“We all go through our own struggle and it is great to be able to give people advice – my heart jumps for joy when I see people succeed.” – Nicole Child
With exercise and fitness two of her favourite hobbies, Nicole Child registered in the Certificate IV of Fitness with Fitness Institute in September 2016, having decided life was too short to waste.
Whilst Nicole’s motivations are shared by many, her story is quite unique.
Nicole was born with cerebral palsy, but she is proud to say she has never used CP as an excuse, as CP has not been her biggest challenge. Having achieved many great things in her life: having a baby, playing sports, studying psychology, sociology and writing short stories, Nicole still felt she was not good enough to pursue what she really wanted and that her biggest obstacle was her mindset…
But this is a thing of the past.
Today, Nicole works at Positive Existence Personal Trainers (PEPT) and gets to help others achieve their fitness goals.
Finishing the Cert IV in Fitness gave Nicole the necessary knowledge, confidence and skills to talk to people and help show them what they can do. Fitness Institute Trainer, Philip Sherriff says Nicole was an inspiration to the students and ended up going above and beyond the 100 hours required for on the job training…
Nicole told us that whilst doing the training, her confidence went “through the roof”. The course taught her how to modify and tailor programs and Nicole felt that out of all the units in the certificate, the most enjoyable were personal training, healthy eating, training older clients and specific populations.
Every day and in every way, Nicole exemplifies commitment.
In January 2016, Nicole joined her mentor and a team of 5 other trainers working in the Townsville community with Positive Existence Personal Training (PEPT) (http://www.pept.com.au/).
PEPT Team Leader Chris says:
“When I first met Nicole in our initial consult, she was lacking in confidence and continuously second-guessing herself. As time went by you could see Nicole’s confidence growing. With a bit of encouragement, Nic took the leap to do her Cert 3 and 4 and through this journey, she was challenged mentally and physically. But to her credit she stuck it out and pushed through, finishing her course and becoming a member of the PEPT Team and adding value to 100s of people’s lives each week….”
Trainer Philip Sherriff says:
“From the moment we spoke to Nicole over the phone, it was clear that nothing was going to get in the way of her dreams to become a Personal Trainer. Nicole did a great job joining in with classes and attending all immersion activities including orienteering events and CrossFit competitions to gain as much experience as possible…”
Despite being a single mother, working and having cerebral palsy, not once were any these used to gain special consideration in passing the course. Nicole knew what was expected and she excelled, but not only that – of the 16 students in her course, Nicole was the first to complete all of the course requirements! Nicole, is an inspiration to myself and others…”
Nicole Child’s persona and influence are best summed up by one of her colleagues at Positive Existence Personal Training Lifestyle Coach, Felicity Harper:
“When I first met Nicole she was a client of PEPT. As she became dedicated to fitness she found a love for helping others achieve what she had achieved and decided to become a PT. Nicole completed her work experience hours with us and from day 1 you could see her passion for the industry and our clients. Since then, Nicole has developed into an amazing, inspirational trainer for all our clients. Her dedication to our clients is amazing. She is always keen to hear about their progress, successes and difficulties and takes the opportunity to help work through it with them. Personally, I find Nicole a beautiful natured person that has risen above her own difficulties to triumph in everything she has put her mind to…”
Nicole’s message for other students:
“If you think you can’t do it, think again – because you can – go out there and try. Don’t ever think you are not good enough….”
Meet more Fitness Institute students HERE as well as on our Online Facebook and Townsville Campus Facebook pages.
