About Me
When I was a kid, I was fit and successful at sports. I played under 12 rugby for South Australia, then I switched to playing hockey in my teens. I played every sport I could try. I was a keen runner, ran the City to Bay at 14, and loved riding my BMX. Then at 15 I was introduced to smoking and drinking and before I knew it I was 30 years old with a 30-60 cigarette-a-day habit and a beer gut. Aside from that, I had everything that most people dream of; a wife and kids, a dog, a house, a nice car.
As a self-employed carpenter, work was getting more difficult because of my unhealthy lifestyle. I wasn’t playing any sport, I was overweight, and I had no energy. This left me depressed and apathetic. I felt like my 20s and 30s had been wasted, and I wasn’t happy. I had found myself at a point where everything just seemed too hard; I was miserable. Then someone I knew died from lung cancer. This was the first of many wake up calls. I wasn't living my life to it's full potential, I didn’t like who I was and I was running out of time because I had been smoking for 20 years. I was terrified I couldn’t change and I was cared I’d left it too late. But I did quit smoking. And it was bloody awful. I gained weight, I brewed more beer, I did anything but smoke - but I still wasn’t healthy. It was time for me to take responsibility for my own life and put on my big boy pants. But how?
Then we won a radio competition - free sessions to a local boot camp with a brilliant trainer called Spe. I went for three mornings a week, for 8 weeks. Then 12 weeks, then I stayed on for 2 ½ years. It was really hard. I had bad ankles, I had bad lungs, I had to get up at 5.30 in the middle of winter to train before a day of back breaking carpentry. And it was the best decision I ever made - it saved my life. I started playing hockey again and I started seeing friends again because I suddenly had energy! I felt like a new person. I worked really hard to re-establish my fitness. Over the next few years I went from not being able to run for two minutes and playing a low grade of hockey to running for a solid 90 minutes and playing in a division 1 grand final!
It’s tough on the comeback journey, so I put my hand up to help some of my hockey team mates who were just starting what I had begun a few years before. I ran ‘fitness nights’ with the aim of keeping people fit during the off season. That's were my interest in fitness and the desire to become an instructor was born.
I enjoyed helping the hockey team so much that I studied my Cert IV in fitness. I felt a great amount of joy from being a positive influence and helping people reach their goals. I also felt like I was becoming a better person and a better Dad by setting a good example for my kids.
In 2012 I completed my Certificate IV in Fitness and Personal Training. In 2013 I became a registered COTA (Council of the Aging) Strength for Life Instructor. In 2014 I became a Level II Community Running Coach. In 2017, I completed Certificate IV in Mat Pilates. In 2014, a dear friend who I had trained, said to me ‘Michael, look at my marathon medal’ - because she knew I would take this up as my next challenge. Since then I’ve run many half marathons, full marathons and ultra-marathons and I absolutely love training people to compete in their own marathons and running events.
The journey to wellness is never easy because we’re humans. But look at the rewards! As your trainer, you know that I’ve been there and I know what it’s like to be at the bottom. Not only will I encourage you on your own personal journey, but I understand the challenges involved in making the decision to change. I Believe in You.
Michael Roberts.
As a self-employed carpenter, work was getting more difficult because of my unhealthy lifestyle. I wasn’t playing any sport, I was overweight, and I had no energy. This left me depressed and apathetic. I felt like my 20s and 30s had been wasted, and I wasn’t happy. I had found myself at a point where everything just seemed too hard; I was miserable. Then someone I knew died from lung cancer. This was the first of many wake up calls. I wasn't living my life to it's full potential, I didn’t like who I was and I was running out of time because I had been smoking for 20 years. I was terrified I couldn’t change and I was cared I’d left it too late. But I did quit smoking. And it was bloody awful. I gained weight, I brewed more beer, I did anything but smoke - but I still wasn’t healthy. It was time for me to take responsibility for my own life and put on my big boy pants. But how?
Then we won a radio competition - free sessions to a local boot camp with a brilliant trainer called Spe. I went for three mornings a week, for 8 weeks. Then 12 weeks, then I stayed on for 2 ½ years. It was really hard. I had bad ankles, I had bad lungs, I had to get up at 5.30 in the middle of winter to train before a day of back breaking carpentry. And it was the best decision I ever made - it saved my life. I started playing hockey again and I started seeing friends again because I suddenly had energy! I felt like a new person. I worked really hard to re-establish my fitness. Over the next few years I went from not being able to run for two minutes and playing a low grade of hockey to running for a solid 90 minutes and playing in a division 1 grand final!
It’s tough on the comeback journey, so I put my hand up to help some of my hockey team mates who were just starting what I had begun a few years before. I ran ‘fitness nights’ with the aim of keeping people fit during the off season. That's were my interest in fitness and the desire to become an instructor was born.
I enjoyed helping the hockey team so much that I studied my Cert IV in fitness. I felt a great amount of joy from being a positive influence and helping people reach their goals. I also felt like I was becoming a better person and a better Dad by setting a good example for my kids.
In 2012 I completed my Certificate IV in Fitness and Personal Training. In 2013 I became a registered COTA (Council of the Aging) Strength for Life Instructor. In 2014 I became a Level II Community Running Coach. In 2017, I completed Certificate IV in Mat Pilates. In 2014, a dear friend who I had trained, said to me ‘Michael, look at my marathon medal’ - because she knew I would take this up as my next challenge. Since then I’ve run many half marathons, full marathons and ultra-marathons and I absolutely love training people to compete in their own marathons and running events.
The journey to wellness is never easy because we’re humans. But look at the rewards! As your trainer, you know that I’ve been there and I know what it’s like to be at the bottom. Not only will I encourage you on your own personal journey, but I understand the challenges involved in making the decision to change. I Believe in You.
Michael Roberts.