Richard Barnes
After leaving school at 18, Richard joined a gym and lost a lot of weight. At this point he decided that he’d quite like to follow a career as a fitness instructor, however, he couldn’t afford to do any of the training courses.as he only worked part-time in retail.
When he learnt about the CEFF course, via an internet search, he initially thought that it must be too good to be true. But he realised that there weren’t any catches and signed up for the level 2 Fitness Instructor course.
He thought the course was great fun and he thoroughly enjoyed learning – he particularly enjoyed the practical side of the training and he thought that the time passed really quickly.
After completing the 4 week course he was employed as a freelance fitness instructor at the Gurnard Pines Health Club – he originally taught a couple of classes a week, but they have grown in popularity and he now teaches 8 classes per week. (He also did his Spinning Instructor certificate with Lifetime).
Richard now holds down three other jobs. He works 4 hours a week at a youth club in The Pavillion where he runs children’s sporting and leisure activities. He also runs similar sessions at Fort Bouldner, an ex-Marine Training Camp, where they hold adventure courses for children. His final job is his part-time position at Top Shop which he has kept on to keep raising funds to put towards the travel costs (the ferry to the mainland) for his level 3 PT course.
He says that he never thought a couple of years ago that he’d be a class instructor, but he really enjoys it and has really gained in confidence. After training as a PT he will happily carry on as a freelance instructor and eventually he might like to open his own gym. He says “I left school when I was 16 so I was slightly apprehensive about going back to study after all this time. However, I needn’t have worried - the Lifetime course materials were easy to follow and the friendly team made me feel completely relaxed right from the start. Apart from learning a great deal, I’ve also made some great friends and found the whole thing a very positive and worthwhile experience.”
