Trinni

‘I qualified as a personal trainer 5 years ago when I was just 17 and my motivation (which I am still ashamed about) was pretty much centred around the fact that I wanted to make myself skinnier and desperately believed that if I spent thousands of pounds on a fitness qualification, I would know all the secrets of the trade (FYI there are none, it’s all common sense). I qualified but was so lacking in confidence that I refused to look into working because I was convinced that no-one would want to take any advice from me – I didn’t have a six pack or a bum worthy of mirror selfies and gymshark leggings.

5 years later I am now finally doing some fitness and class instructing and personal training. One of my biggest motivations is to help the girls I see on a daily basis who come into the gym and spend hours doing cardio, who are obviously following some kind of online guide, or who seem to come in with no energy to train and punish themselves with exercise. Trust me, exercise that’s done with the right mentality can be fun and incredibly fulfilling. Please, please avoid taking generic advice from generic guides that someone who may or may not be qualified is making a shit ton of money from selling to you. I could rant about fitness instagrammers until the cows come home because I think they are so unbelievably damaging to millions of young girls and women. How we have reached a point where we attribute more value to a person that is thin, who has lean muscles, or who has thousands of followers is beyond me. Take back control and unfollow any account that doesn’t send a positive message (and posting daily pictures of lean abs/bum whilst writing about body positivity does not count).

I am now so passionate about the personal benefits of sport and exercise but I do truly believe these benefits are personal. Listen to your body, move in a way that makes you feel good, eat good and nourishing food, not so you can put it on social media, but because it FEELS good. How, in ANY way, is spending hours watching privileged teenagers film workouts and dispense unqualified advice going to help you to be the best you? It’s not. So unfollow those accounts (even if it’s just for a couple of days) and reap the benefits of not being bombarded with an unattainable and airbrushed ‘perfection’ every time you look at your phone.’