Ashborne - about me
Welcome to Ashborne Personal Training.
So, who are (is) Ashborne? Well, it's me, Andrew Bird.
After many years following different career paths, I've decided to take a leap in to the world of personal training.
Over the next 12 months or so, I'll be documenting my journey from my present lifestyle, and turning it around to fully realise my goal of working within the fitness and health sector. I am training as a personal trainer (with FutureFit) and training with my personal trainer, Paul of PaulMillardFitness.com. I'll be baring all, with my honest and truthful opinions and experiences along the way.
I live in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, surrounded by some stunning vistas and blessed with a very loving and supportive partner, Laura.
Being 31 and deciding on a change in direction was a big step. I've spent many years working in an office environment (within the building engineering industry), establishing my own part-time wedding and portrait photography business and generally taking on too much to handle. Never being one to sit around idle, fitness and sports have always held a strong interest for me. The urge has always been there.
From my first mountain bike race at around 12 years old (confident I could win it.....and then coming pretty much last due to an asthma attack half way round!), I've spent many previous years out on my mountain bike or running around the local area. I'm a big fan of the outdoors, the draw of freshair is never too far away.
It's been a struggle keeping my life in check; running a photography business alongside a full-time job, and finding the time to squeeze all the sporting activities I long to undertake in to a lowly 24 hours is no easy feat. The past 2 years have been particularly challenging as the photography consumed more and more of my spare time, and I spent longer and longer sat at my computer, editing photos. It was a passion, but the amount of time I was spending sat at one desk or another was beginning to take it's toll. I could feel my body beginning to tire quite easily, and reduced flexibility in my muscles and joints was starting to become apparent.
I spent the period around my 30th birthday away camping in a glorious location within Pembrokeshire, South Wales (www.millhavenplace.co.uk, check them out. Both Laura and myself highly recommend a stay. If you enjoy camping, you won't be disappointed. Say hi to Josie and Matt for us!). The morning of my birthday, I awoke without a care in the world. It was my birthday and I was the grand old age of 30. The sun was shining....from what I could tell through the tent and the sound of chirping from the local wildlife could be heard. It was going to be a good day. I say 'WAS' because as soon as I tried to move, I discovered the wonderful world of back pain. At 29 years old, I was in good health, relatively speaking. At 30 years old, I felt like an old man. My attempts at trying to get up from the cosy bed we'd made inside the tent were futile, and proved to be quite amusing to Laura. The solid floor hadn't done me any good and it took almost two hours for the pain to slowly reside so I could finally get up with some degree of success and prepare myself for the day ahead. I spent my 30th birthday floating around the nearest shopping centre, trying to find the deepest, comfiest airbed I could find.
Rock and roll huh!!
Spending so many hours sat in front of the computer had reared it's ugly head, bad posture over the years had resulted in a very painful and uncomfortable outcome. It was time for a change....and so my decision to reintroduce sports and physical activity in to my life was put in to fruition. My love for biking and running was rekindled and as a result, less time at the desk and more endorphins ultimately led to a much happier Andy (not that I was miserable to start with, but I'm sure you all appreciate what I mean).
So after a year of winding down the photography and winding up the sports and activities, the decision to pursue a career in the fitness and health sector was made, and my journey to becoming a personal trainer began.
So here we go...