JamieT.

Before coming to IFE, Jamie had been a member of a gym for three years but had never considered coaching as a career. A redundancy gave him the push to look at something different — and a conversation with a friend who had qualified as a PT put the idea in his head.

He found IFE through a Google search and was drawn in by the one-to-one format. 'I did not want to be in a room with fifteen other people and hope the tutor got round to me,' he says. 'I knew if I was going to do this properly I needed actual attention.'

The Combined Level 2 & 3 Diploma took around seven months to complete alongside some part-time work. Jamie says the hardest part was the anatomy and physiology theory — but also the most valuable. 'By the time I was doing my practical assessments I actually understood why I was programming things a certain way. That is not something you get from a rushed group course.'

Within six weeks of qualifying, Jamie had his first three paying clients. He now runs a full schedule from Complete Fitness in Norwich and has started taking online clients on top of his in-person work. 'I replaced my old salary within the first year. I did not expect that — but looking back, I think the quality of the qualification was the reason clients trusted me early on.'

His advice to anyone considering it: do not wait for the perfect moment. 'You will find a reason to delay if you look for one. The only difference between where I was two years ago and where I am now is that I stopped looking for reasons and just started.'