It was in May last year that I suddenly had an epiphany or maybe it was a slow burn. I decided that I wanted to be a personal trainer.

The last time I had done any formal studying was in 2007 when I successfully completed a law degree. Doing this had been hard. I was working and had a young family. When I started studying my son had been six and my daughter nine.  Prior to having a family  I had completed a Master’s Degree in 1994 and done  various Open University courses in between. I did genuinely love studying but the law degree had exhausted my enthusiasm    or so I thought.

With my interest in exercise and nutrition piqued I had at first looked at doing an Open University course in nutrition. And then it hit me. I could be a personal trainer!  Initially it seemed an absurd idea.  How can a 55 year old woman train to be a personal trainer?  Surely you need to be a young thing, with a body to die for and a level of fitness through the roof.  I didn’t tick any of these boxes. But I did a bit of research to find that it wasn’t a ridiculous idea at all and that there was quite of bit of evidence to suggest that older people would prefer to be trained by someone of a similar age and who could empathise with some of the challenges that the older person can face.

So I signed on the dotted line. I decided not to jump straight in. I signed up to do a Level 2 Gym Instructor qualification. This comprised of competing a number of theoretical modules, preparing and delivering a training session and finally a three day theoretical and practical assessment.

I attended the three day assessment with a sense of trepidation but I had nothing to fear.  Although I was the oldest it wasn’t by a huge amount and I did feel that my life experience gave me a certain confidence that some of the other students lacked.

In October I was informed that I had passed. I was one step closer.

I have now successfully completed the anatomy and physiology modules of the Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training. Some of them I found relatively easy as it was a revision of   what I learnt when I trained as a nurse and a midwife.  Others were a little more challenging. I don’t recall in my nurse training having to learn the level of detail which was now required in the muscles module. Hands up who knows where the Vastus Intermedius originates and inserts and what joint it moves?

I know. It is one of the four muscles that make up the quadriceps. It originates in the greater trochanter, inserts below the femur neck and extends the knee. Get me.