With almost 20 years experience as an Exercise Specialist, Rehabilitation Therapist, Strength & Conditioning Coach and Feverish Learner, I am eternally grateful to have the opportunity to spend every ‘working’ day immersed in my passion. I have always been obsessed with Sport, Exercise and Human movement and it seems a career within this sector was always my destiny. My mother reliably informs me that I started walking at the relatively early age of 10 months old and it seems that since those first steps, I have harboured a deep, intrinsic reluctance to sit still for any appreciable amount of time. Like most children playing sport, running, jumping, crawling, climbing, pulling, pushing and picking up things that are far too heavy for me was a staple of my daily life – Some 40 years later I’m glad to say that things haven’t changed all that much.
My journey began in my hometown of Dublin, when, after finishing school I completed a 1 year Diploma in Sport, Exercise & Coaching. I immediately followed this up with a 1-way ticket to London to read for a Bachelors Degree in Sports Rehabilitation and Sorts Science. Following graduation I was offered my first full time position as Head Personal Trainer and Rehabilitation Specialist at one of the countries leading Health Clubs where I gained invaluable experience over my 2 years there.
In addition to working with Personal Training clients, guiding them towards their general health, fitness and body composition goals, my roll afforded me the opportunity to align closely with the club physiotherapist, aiding in the recovery and rehabilitation of injured and less able-bodied individuals and bridging the gap between the physio room and the gym floor.
These early professional years gave me great exposure to a broad and varied client demographic, giving me an insight into the diversity and individuality of client requirements, abilities and outcomes. This distinctiveness first highlighted to me, that a “one-size-fits-all” approach to exercise, nutrition and personal health is not best practice when working with individuals. It inspired me to adopt a more freestyle, holistic attitude towards coaching, programing and lifestyle interventions, tailored to the explicit requirements and characteristics of a given client.
The next step was to venture out on my own and establish a freelance Health & Exercise Coaching business based in Central London. I spent the next few years steadily building a loyal and varied client base which ranged from teenagers to pensioners, first timers to professional athletes and from carpenters to Ceo’s – All came with their own unique set of goals, challenge and personalities and each contributed significantly to my development as coach and as a person.
The last 15 years have continued to be a journey of evolution and discovery, education and experimentation within this ever-changing industry. I have realised the importance of building a network of like-minded professionals, spanning the various sectors of the health & fitness industry, in an effort to improve my knowledge base and provide an enhanced service for clients. My passion for all things Health, Fitness & Coaching related has continued to deepen and mature to embrace a more holistic appreciation of overall Human Wellness, Nutrition and Functional Movement. I have devoted many hours to educating myself through continued professional development, completing courses and internships with some of the industries leading figures while achieving accreditation and certifications from a host of industry awarding bodies; NSCA (Certified Strength & Conditioning Coach), British Weight Lifting Association, UK Strength & Conditioning Association, EXOS (formerly Athletes Performance) and BASRAT to name a few.
I have contributed to well known publications such as GQ, Easy Living Magazine and the Evening Standard and have been blessed with opportunities to travel extensively through Europe, The United States and parts of Asia to ‘ply my trade’ and continue my development.
My desire for personal challenge has not limited me to the gym floor or to the classroom. Over the past 5 years I have sought to challenge myself outside of my physical comfort zone, surrendering the 100’s of uncomfortable hours necessary to train for and compete in several marathons and Ironman Triathlons.
Most recently, my areas of interest and research have taken a deeper dive into the fields of ‘functional medicine’, digestive health, sleep science, mental health & wellbeing and into the vital roll played by hormones and genetics in the development of holistic ‘wellness’ . I am fascinated by the interrelationships that exist across these components of wellness and believe that a synergistic, fully integrated approach is the best path to creating healthier individuals and ultimately populations. In an effort to make this information more digestible for myself and my clients and to give people the best chance of adherence and success I have tried to identify the facts and priorities and curate these into ‘The Core 4’; four broad categories that represent the fundamental pillars of Health & Wellness as I see them and from which I derive all of my training and lifestyle habits and protocols.
One of the greatest ‘perks’ of my career has been that it allows me to be the subject of my own experimentation, my own ‘N of 1’! My inherent desire for personal improvement ensures I am constantly striving to educate myself across these fields in order to be better understand and upgrade my own personal health and subsequently pass this ‘first hand’ knowledge and practice onto my clients and colleagues.
It has never been easier to access ‘information’ than it is in today rapidly changing world and I feel strongly that we are at a crossroads in terms of what people understand as ‘health’ and expect from the Health/Fitness/Wellness industry. There is a real desire from people to take control of their health and wellness and to explore ideas and practices that go against the grain of traditional behaviours and concepts in order to pursue a happier and healthier lifestyle. It is my feeling that this shift, along with the integration of technology across the industry, provides us with an enormous opportunity to change the mind-sets and lifestyle habits of future generations for the better, and that is a movement that I am passionate about being at the forefront of.