This tag line is both encouraging and discouraging at the same time. I use it to try and stand out in this crowded industry but I am aware it may also be intimidating. I use this quote because of my experience and the pathway I took to forming KimFit and becoming a personal trainer. Quick recap! I studied sport science and exercise physiology to post-graduate level and then worked as a high-performance exercise physiologist for two years (I helped elite athletes optimise their performance and training) before pressing pause on that trajectory to pursue my own Olympic dreams. During this time I also gained my fitness instructor and personal trainer qualifications but I have a lot of additional qualifications and varied experience on top of this.
KimFit was born when I moved to Bath for full-time training for skeleton. Say what? How do I train for a winter sport in Bath? Well, to be honest I don’t. I spend the summer in Bath getting physically strong and fast and then am abroad over winter, sliding and racing. KimFit helps to support me financially but also keeps my brain working and gives me some headspace away from skeleton.
I am writing this blog to share with you some of the lessons I have learned from being a professional athlete and how they make me a good personal trainer. There can be a preconception that because I am an elite athlete I only train athletes or that I am not relatable or won’t understand the barriers facing someone that doesn’t (yet) exercise regularly. I get this, I get why potential clients may think this but it couldn’t be further from the truth.
When I started skeleton I was scared beyond words. Sliding headfirst down a long icy track with no padding, no brakes and no idea what I was doing. That wasn’t part of my comfort zone. Starting anything new is daunting and to be honest there are still plenty of days where the nerves are bad. There are days where I dread sliding, but I stand on the block and slide anyway; because I have learnt how to manage them.
Resigning my job was a huge risk and I made myself very vulnerable by chasing this dream. I will always encourage anyone to go after what they aspire to. I am ambitious and set many goals for myself; traits and practises that are commonplace. It takes hard work to achieve a goal, it also requires resilience and small, practical steps. I am here to support and facilitate the goal, to inspire you to be brave.
What I most love to share with clients is my passion for training. I have fun when I train, I enjoy myself because I see it as a step closer to my goal and an act of self-care. Time for me to work on me. Of course, there are days when motivation is low; I am only human. There are also days when I get the training/work balance all wrong and put too much on my plate. That’s life though isn’t it; I am good at finding a way, whether to increase my motivation or to manage whatever I have got on that week.
So that’s me in a nutshell. ‘Not your average PT’, but not a superhuman either.
