My Story
Welcome to Room to Move Wellbeing PMA. I’m Elle, and I’d like to share a story with you.
Back in 2010 I was running a military tailoring business in a garrison town in Wiltshire, a mind-blowingly stressful business (and year) that I didn’t realise would change my life for ever.
That same year I started attending group fitness sessions at the local leisure centre, and decided that I’d quite like to teach them rather than just be a participant, so on top of the tailoring business I began to take fitness instructing qualifications (I had always loved keeping fit and enjoyed regular PT sessions before my move down to Wiltshire).
As I tried to scale down the stressful tailoring business, I scaled up the fitness business until I had my own small studio, and was teaching 16 fitness sessions every week, participating fully in all of them - most of them were high intensity sessions or choreographed cardio dance.
My health quickly began to deteriorate, the weight piled on no matter how many HIIT classes I did - I soon found myself exhausted, barely able to get up in the morning, and having to rest all afternoon in order just to have enough energy to make myself get up and teach the evening classes. But I had to keep on going because I so desperately wanted to prove to everyone that although I was in a larger body I was fit as f**k!
I knew something was really wrong and eventually research led me to discover that I had a serious hormonal disfunction, a chronic condition brought on by extreme stress - and often brought on by long-term excessive overtraining with inadequate (or in my case, zero) recovery time - what I didn't know then and have only recently discovered is known as 'Chronic Cardio' (cf Primal Endurance by Mark Sisson & Brad Kearns - give it a read!). Once I had an idea of what was wrong, at least I was able to begin to manage it with a lot of self care, and trying to cut down a little on the high intensity classes, working to remove as many stressors as possible - both physical and mental, I changed my nutrition to a ketogenic plan, which is a lifestyle I follow to this day (these days I’m also Paleo).
Making these changes allowed me to drop two of the four stone that I’d put on through the adrenal disfunction, but over the next few years I found no matter what, I really couldn’t shift any more. Problem was, I was still teaching an awful lot of higher-intensity sessions ('Chronic Cardio', again!) and I was also quite literally starving myself eating just 1000 to 1200 cal a day - any more than that and the pounds would just pile on again.
A few years ago I found a great specialist nutritional therapist, Marek Doyle, who explained to me that because I’d starved myself and drastically overworked my body, my body had decided to literally cling onto anything I ate just to allow me to survive and not, ever, to allow the release of any fat under any circumstances! Clever old body, it just wanted to keep me alive... This meant that (as well as having to treat the adrenal and gut issues) I had to start increasing my intake to a ‘normal’ level, until my body and brain would realise that there wasn’t a famine, it was getting enough food, and of course this actually meant putting back on back the weight I’d fought so hard to shift.
Then at the start of 2020, a 'pandemic' happened, forcing (as I then mistakenly thought) the closure of my Studio and all my plans for building up the business went out of the window. Reduced to having to teach 'from the mat', I had to teach every session in full, online - and so again my body became a 24/7 cortisol-producing factory, a process I was unable to stop or reverse, and which resulted, devastatingly, in yet more weight going on. Once again, I became very unwell. Through Florida-based Adrenal specialist Dr Joel Rosen, in 2021 I took Dutch, DNA and GI tests which have shown up a plethora of issues (genetic, histamine, gut, cortisol, etc etc - the list goes on), the main one of which is this 'Chronic Cardio' situation, which I now have to reverse.
So this is where I am now - focussed on a more Primal lifestyle. Striving every day to recover my health, to be the best, fittest, strongest and healthiest I possibly can. Respecting my circadian rhythm, dedicated primal nutrition, Wim Hof breathing and cold water swimming and as much time outside as possible. The biggest challenge is not allowing my HR above 120 whilst I try to re-build my aerobic base - not easy when exercising is such a passion! But I'd not wish this devastating condition on anyone - so if you find yourself overtraining, craving sugar and carbs, struggling with sleep deprivation, please stop - and book in with me for a (free) discovery chat to see how I can help, before you go any further down that slippery slope!
But.... at the end of the day it's most important to understand that just because someone is in a larger body it doesn’t mean that a) they eat poorly or overeat, and b) they can't be very fit, and equally just because someone is in a thinner body it doesn’t mean that their nutrition is on point or that they are remotely fit. Whilst it is possible to have health and fitness at every size, it’s important to recognise that to optimise health, changes are often needed in lifestyle, nutrition and mindset. So I’m here to coach and support you through those changes to achieve the very best health and fitness that you can have.
