as a member and was inspired to become a Personal Trainer and help others to get active.

“When I qualified as a Personal Trainer Everyone Active gave me the opportunity to join Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre, working in the gym, teaching classes and training clients. Not many companies would take on someone brand new, but Everyone Active were supportive and helped me learn the ropes and build up my portfolio of clients.

I moved to Watford Woodside in December 2015 as a self-employed Personal Trainer, which felt like coming home as all my friends were still there from when I was a member! Making the leap to a freelance PT was quite daunting but I was keen to have more time for training clients as that’s what I really enjoy. It’s incredibly rewarding to see the improvements in people’s movement and ability, and be part of their progress.

Everyone Active also really support their Personal Trainers with creating a successful business by offering PT taster sessions to members every three months, passing on any leads to us and employing just a small number of personal trainers at each centre.

Because of my own personal fitness journey, and as I’m a bit older, I work with clients who think that I will perhaps understand their situations better! My very first client was a 65-year-old gentleman with high blood pressure, and I also work with a young lady with cerebral palsy and epilepsy. The improvement in the strength in the left hand side of her body (which is affected by the cerebral palsy) is quite amazing in the 14 weeks I’ve been training her. Progress can be slower with these types of clients, and it requires a different attitude to training but I also tend to keep my clients for a longer period of time which gives me the job security that way.”

Craig Kitcherside – David Weir

Craig Kitcherside, 31, has been a Personal Trainer for 14 years and has relished the opportunity for progression with Everyone Active.

“I joined David Weir Leisure Centre in 2011 as an employed Personal Trainer. I love working with people, and going the extra mile for them in order to help them progress. I qualified as a PT when I was just 17 due to my passion for health and fitness. Since joining Everyone Active I have been given the opportunity to complete courses in PowerPlate, Vipr, and Bootcamp and teach a range of fitness classes.

I’ve now been promoted to the GP Referral Scheme and train around 15 regular clients – some with injuries and long term health issues. Being able to bring them out of their shell and help them to feel better about themselves is an amazing part of the job. Seeing a guy with a knee injury being able to start playing rugby again, or a 13-year old girl with right sided hemiplegia build up her confidence and self-esteem, as well as her muscle tone is really why I love being a Personal Trainer.

Everyone Active are always there to help you, and offer a PT review every couple of months to talk about your aspirations and building your career.

You have to be a certain type of person to be a Personal Trainer – empathetic, and able to deliver a session tailored to the individual, especially with GP referral clients, incorporating alternative techniques for older people or those with disabilities.”

Everyone Active personal training opportunities are available nationwide. Personal Trainers need to be qualified to Level 3, and have the drive and determination to develop a successful business based on a customer focused, service and results orientated approach.

“Everyone Active is committed to providing the best experience for our members, and the quality and added value of our service is what makes us different. We provide fantastic facilities and support to our personal trainers, and keep the PT to member ratio low to ensure that the trainers have the best chance of building a successful business,” says Mark Talley, Everyone Active Group Fitness Development Manager. “Personal training is a key focus of the Fitness Managers in each site, there is awareness of the benefits amongst our members, and trainers are supported as much as possible to grow and develop their client portfolio. We have attracted some great quality trainers over the last year which has helped the business to grow, and brought new fantastic staff members to the Everyone Active team. Working with trainers whose specialities enable different population groups to enjoy getting active is even more important and exciting for us to build on.”

For more information, visit www.everyoneactive.com/about-us/careers/personal-trainers.

To apply send a CV and covering letter to PTrecruitment@everyoneactive.com.

Visit the Everyone Active portal on Careers in Sport.