My journey towards Future Fit Training.
On the 13th Jan 2015 I was in the worst shape of my life, emotionally, physically and moreover, mentally. Life couldn’t be any worse in my mind body and soul. Alcohol dependant, comfort eating and no interest in life other than the search for the next bottle. The people closest and dearest to me (my wonderful daughter and ever supportive mother) weren’t getting the best out of me, and trapped in a never ending circle of guilt for this I decided to take control, ditch the anti-depressants and make this life worth living. Be strong was my mantra, you can change, you can be a better Father, a better Son!
Be strong, be strong! After the usual Christmas activity of watching Worlds Strongest Man I thought, this shit looks cool! Play to your strengths (pun intended) and give this shizzle a go. So I joined the local gym, fat, unfit and surrounded by young men who assume they are ‘hench’ and look down their nose at the bigger guy, this certainly wasn’t the space for me. But not deterred in my quest for world domination I found another space. Code Fitness in Newark on Trent, run by two great guys, Stephen McClory and Luke Watson, a premium gym with a premium attitude. After a meeting with Steve he pointed me in the direction of Ollie Driver, a Strength specialist coach and there I was, on the road to a better, healthier stronger me! April 3rd 2015 was a life changing moment, one which has opened doors, made the impossible possible, and made me realise that with the right work, and the right people behind you dreams can come true, and a better you is just inside you waiting to get out. There was this new thirst for training, I was going to be a powerlifter!
This is a journey, an educational journey, moreover a journey of self discovery, learning to push myself harder than ever before, challenging my trust issues and learning to trust those around me, my team. Because without my team I would still be in the pub!
May 2016 I competed in my first powerlifting competition, Ollie was there to metaphorically hold my hand and coach me on the day. Well would you believe it? I only went and won, and set two North Midlands Divisional records on that day too. This for me was a monumental day, I’d excelled at a sport for the first time in my life, at the age of 41! It was here that I met the great Marc Giles, British Powerlifting, International Powerlifting legend. Owner of one of the worlds most famous powerlifting gyms, Horncastle Powerlifting Club. To those in the know this is a mecca, a home of champions, of current and future stars of the great sport. What a home it is too, knowledge and quality in abundance. It’s here where my Super Sundays happen, a crew of thirsty lifters supporting each other to lift well, to lift large!
In March 2017 I won the British Masters powerlifting championships, and was crowned Masters 1 120+ British champion. From there I was selected to represent Great Britain on the world stage. The IPF world championships!!!! Well that happened in June and I did ok, I placed 7th in a strong field (it’s still not sunk in). Over the coming blogs I’ll expand more on this I’m sure but this is all just background, my progression in the world of Powerlifting has been quick really, my thirst to grow as a competitor and my thirst for knowledge is greater than I can imagine.
Needing to know the how and why, being asked for my ‘Secret’ has found me wanting to go down a path I never before felt possible. a path to becoming a Personal Trainer and Strength coach. Sharing knowledge, helping people has always been a passion of mine, ‘Teamwork makes the Dream work’
I trawled the internet, spoke to dozens of Sales advisors and listened to their seeming bullshit ‘I want this sale’ attitude, one last try I thought, and happened to end up talking to the lovely Julie Cowen at Future Fit Training. she genuinely seemed interested in me, in what I wanted to achieve and worked out how Future Fit as an organisation could help me reach my goals. Working around current and hopefully future international commitments. Distance learning with practical assessments at my convenience was certainly a factor in me choosing these chaps, I’ll keep you posted on how I get on in the coming months. But for now I’ll let you get back to your coffee in peace.
Thank you for reading! Catch you soon.