FITNESS

I’m Ellise, the coach behind EFR Coaching. I am based in Revolution Fitness.

I’m the coach that has brought the Pride2Power programme to life in person and online!

As a coach, I am dedicated to helping members of the LGBTQIA+ community finally achieve a sense of confidence and belonging within the gym environment. I take pride in providing a safe inclusive training atmosphere through my coaching.

My reasons for getting into the health and fitness industry are a little different than most. I didn’t come from a sporting background, and I was overweight throughout my life. If anything, I was more of a creative and went on to qualify in Related subjects. I would say being able to express myself in a creative environment was a massive factor in being comfortable with who I was. Helping me find my safe space within the LGBTQIA+ community after high school.

Growing up and my teenage years I really struggled with my weight. I had tried every slimming club and fad diet, wondering why I always threw the towel in and felt worse than before I had even started. I didn’t have the knowledge or confidence to know how to go about health and fitness the correct way when it comes to training and nutrition. I would spend pointless hours doing cardio thinking it was going to factor into my weight loss alone. I went through stages of not eating the right foods and having no energy, undereating out of frustration leading to poor health to then end up binging and gaining more again.

I moved away to study, at this time my mental health was in bits I was living a life I wasn’t happy in, lying about who I was and as a result I fell into unhealthy habits, my mental health deteriorated. I ended up moving back home leaving everything behind that I loved. I felt lost, lacking all passion for what I had set out to do. I got a job as a support worker, I always wanted to be able to help others and thought this would be a rewarding job. To help make a positive difference to someone’s life; I witnessed a lot of positive and sad eye-opening moments during my time in this line of work.

This come to be one of the many factors as to why I got into the health and fitness industry today. To put it as honestly as I can, life goes on, we get older, and things become more and more taxing to the body and mind. For this reason, we want to build a healthy body and mind that can cope with the changes that life brings.

It wasn’t until my early twenties and making the decision to get a coach, to train within a community of likeminded people that I really started to notice a change in my overall health and mindset.

It wasn’t just my body composition that changed but also my mental health and confidence completely switched.

A few years into training and one of my coaches, now good friend, had mentioned I would make a great coach if I put my mind to it. Little to his knowledge I had already made the decision to go and get my coaching qualifications.

In those years of training, I had become so comfortable with who I am and what I wanted. My confidence grew in and out of the gym. I was stronger both physically and mentally and knew that my knowledge on health and fitness had expanded. Never would I have thought I would get the opportunity to be part of other people’s health and fitness journeys today, whilst still progressing with my own.

During this time, I had a friend approach me about wanting to better her health and fitness. I advised that getting a coach would be beneficial as this way she would be held accountable and be advised on how to work towards her goal correctly. She was open about her bad experiences that she previously had with coaches and in gym environments.

My friend is transgender and got turned away from coaches and gyms for being herself. As we know this still happens time and time again and is unacceptable. Everyone is entitled to improve their health and fitness.

I got asked recently why I choose to coach the LGBTQIA+ community and how it differs from coaching other members of the public.

My response was: ‘I am part of the community therefore I can relate with my clients. It doesn’t overly differ in terms of general health and fitness advice. I wouldn’t say it’s anything physically either unless a client specifically wants to work towards a more Masc or Femme physique. It’s the mindset, lifestyle factors and feeling part of an inclusive and proud community that makes it different. Especially when it comes to the added stress of rejection, false judgement, and guilt, something that no person should ever have to deal with.’

I’m becoming who I needed at a time I felt very lost. I am now that person for others.

Health and fitness advice can be very dependent on an individual’s goals and differ from person to person. I could write a book on the do’s, don’ts and why’s, but a lot can factor into it all. Not every rule will apply to every person throughout their own journey.

Setting yourself daily targets is a guaranteed way to stay consistent with your health and fitness efforts. These are my Non-negotiables I set for both myself and my clients that you can try:

7-10k daily steps

2-3L+ water daily

Sleep for 6-9hrs

Strength train 3-4x a week

Rest and recovery days

Cardio for cardiovascular health

Keep daily protein intake high

Focus on nutrition for your individual goal (a lot can factor into this) Be grateful for what your body can adapt to and do

I surround myself in nature and the outdoors in my free time to help with stress levels (find what works best for you).

Consistency is key here, not motivation. I would go as far as saying motivation does not exist. People continue to search for it to start making healthier choices. We’ve all heard the phrase ‘I just need to find the motivation’. What we should be focusing on is staying consistent with our efforts. Staying consistent even on the difficult days. This will not only lead to the desired results but will build up your resilience both physically and mentally.

People can get overwhelmed with the amount of health and fitness information we have access to these days, especially on social media. Some great, some not so great. Don’t compare your day 1 to someone’s day 100. It’s your journey.

If you master the basics everything else will become less overwhelming and results are sure to follow. Remember that progress isn’t just down to our physical appearance, number on the scales or performance. It’s about how we feel, our energy levels, our mental clarity, and our overall sense of well-being. If we’re consistently finding that our progress isn’t equating to these areas of our lives, we need to adjust our approach.

If you are feeling lost, unsure, and confused with your health and fitness journey. Reach out @efr_coaching.