Anna’s is very early on the pathway to a mid-life career change into the fitness industry. At the time of writing, Anna had just completed her Certificate III in Fitness and was about to commence Certificate IV. Anna is a legend who took on the challenge of studying for a new career while juggling the demands of a family with 5 children! 

Working & fitness life 

Anna’s working life was in office administration roles with many years working at a local council. She did go back to this role for a short time after her first child, but then the focus was on parenting, full-on parenting with the next 4 kids coming along in as many years. Anna’s fitness life was always very active playing various sports, but she only started working out in a gym setting after having her first baby. Being short on time with family commitments, Anna eventually set up her own gym at home so she could keep doing the training that she’d come to really enjoy. 

Motivation to study fitness  

Having become a fitness enthusiast, Anna started to consider studying fitness when her youngest child started school. Her initial motivation was to learn how the training she was doing herself actually worked. While Anna was daydreaming about studying fitness to help herself, she also pondered how the knowledge would enable her to help others. It was a matter of procrastination for quite some time with Anna thinking her dreaming would probably never come to fruition. 

Studying Certificate III

Anna studied an online version of Certificate III with a 12 month timeframe for completion. With such a busy family life, it took Anna 18 months to complete the course which is entirely understandable. One difficulty Anna had initially was underestimating the time needed to work on the theory part of the course, but it was much better after getting into a routine and allocating time to study. Everything fell into place for Anna when she started doing her practical experience at a Ballarat gym, after some initial difficulty finding a gym that would take her on. 

The future 

Anna will continue to work with the mentors she’s found at the gym as she continues on to study Certificate IV. She feels drawn to helping women in the over 40 age group to keep them strong and active as they move into their 50s and beyond. Having already completed some boxing qualifications as well as Certificate III, Anna is ready to jump into working at a gym doing group fitness and gym floor roles. She’s looking forward to helping people individually as a personal trainer when she’s done Certificate IV. 

Advice for over 50s considering a change to the fitness industry 

Be prepared for the workload and develop a routine for working on your course. You may also be surprised by the immense personal growth you will experience through the process. Anna feels the biggest achievement through taking on this study is her own personal development. Also very helpful has been meeting and talking to other trainers while in the gym on prac. Back yourself and realise that you can do a lot more than what you and others might think. 

Want to hear Anna's story in more detail?
Listen to them share their story on the Masters Fitness Academy Podcast!

Click here to listen on Spotify

Click here to listen on Apple

PS: Are you interested in becoming a Qualified Personal Trainer? Check out our Certificate III and IV in Fitness.