Back in 2010 I was running a military tailoring business in a garrison town in Wiltshire, a mind-blowingly stressful business (and year) that I didn’t realise would change my life for ever.
That same year I started attending group fitness sessions at the local leisure centre, and decided that I’d quite like to teach them rather than just be a participant, so on top of the tailoring business I began to take fitness instructing qualifications (I had always loved keeping fit and enjoyed regular PT sessions before my move down to Wiltshire).
As I tried to scale down the stressful tailoring business, I scaled up the fitness business until I had my own small studio, and was teaching 16 fitness sessions every week, participating fully in all of them - most of them were high intensity sessions or choreographed cardio dance.
My health quickly began to deteriorate, the weight piled on no matter how many HIIT classes I did - I soon found myself exhausted, barely able to get up in the morning, and having to rest all afternoon in order just to have enough energy to make myself get up and teach the evening classes. But I had to keep on going because I so desperately wanted to prove to everyone that although I was in a larger body I was fit as f**k!
I knew something was really wrong and eventually research led me to discover that I had a serious hormonal disfunction, a chronic condition brought on by extreme stress - and often brought on by long-term excessive overtraining with inadequate (or in my case, zero) recovery time - what I didn't know then and have only recently discovered is known as 'Chronic Cardio' (cf Primal Endurance by Mark Sisson & Brad Kearns - give it a read!). Once I had an idea of what was wrong, at least I was able to begin to manage it with a lot of self care, and trying to cut down a little on the high intensity classes, working to remove as many stressors as possible - both physical and mental, I changed my nutrition to a ketogenic plan, which is a lifestyle I follow to this day (these days I’m also Paleo).
Making these changes allowed me to drop two of the four stone that I’d put on through the adrenal disfunction, but over the next few years I found no matter what, I really couldn’t shift any more. Problem was, I was still teaching an awful lot of higher-intensity sessions ('Chronic Cardio', again!) and I was also quite literally starving myself eating just 1000 to 1200 cal a day - any more than that and the pounds would just pile on again.
A few years ago I found a great specialist nutritional therapist, Marek Doyle, who explained to me that because I’d starved myself and drastically overworked my body, my body had decided to literally cling onto anything I ate just to allow me to survive and not, ever, to allow the release of any fat under any circumstances! Clever old body, it just wanted to keep me alive... This meant that (as well as having to treat the adrenal and gut issues) I had to start increasing my intake to a ‘normal’ level, until my body and brain would realise that there wasn’t a famine, it was getting enough food, and of course this actually meant putting back on back the weight I’d fought so hard to shift.
Then at the start of 2020, a 'pandemic' happened, forcing (as I then mistakenly thought) the closure of my Studio and all my plans for building up the business went out of the window. Reduced to having to teach 'from the mat', I had to teach every session in full, online - and so again my body became a 24/7 cortisol-producing factory, a process I was unable to stop or reverse, and which resulted, devastatingly, in yet more weight going on. Once again, I became very unwell. Through Florida-based Adrenal specialist Dr Joel Rosen, in 2021 I took Dutch, DNA and GI tests which have shown up a plethora of issues (genetic, histamine, gut, cortisol, etc etc - the list goes on), the main one of which is this 'Chronic Cardio' situation, which I now have to reverse.
So this is where I am now - focussed on a more Primal lifestyle. Striving every day to recover my health, to be the best, fittest, strongest and healthiest I possibly can. Respecting my circadian rhythm, dedicated primal nutrition, Wim Hof breathing and cold water swimming and as much time outside as possible. The biggest challenge is not allowing my HR above 120 whilst I try to re-build my aerobic base - not easy when exercising is such a passion! But I'd not wish this devastating condition on anyone - so if you find yourself overtraining, craving sugar and carbs, struggling with sleep deprivation, please stop - and book in with me for a (free) discovery chat to see how I can help, before you go any further down that slippery slope!
But.... at the end of the day it's most important to understand that just because someone is in a larger body it doesn’t mean that a) they eat poorly or overeat, and b) they can't be very fit, and equally just because someone is in a thinner body it doesn’t mean that their nutrition is on point or that they are remotely fit. Whilst it is possible to have health and fitness at every size, it’s important to recognise that to optimise health, changes are often needed in lifestyle, nutrition and mindset. So I’m here to coach and support you through those changes to achieve the very best health and fitness that you can have.
