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How Fitness Changed My Life, From ADHD to MSc
If you are reading this, there is a strong chance you have had the thought before. Probably more than once. Usually late at night. After a long day at a job that pays the bills but quietly drains your soul. You sit there half-watching Netflix, scrolling fitness videos, pretending you are “just researching,” when really you are asking yourself the same question again.
Could I actually do this?
Could I become a personal trainer?
Could fitness become more than just the thing I love after work?
Could it become the work?
And then, almost immediately, your brain responds like an overprotective, catastrophising parent whose entire personality is built around worst-case scenarios.
Don’t be ridiculous.
You are not fit enough.
You do not know enough.
You do not look good enough.
People will judge you.
What if you fail?
What if you leave your stable job and end up living in a beach hut eating cold baked beans while trying to explain to your family that “this is all part of the entrepreneurial journey”?
Stay where it’s safe.
Yes, you are unhappy. Yes, your soul quietly leaves your body every Monday morning. But at least you know where the kettle is. It’s what they call ‘the devil you know’.
I know that feeling because I was that person.
I was not the kid teachers pointed at and said, “He’ll go far.”
I was usually the reason the teacher chose early retirement!
At primary school, I once spent more time crawling around the classroom looking for my imaginary pet ant, Charlie, than I did doing actual schoolwork. Charlie was invisible, obviously. That was part of the issue.
One day, my very strict Catholic school teacher shouted across the classroom:
“Jonathan! What are you doing on the floor?!”
I stood up, very seriously, and said:
“I’m looking for Charlie.”
The entire class burst out laughing.
Even the teacher eventually cracked a smile, even though, I think, joy was against school policy.
That was probably the first time I realised humour could get you out of trouble. A lesson I have continued using ever since.
Feeling Like the Problem
School and I were never a great match.
I had energy. Far too much of it.
I could not sit still, could not stop talking, and if maths lessons were graded on daily step count, I would have been top of the class.
I loved sport, drama, art, and anything involving movement, creativity, or the possibility of mild chaos. Everything else felt like psychological warfare.
I always knew education mattered because my mum drilled that into me from a young age.
Work hard.
Get qualifications.
Get a good job.
Don’t struggle like we did.
Solid advice Mum.
Unfortunately, my brain was not wired that way.
I now understand a lot of that was ADHD.
At the time though, it just felt like constantly failing at things other people seemed to find easy.
I found boredom physically painful. That was the real issue for years.
Not laziness.
Not lack of ambition.
Boredom.
My brain constantly searched for stimulation, movement, excitement, humour, challenge, anything that stopped me feeling trapped inside monotony.
And when you grow up feeling too distracted, too loud, too energetic, too disorganised, those labels start attaching themselves to your identity.
You begin wondering whether maybe you are the problem.
Maybe everyone else got handed the instruction manual for life and yours got lost in the post.
That feeling follows a lot of people into adulthood.
I see it constantly now in aspiring personal trainers and fitness professionals. Many people interested in becoming coaches already battle self doubt, imposter syndrome, fear of judgement, and comparison culture long before they ever step onto a course.
The interesting thing is that these same people are often deeply empathetic, resilient, passionate human beings who genuinely want to help others.
That was true for me too.
Then Fitness Happened
Fitness did not magically solve everything overnight.
There was no dramatic movie montage where I suddenly became disciplined while inspirational music played in the background and someone handed me a protein shake in slow motion.
It was slower than that.
Messier too.
But fitness gave me something I had never really experienced before. For the first time in my life, I found something that made my brain feel switched on instead of switched off.
And more importantly, I discovered something fascinating.
Exercise changes far more than bodies.
It changes confidence.
Mental health.
Identity.
Belief.
Fitness became more than training for me. It became everything.
Eventually, despite being the child feeding invisible ants during maths lessons, I somehow ended up becoming a Personal Trainer, with a Sport and Exercise Science degree, a Master’s in Strength and Conditioning, and later becoming a qualified teacher so I can help others do the same.
If you had told my younger self that was coming, I genuinely think I would have laughed in your face while attempting to skateboard off some dodgy-looking ramp I had constructed.
But that journey taught me something important.
People change when they find meaning.
And many people considering careers in fitness are not chasing fame, money, or Instagram followers.
They are searching for work that feels aligned with who they are. Work that helps people. Work that feels meaningful instead of draining.
You Do Not Need to Be Perfect
That does not mean the journey is easy.
There will still be fear.
There will still be comparison.
You will still occasionally question your entire existence after posting fitness content online and getting one like, which turns out to be your mum.
You do not need to become perfect before you start helping people.
You just need to start.
Listen ot the Podcast
Next Steps
If you want to start a journey like mine, and like so many of the students we have helped through Storm Fitness Academy, then please get in touch using the form below.
Whether you are completely new to the industry, lacking confidence, stuck in a job that no longer fulfils you, or simply wondering if a career in fitness could actually become your reality, we are here to help guide you through it.
You do not need to have everything figured out already.
You just need to start.
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