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Interviews with Working Mothers

Meet Caroline Richings (pictured), a mother of two young children who has decided to re-train as a self employed personal fitness trainer in order to gain more flexibility from her work.

Caroline Richings suffered with post natal depression with her first daughter, who is now five. At the same time she was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid as a result of the pregnancy. Depression is also a symptom of an underactive thyroid so things were pretty tough for Caroline.

Having worked in the fitness industry for over fifteen years, Caroline knows about the benefits of exercise to sufferers of depression.

"Exercise has been proven to aid depression due to the chemicals released in the body when you exercise. But it's also about taking some time out for yourself and doing something that will help you feel better mentally and look better physically. Being a mum is incredibly hard work, particularly if you have a challenging child and can be all consuming. It's vital that you take some time away from that, even if it is only for an hour a few times a week, to see things more clearly, feel better mentally and physically and increase self esteem."

Part of the aim of re-training is so that Caroline can work with other mothers who suffer with post natal depression. And she has the support of husband Eddie (pictured with Caroline) who has been very understanding of her own illness. Despite being in a demanding job as a headteacher, Eddie is, Caroline says, a very hands on dad and encourages her to go for a run or to the gym to get a bit of 'me' time as he understands how much better she feels if she does.

Working for yourself can also be very daunting but having a longstanding role in the industry, Caroline feels prepared to deal with that aspect of running her own business.

"I do have experience of the business side of things as they were very much part of my previous roles. The course also offers a business module to ensure you are confident with promoting and running your own business so that will also help. I have actually been self employed in the past and it fits well with my family committments so works for me right now."

And Caroline has already thought about how her new self employed role in the fitness industry will benefit family life.

"My children are still very young, Grace is 5 and Connie is 16 months, so they are not really aware of things yet. Though they are used to mummy going to the gym or for a run so know that’s part of what I do. I’m very excited that when they are older we can all go on bike rides together or on activity holidays, Grace is already very active so I’m sure she will follow in my footsteps!"

But re-training can be a lengthy route to take. Not everyone has the time to dedicate to a totally new career and Caroline took the view that it would be better to extend the skills she already had into a self employed role than retrain completely. She is training with Lifetime Health and Fitness who offer both taught and distance learning courses.

"The training can take as along as you want it to. My Exercise and Fitness Knowledge Level 3 and Fitness Instructing course was all done by distance learning as I had a basic knowledge already. I simply booked my exam date so set myself a target to complete the course within 4 months and then studied hard whenever and wherever I could! I had to complete a theory exam on exercise physiology, and along with some very detailed planning took a practical exam whereby I created an exercise programme for a ‘subject’ and took them through it under the eyes of an examiner ensuring I was teaching all the exercises correctly.

"I am now going on to study for the Diploma in Personal Training which could take me a lot longer, but I know having done the first part that I can achieve it if I put my mind to it. The whole course costs around £2000."

Given the commitment of time and money, would Caroline reccomend re-training to other women who are considering their options?

"I would always encourage anyone to re-train if they are unhappy with what they are currently doing. It can be soul destroying to continue with something you don’t like day in day out. It may be hard work for a while but it’s also a very exciting feeling to know that you have made the changes yourself and can move on to something that will ultimately make you much happier."