Working with a coach and a trainer to help me transform my health

To help me keep pushing forward and building on top of the work I’m already doing with my PT (Dom) at Vide Fitness, I’ve started working with a health and fitness coach too – Ian Estabrook.

I’m often my own worst enemy. I know what I should be doing from a health and fitness perspective. But that doesn’t mean I always do it. So I’ve been building my team.

I’ve known Ian for a while and we’ve bounced back and forth in messages as he’s developed his coaching practice. To help me make the changes I wanted, it felt like the right time to firm up that relationship and work together.

Emphasising mental health as part of my overall health

Feeling physically good helps me feel mentally good. I feel more confident, more energised, and more present. This presence is really important to me. I don’t want to feel like I’m just going through the motions. I want to feel like I’m living life.

Feeling good about myself and being able to do the things I want to do are key to this.

So Ian and I have talked at length about motivations around improved nutrition, improved rest and recovery, and improved time and energy management as the big pillars for my transformation and this wide-ranging approach is a big part of working with a health coach.

In the gym, my focus is on building resilience and strength, working to get bulletproof legs. The two approaches, gym and coaching, blend to give me a platform to build back to being able to do the adventures I want to and feel like I belong there when I do.

In 2027 I’d like to do some big things and 2026 is about getting myself in the right place to accomplish these goals:

1. Run an ultra again (location dependent on political landscape)
2. Hike The Pennine Way in one trip
3. Build up the QMDs (Quality Mountain Days) needed to qualify for Mountain Leader training