About Me

Hi. I’m James and welcome to ParkFitNZ, a new offering to the Christchurch Health & Fitness community. 
 
Qualifications: 
 
  • NZQA New Zealand Certificate in Exercise Level 4 (NZC 3563) 
  • NZQA New Zealand Certificate in Exercise Level 5 (NZC 3564)
  • REPs (NZ Register of Exercise Professionals) Registered Personal Trainer
I have also recently completed the following certificates as part of my Continuing Professional Development: 
 
  • Trainer Assisted Stretching (TAS)
  • Periodisation
  • Strength Training
  • High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
  • Kettlebell Fundamentals
  • Nutrition Foundations
  • Boxing Fundamentals
  • Exercise and Pregnancy
 
I am relatively new to the Personal Training world however what I lack in terms of experience I make up for with the drive and enthusiasm in helping you achieve your goals. Health and Fitness is a passion of mine and I am a huge believer in sustainable training and nutrition practices that will give you every chance of continued success. 
 
Like many, I have had my own health and fitness struggles over the years. Extremes at both ends of the spectrum: From training 2-3 hours a day and logging each and every calorie religiously, obsessing over the macros and punishing myself with more exercise if I slipped off the wagon to the other end of the spectrum which saw me weigh in at nearly 111kg, fanning through takeout menus 3 - 4 times per week, doing absolutely no exercise and generally feeling pretty unhappy with how I looked in the mirror. 
 
Since I turned 18/19 and went to college, my weight has fluctuated up and down, I found that with major life events came weight gain (getting engaged, getting married, and having a family) and was intertwined with losing it again, getting back to my usual 80kg. What finally changed? The turning point for me came one day when I jumped on the scales and clocked in at 110.9kg. My little boy had just turned one a few months earlier and was becoming way more active. I panicked at the thought of not being able to be as active with the little man as I would want to be so decided that was the day I would make a lasting change.
Life gets in the way sometimes and often our health and wellbeing takes a back seat. That’s fine and completely understandable. 

After working really hard and re-learning how to train and fuel my body, I have finally achieved the balance I had been missing for so many years. It was at this point I realised health and fitness was a passion and not just something you do to lose weight every now and then, I thought to myself ‘how cool it would be to work in the industry and help people who are in a similar position to me, achieve their goals’. 

I firmly believe that no matter what is going on in your life, you can make some time available to look after yourself – but it doesn’t have to be a chore. Do something that you enjoy, eat foods you like (within limits) and you are already on track to hitting your target. What most of us lack however are the tools and the knowledge to do so, but that’s what I'm here for. It’s never too late, you are never too old, too unfit or too far gone to break the cycle of negative habits and replace them with life changing sustainable practices. 

“Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today” 
- Benjamin Franklin
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