Role: Personal Trainer
Company: Tash PT
Track Record:
Passion and commitment to achieving results are crucial to Tash Bamford’s role as a personal trainer
Give a brief outline of your career to date.
When I was 16, and still studying at Ulidia Integrated College in Carrickfergus, I got a part-time job in a local gym as a cleaner. This got my foot in the door to the fitness industry and was where my passion for health and fitness developed.
I took all the necessary qualifications, the main one being Level Two Fitness Instructor and started working as a fitness instructor in DW Sports. I took the qualifications while I was still at school with Active IQ. And as I continued to develop my knowledge and increased in achieving qualifications, I progressed on to become a personal trainer before I turned 20. And I have been doing it ever since — in fact I started my own business as Tash PT in 2010.
The difference in being a fitness instructor and personal trainer is, as a fitness instructor duties include supervising the gym and taking inductions on how to use equipment but fitness instructors do not perform one on one training. As a personal trainer I can build my own client base and take my clients through one on one training to help them reach their goals.
What was your favourite subject at school?
PE (kind of an obvious one I guess!).
Did you go on to further/ higher education, if so what did you study and where?
After school I started a university degree in sports studies at Ulster University but after my first year I decided sitting in a classroom wasn’t for me as at this point I knew I wanted to be a personal trainer.
I didn’t enjoy the theory as I preferred to be helping people achieve their fitness goals face to face. By then I had learnt how to become a personal trainer and completed my Level Two Fitness Instructor qualification and Level Three Personal Trainer qualification through Active IQ at Belfast Met — this got me started in the profession.
How did you get into your area of work?
I have always had a love for sport and the active lifestyle that goes with it. I was sure from a young age that I wanted a career in this area.
Is this what you always wanted to do?
Yes, I always wanted a job in the health and fitness industry but my path to becoming a Personal Trainer only became clear once I started working in my first gym. I never imagined myself working in an office.
Were there any particular essential qualifications or experience needed?
The basic qualifications are Level Two Fitness Instructor and Level Three Personal Trainer. These are the only two qualifications technically required to apply for a job as a personal trainer, but I would personally highly recommend continued professional development and taking as many related training courses as possible. I am constantly reading lots of books to develop a greater knowledge as, in my opinion, the formal qualifications are very basic and every day is a learning day. People are literally putting their health in your hands so it’s important to know how the body works and how to combat injury and advise on the types of exercise and diet to meet client’s specific needs.
Are there alternative routes into the job?
There are a number of areas you can specialise in, eg. sports performance, injury rehabilitation, contest prep, and these specialisms can be routes into personal training.
What are the main personal skills your job requires?
There are definitely a few personal skills that you can’t do this job without. My top three would be passion, high quality work ethic and commitment to achieving results.
What does a typical day entail?
I get up at about 5am and have breakfast before making the journey to the gym. At 6am my first client arrives and their session lasts one hour. A typical day would involve around 12 one-on-one personal training sessions, a few short breaks to grab food, reply to emails providing advice for clients who have questions about everything from which trainers to buy to what they should make for dinner, and writing fitness and nutrition programmes for clients to assist them in their training goals. I finish at 9pm and I am in bed for 10.30pm once I’ve prepared my meals for the following day. I also play football so at this time of year I have to fit in pre-season training a few times a week and I also put myself through a vigorous training programme to keep my mind and body in tip top condition. It’s a very busy lifestyle so you really have to love it.
What are the best and most challenging aspects of the job?
The best thing about this job is definitely helping people reach their goals. These can be the obvious weight loss goals, building muscle and training for a specific event like a marathon. I work with clients to develop realistic healthy eating plans and fitness programmes to assist with their wellbeing and a real bonus is when clients become friends. The most challenging aspects are probably keeping up-to-date with paperwork as I’d rather be on the gym floor training clients than sorting out my filing!
Why is what you do important?
With our ageing population, healthy eating and exercising are becoming more of a necessity rather than being considered a luxury. My role in educating people on how to ensure they are doing all they can to lead a healthy lifestyle will help them stay fit and avoid injury or illness later in life.
What advice would you give anyone looking to follow a similar career path?
My number one piece of advice is to do as many qualifications as possible and gain as much knowledge as possible to stay ahead of the competition.
If you weren’t doing this what would you like to do?
PE teacher.
If you could go back, what is the one piece of advice you would give to yourself on your first day?
Have confidence in what you say and do.
Describe your ideal day off.
I would have a massive lie in, go out somewhere nice for breakfast, take my dog for a walk, then chill out on the sofa and read books or the latest health and fitness articles.