Coach Rosie
Coaching since September 2023
So how did I become a coach at Curves Ilkeston? Well, it was the right time and the right place really for me and I feel incredibly lucky to be able to have this opportunity.
I probably speak for many ladies when I say P.E was not one of my favourite classes, or rather, I” tried very hard” but wasn’t a “natural”! The extra-curricular activities in my school days were divided into 2 categories, sport or music and I was into music. So, it really amazes me that fast forward 40 odd years and I love exercise and keeping fit.
My fitness journey probably started as a young mum, walking miles, and also joining an Amateur Dramatics group where I did all the dance routines. I then joined a gym and did various classes combined with swimming. When I left Am Dram after 25 years, I did a Zumba instructor course and used this to run a voluntary dance fit class which I still do now almost 10 years later.
After retiring from my job at school in Dec 2019 I wanted to try something new, and I’d seen “Curves” on Facebook. I knew that I was in a rut at the gym I attended, and I was bored. I joined Curves in January 2020 and started to get a bit “hooked”! I loved the atmosphere, and the coaches were amazing. Sadly, we went into Lockdown in March 2020 BUT this wonderful group really kept me sane. I found myself doing a Curves workout every day either recorded or on zoom and then I started couch to 5k because I was definitely getting fitter. I kept up my dance class via zoom and did the permitted daily walk! My shape started to change. I was definitely firming up and losing inches. The coaches rang me regularly to check I was ok and it really inspired me throughout a very difficult time. I will never regret keeping up my membership throughout Covid despite only joining 3 months beforehand.
Once I returned to Curves after Covid I just loved it even more and eventually we set up a coffee group which has escalated into a walking group and a social group. The support that other women give each other is unique and phenomenal. You would never get this at any other gym. The culture at this gym is genuine and the coaches really care about their members.
I believe that women working out together gives them a lot of confidence and strength, not only in body but in mind. Women juggle so many things all day long and for 30 minutes it is just “them”. They are not someone’s mother, daughter, wife etc. They are just there for themselves for a 30-minute workout, which I feel is so deserved. I feel so strongly that everything we do in one decade will help us in another. It has been pointed out to me that during one of my recorded videos I jump up and down very quickly from sitting on the floor to standing up! I had no idea that I did that, but I intend to still do this in my 70s and 80s! We lose around 7% of our muscle once we hit the menopausal stage (and I can talk about that for a long time!!) and if we strength train and develop leaner muscle it will protect our joints as we get older. I definitely get aches and pains in my joints, but it has improved immensely with the strength training and would be so much worse if I didn’t do it.
We can all achieve much more than we believe we can. One of the best parts of this job is seeing women begin to believe in themselves. You can see the realisation that “yes they can do it” and you see them push themselves more than they ever believed possible. The absolute pleasure of seeing somebody achieve “all greens” for the first time or reduce their body fat or wear shorts for the first time is so rewarding. Seeing somebody reach out to another woman and help them at the stretching station or invite them for a coffee is humbling.
From the training videos I’ve watched one of the powerful statements that has stayed with me is “never leave behind someone who believed in you”. I believe that the ladies at Curves (particularly the long-standing members) have accepted me as a coach and have been incredibly supportive towards me and I will strive to coach each and every one of them (even if they have been there for many more years than I have!). I also keep this quotation in my mind when new ladies join…… “Believe in what you want so much that it has no choice but to materialise”. I like to think that the ladies who join Curves have plucked up the courage to walk through that door and we have to help them achieve their beliefs.
Coach Rosie “We can all achieve much more than we believe we can. One of the best parts of this job is seeing women begin to believe in themselves. You can see the realisation that “yes they can do it” and you see them push themselves more than they ever believed possible.”