My name is Irene Gibson and I have lived in Buntingford for over 17 years.

I grew up in the South West of Scotland and joined the army serving 10 years abroad until I was medically discharged with Asthma. I then took a job in Marketing for a major banking group and also spent a few years as a Consultant working with the East of England Ambulance Service. I have had other odd jobs, but I was always passionate about fit- ness and never had the courage to take matters further, thinking my age and illness was against me.

I finally took the plunge to get qualified back in 2013 and started to teach shortly after. Having worked for others, last year I decided to fly solo and set up my own business in Buntingford to provide classes in the North Hertfordshire area.

I offer a mixture of different classes such as Aerobics, HIIT, Circuits, Body Conditioning, Fellas Fitness and Pilates. I also run Seated Exercise Classes and over 50’s Keep Fit, so there is something for everyone on offer! I have continued my training in many disciplines since gaining my initial Gym Instructor and Personal Training qualifications, becoming an Exercise Referral Instructor and taking Level 3 Matwork Pilates with Choregraphy to go. I have since furthered this diploma by adding both Trigger Point Pilates and Barre Pil- ates certificates to be able to offer some different and exciting dimensions to the current class schedule.

I am married with 2 daughters, aged 20 and 16. My eldest, Holly has recently completed her Gym Instructor training and is now working with me in the community which is fantastic and my youngest, Heather, has just started 6th Form and will be studying for A Levels. Heather is a very keen dancer and loves Pilates to help her strength and balance. She recently signed me up to teach a Pop Up Pilates class for her NCS group to raise money for the Charity MIND. The evening was a huge success raising £108 and many of the young- sters who joined in to the class enjoyed it so much they are now joining my Pilates classes!

I do rely on a significant other… Donna Richler-Potts joined me early last year to initially take on a class here and there, but now runs much of the weeks timetable of classes alongside me. Donna was brought up in Barnet but moved to the Peak District, Derbyshire following an early career with the John Lewis Partnership. She left to bring up her 2 children and then ran her own successful business The Tiny Tots Play Gym for over 12 years. Donna has been a qualified Exercise to Music Instructor for many years, teaching Spinning, Aer- obics, Antenatal and Postnatal Classes and more recently Fitness Pilates and Seated Exercise. Before she moved back to Hertfordshire in 2016, Donna worked for the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire in the Chats- worth Health and Fitness Suite, part of the Chatsworth House Estate, as Deputy Health & Fitness Manager.

As with any business, we need to keep growing and evolving to keep up with what’s new in the Fitness In- dustry, which is why we take our continuing development and training seriously, so we can offer the best to our clients. Our new classes rolling out in the coming weeks are a Trigger Point Pilates 6 week block, a HIIT class and a beginners Fitness Pilates class, all of these will be held in Buntingford.

I also offer Personal Training, 1-2-1 Pilates and small group sessions too. Keeping fit and healthy is import- ant and I want to pass on our energy and enthusiasm so that anyone can benefit from a healthy and more active life!

Visit our website: www.irenegibson.co.uk for a full list of classes, venues and times, here you will find all the latest updates and news, or take a look at our FB page: Irene Gibson PT

Irene and Donna

Thanks for sharing your story Irene and Donna!

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