Services at Room to Move Wellbeing PMA (Private Membership Association)
Online Small Group and Online/In Person Private Training
Numbers are limited for our Body Positive, inclusive small group training sessions, which means that you are always assured at all times of individual attention and assistance from a highly qualified, experienced fitness professional. At Room to Move Wellbeing PMA, we know that correct form is paramount and we will regress and progress each participant individually to ensure maximum benefit from every training session. The safety of our members is of the utmost importance, so you can rest assured that all sessions are taught by a very highly qualified and insured fitness professional.
We also offer private training sessions. We specialise in helping our members to build core strength and improve posture, mobility and flexibility, balance and co-ordination. For more details and prices visit our Group & 1 to 1 Fitness page, or contact us to find out how we can help you.
All group sessions are held at or at our purpose-built studio in SP11 (the address will be provided upon booking your session) or online via Zoom, and private sessions are held either on Zoom or at the Studio, but should you need us to come to you, we may be able to do so.
Our beautiful, purpose-built Garden Room Studio is calm and welcoming and promotes a wonderful atmosphere with its woodland murals, soft lighting and specialist flooring. We also have an outdoor garden studio for use during the warmer months and an outdoor seasonal swimming pool.
Numbers are limited for our Body Positive, inclusive small group training sessions, which means that you are always assured at all times of individual attention and assistance from a highly qualified, experienced fitness professional. At Room to Move Wellbeing PMA, we know that correct form is paramount and we will regress and progress each participant individually to ensure maximum benefit from every training session. The safety of our members is of the utmost importance, so you can rest assured that all sessions are taught by a very highly qualified and insured fitness professional.
We also offer private training sessions. We specialise in helping our members to build core strength and improve posture, mobility and flexibility, balance and co-ordination. For more details and prices visit our Group & 1 to 1 Fitness page, or contact us to find out how we can help you.
All group sessions are held at or at our purpose-built studio in SP11 (the address will be provided upon booking your session) or online via Zoom, and private sessions are held either on Zoom or at the Studio, but should you need us to come to you, we may be able to do so.
Our beautiful, purpose-built Garden Room Studio is calm and welcoming and promotes a wonderful atmosphere with its woodland murals, soft lighting and specialist flooring. We also have an outdoor garden studio for use during the warmer months and an outdoor seasonal swimming pool.
Qualifications
Fitness Qualifications
Holistic Therapy Qualifications
- NASM Group Personal Training Specialist
- NCCPT Certified Personal Trainer
- AFAA Practical Pilates™ Instructor
- AFAA Practical Yoga Institute Specialist
- Vivobarefoot Barefoot Movement Coach Level 1
- REPS Level 2 Fitness Instructing
- YOGABODY® Flexibility Coach™
- Red Hot Barre Fitness Instructor - Gold Ranked
- NCCPT Certifications in: Interval Training, Agility Training, Altitude Training, Medicine Ball Training, Rock Hard Glutes, Rock Hard Core, Rock Hard Arms, HIIT for Boxing, Run Your First Marathon
- COE Qualified Pilates Instructor
- COE Qualified Yoga Instructor
- TJB Konga, Tyga and Jagua Instructor
- Level 3 Nutrition for Physical Activity
- Level 2 Instructing Kettlebells
- PureStretch Instructor
- Mastery of Yoga Certified Teacher
- WHYOGA Pregnancy Technique
- Zumba B1, Aqua Zumba
Holistic Therapy Qualifications
- Holistic Health Practitioner
- Level 5 Advanced Clinical Weight Loss Advisor
- Hypnotherapy Practitioner
- COE Paleo Nutritionist
- COE Tantra Diploma
- COE Massage Therapist
- COE Indian Head Massage Therapist
- Certified Law of Attraction Coach
- Certified Mindful i Meditation Teacher
- COE Kinesiology Diploma
- COE Acupressure Diploma
- KEW Academy Professional Foundation Acupressure
- COE Bach Flower Remedies Practitioner
- Flora Corona Floral Acupunture™
- Isla Verde Spa Academy Gua Sha Technique
- Shinrin Yoku Forest Bathing
