A Journey from MUM to COACH!
Hey!…and here is my welcome to E4L’s blogging world – A Journey from MUM to COACH!
My name is Rachel Thrower, (Ray for short!) and I am one of the aspiring MFT coaches here at Elements4Life. I joined the Elements4Life coaching team late 2020 and have been loving the warm community here since.
I thought it would be a good idea to introduce myself and get you all acquainted to how I ended up here, as your E4L coach.
My passion for fitness started in my early 20’s after I had my first baby. I had put on so much baby weight I couldn’t bare it. I lost over 20kgs training myself and relearning how to eat. When I had my second pregnancy also in my early 20’s I had a fall down a flight of stairs, fracturing my coccyx and further injuring my sacral lumber joints.
Being pregnant at the time of the fall meant that I had a lot of the hormone Relaxin in my system (this hormone’s purpose is to help relax your ligaments to make the pelvic area more flexible for the baby to be born.) This as you can imagine left me in quite a lot of pain. I was restricted from preforming a lot of movements. Postpartum definitely hit differently. Being injured postpartum weight-loss was difficult to say the least.
I could no longer lunge or touch my toes, I went through chiropractic and physical therapies as well as anti-inflammatory prescriptions. I guided myself through my rehabilitation and committed to a year of yoga at home. By the end of that year I was able to touch my toes again! It has only been recently I have been able to do a lot of exercises, like hip hinging and plyometric movements with out pain.
So how did I move from Mum to Coach? In 2013 I entered in the fitness world working as a creche assistant and receptionist at a commercial gym. I started weight training and I acquired my certificate 3 in fitness. In 2014 I started working as gym floor attendant, you know the fun stuff like cleaning and prescribing appraisal for clients some small classes here and there however I wanted to become more active and help people acquire their own personal goals.
I committed 2016 to finish my cert 4 in fitness, finally completing it in early 2017 with a baby bump! I managed to cover a friend’s gym for several weeks during pregnancy however didn’t pursue my fitness career again until 2019. This is where I developed my experience as a personal trainer at Flames Fitness and Fernwood.
At the end of 2020, it was time for a step up and I applied for a job at E4L and I love it. Late 2020 I stopped walking for several months due to a neurological issue I have called FND (functional neurologically disorder. It is a disease that affects the functionality of your nervous system). The love and care that came out of the E4L gym, personally from Sebastian, Erin, Joe and James was astonishing. They didn’t give up on me and toss me to the side like a lot of other fast commercial gyms would have. This year alone I have struggled with the symptoms the most out of the 5 years having FND however have been able to power through and grow due to being a part of a loving community.
On my personal journey of fitness, I have been able to overcome a few health obstacles, and help inspire others to do the same. I have a keen interest in all things nutrition after changing lifestyle eating for postpartum weight loss and in recent years going the next step changing to a vegan plant-based way of eating. I am also now an ambassador heavy metal detoxification and cellular support after researching the topic. I am finding out that health is so much more than just the training.
I’m here to share my passion and inspire you to achieve yours. Fitness and health is never a straight path to say the least. It is a journey to self-development and spiritual strength.
Feel free to reach out to me to discuss my experiences and if you want to come and train with me too that would be awesome.
Love Ray
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A Journey from MUM to COACH!
Elements4Life has a holistic outlook to living and lifestyle and hopes people embrace a more connected life away from the toxic western influences of the modern world. A focus on cellular health and a harmonious biological environment.
Please email us for membership details or to organise a gym tour with a lifestyle and fitness coach – getstarted@elements4life.com.au
Read Heavy Metal Detoxification Article HERE.