For many people, exercise plays a major part in creating a well-balanced lifestyle. Exercise brings physical and mental benefits for an individual’s personal wellbeing, whilst also being a great social opportunity.
At North Hertfordshire College, we’re advocates of healthy lifestyles and encourage our community members to think about fitness and wellbeing when making choices in their lives. We also deliver a range of sports and fitness courses to support our learners to achieve their goals of working in the fitness sector – whether that’s 16+ learners taking those first steps towards their careers or adult learners changing careers and pursuing their dreams.
We spoke to Joe O’Dea, Course Team Leader and Tutor on our Sports, Coaching & Exercise Science courses to find out more about the benefits exercise can bring to an individual’s lives – check out his thoughts!
The benefits of exercising ✨
“Consistent exercise and physical activity provide an everyday outlet for stress, as well as the chance for an individual to become fitter and stronger. By maintaining frequent exercise, you are experiencing a wide variety of benefits ranging from the social, physical, and the psychological.
“From a physical perspective, you are improving your current physique and becoming fitter and stronger. Also, if you have a tailored training goal, you are improving your muscle mass within that specific muscle group.
“The psychological benefits are also a significant bonus; when you exercise with friends or attend a new gym class, you are meeting new people and growing in self-confidence. Not only that, but exercising the body releases a specific chemical within our brains called serotonin, which is a feel-good hormone, meaning we immediately feel good about ourselves after exercise and the more consistent we are with exercise the better we will feel about ourselves. Furthermore, having a frequent exercise routine and schedule also helps as we are providing a consistent routine for our body.”
From personal passion to a career 💪
Joe knows the importance of building an understanding of the sector to enhance your career. His own background within the sports and exercise industry includes roles working in coaching and lecturing for different organisations. He has coached football, futsal, and multi-sports in a wide variety of different settings and age ranges, which has allowed him to use a lot of his transferable coaching skills in the classroom.
Joe’s undergraduate degree also specialised in sport, covering a wide variety of different topics within the sports and exercise industry, such as Sports Nutrition, Specialised Fitness Training, and Physiology. Reflecting on his career in the sector, Joe told us:
“There are many benefits of working within the sport and exercise industry – it’s great to see the personal growth that your client or athlete gains from working with you and benefiting from your training and coaching plans. In addition, from a coach’s perspective, it’s fantastic to see your client reach their end goal and how much joy and excitement this feeling brings. Also, every client and situation are also different, meaning no client is ever the same, which again is making the role unique and exciting as every situation is different.
“There has been an increase in roles in the sports and exercise sector over recent years and the industry is evolving, with roles becoming more demanding than ever. I believe society is more aware of the many benefits sports and physical activity bring to someone. Therefore, this has resulted in many employers recruiting more Gym Instructors and Personal Trainers.
“NHC’s YMCA Level 2 course in Gym Instructing is a great option for people looking to start their career in the sector, or take that next step forward. It enables you to learn a wide variety of different modules to help you succeed within the sport and exercise industry. Modules range from theory to practical based modules allowing you to develop lifestyle management and health awareness as well as gym-based programme planning to help you, or your future clients succeed.”
Ready to start your own sports career journey?
North Hertfordshire College is proud to deliver a range of sports and fitness courses to our learners, complemented by our amazing NHC Sports Hub facilities. To find out more about our courses and how you can start your own career in the fitness sector, please visit our Fitness Instuctor Training page. With NHC, you can stay close to home and access amazing training opportunities to help you go far in your career!