I never knew what I wanted to be, other than a mum. I’ve worked in an office, I worked in retail, I have been a childminder and a pharmacy dispenser, all these jobs suited me at the time, they were fine, but I wouldn’t say I was passionate about any of them.

In school I was a shy and artistic child, I often spent time drawing and painting in my own quiet, creative bubble. Sports or exercise of any kind never featured until much later in life.

I became a mum at 22, and parenthood is a rollercoaster ride you never get off. It is every bit as magical as it is scary, and I wouldn’t change a thing. I have four children now, two girls, Hayleigh (15) and Katelyn (7) and two boys, Aaron (13) and Euan (5) and they are all amazing kids with very different personalities. They are all happy, healthy children and we are very lucky.

I first found my love for the gym when my husband Gavin and I got engaged. My only goal was to lose weight, I wanted to look my best for my wedding day, and at that time, that meant becoming smaller. So I joined a women’s gym in my town called the Training Advantage. They provided training plans for members and did regular reviews to track progress. I was working as a childminder at the time, so I was only able to go when my little ones were at school and nursery on my day off.

I quickly fell in love with training and transferred some of what I learnt in the gym to home workouts whenever I could. I regularly looked at “fitspo” on social media, and felt inspired by seeing other women with athletic bodies. I started “eating clean”, again, inspired by fitness influencers online, and started to see changes in my physique. Seeing noticeable biceps for the first time in my life made me feel strong and capable of anything.

I didn’t appreciate at the time, how great it was to have time out doing something just for me, away from the everyday chores and stresses of parenting.

From that time onwards I have been a regular gym goer, only stopping briefly during pregnancies and while I was at home with newborns. Training time became “me time”.

Fast forward to 2020. Mid pandemic, I was working in a pharmacy part time, the gyms were closed, but we had enough bits of equipment at home to stay active when the country was at a standstill. Thank goodness we had my husband’s rusty old multi gym in the garage, it was important for me to stay active as my mental health was not great at that time, for the first time ever, like many others, the fear surrounding Covid19 was taking its toll.

The first lockdown was a bit of a novelty, the weather was fine, so we took the kids outside and did “PE” every morning before doing their home schooling. We kind of got into a routine, but it was tough keeping on top of 4 kids doing lessons.

Finally the gyms and schools reopened between lockdowns. It was so great to get back to a regular routine. One day after a workout, I was speaking to a friend who was a retired Personal Trainer, and I decided to ask him about his experience as a PT... He asked “Are you thinking about doing it?”

The seed was sown. “You’d be perfect for the job”, “It’s so rewarding”, “You can help people change their lives”, he was so encouraging and enthusiastic when I showed an interest in becoming a PT.

“Where do I sign up?” I thought. I had never felt that rush of excitement before regarding a job, I had never been a career woman, or driven to do anything other than being a mother.

I then spoke to another couple of trainers I knew about what courses were available and who they would recommend. I did some research online and called a couple of providers, who I must say, have their sales team trained to a very high standard, I came off the phone buzzing with excitement and eager to commit, but the cost of the course was a big investment for me at that time.

I slept on it for a few days, but signed up soon after to do my Level 2 and Level 3 Diploma course. The course started January 5 th 2021. It was going to be a 10 week intensive online course, and I would study while the children were in school. Or so I thought.

Christmas 2020 was stressful. Corona Virus was still a big threat to society and a second lockdown was announced in Scotland starting December 26th. Not only were the gyms closing again, which was very upsetting, but home schooling was back on in the winter months. I struggled mentally during this time, due to the pressures of home schooling and intense learning on my course at the same time.

The course was heavily adapted to allow students to be assessed based on what they had access to at home. Luckily I had gym equipment at home and was able to use my husband as a “client” for all my video assessments since households were not allowed to mix at that time.

The course content was a steep learning curve for me, having only done Biology at Standard Grade over 20 years ago! Although I found the course stressful to complete at that time – I really enjoyed learning about human physiology. I find it fascinating.

I passed my exams in April 2021 and announced to the world of Facebook that I had been studying and was going to start Personal Training from my Summer House in my back garden. Lifelong Fitness was born.

Initially I continued to work part time in the Pharmacy and was Personal Training in my spare time. I got busy fast, it has really surprised me how many people want to work with a Personal Trainer. So I decided to go full time in October 2021.

I believe that everyone deserves to feel happy, and for me, happiness comes from an ability to look after my family, run around with my children and show them how to live a healthy and fulfilling life.

My business ethos is to empower people to take responsibility for their physical health through regular exercise and improved nutrition. Everyone has the right to prioritize their health and fitness and I provide a service that supports and guides them to improved health and wellbeing.

My clients are mostly women ranging in ages from mid twenties up to their sixties. Most of them are mums like me, so we have lots in common and I can empathise with their struggles of trying to fit a healthy lifestyle around family life.

The best thing about this job is seeing my client’s confidence build up over time. When I encourage them to increase the weights and they are unsure, I believe in their ability, then they complete the exercise and feel that strength and sense of achievement. Seeing someone else get that buzz from weightlifting that I feel, I get so much enjoyment and pride in seeing them succeed.

I have a holistic approach to health and fitness and encourage people to exercise and view it as more than a weight loss tool, however I do support clients with fat loss goals, performance goals, anything within my scope. I am continuously learning in order to improve my service.

Currently I am studying EIQ Nutrition which is brilliant so far. I love being a member of Lift The Bar as well, the resources and community are incredibly helpful. There is so much to learn in this industry and I can’t get enough.

I have never felt this way about any job before. I honestly feel like I’ve found my purpose.

Diane Laing

NASM CPT

Lifelong Fitness

Facebook and Instagram @lifelong_fitness.pt