About Phe · Personal trainer in Attleborough
Hi, I’m Phe.
I’m Phe Ledwell, a personal trainer in Attleborough, a nutritional therapist and someone who spends a lot of time lifting weights, riding mountain bikes and finding hills to walk up.
I enjoy training in its own right. Getting stronger, learning a movement and finally doing something that felt impossible are all pretty satisfying. But I also train because I want to ride further, get up bigger hills and lift my extremely heavy bike over whatever inconvenient obstacle is in the way.
Your reasons might be completely different. I’d like to help you work towards them.
How I got here
Learning what
works for me.
I’ve spent years figuring out how to train in a way that works for me. There have been setbacks, frustrating stretches and plenty of questions about why I wasn’t getting anywhere.
My interest in nutrition began in 2013, after becoming ill during a period of too much exercise, too little food and not enough recovery. Learning more about those things changed how I approached exercise, and eventually led me into studying nutrition and becoming a personal trainer.
But finding my way into a gym was a challenge of its own.
The first step
I haven’t always felt at home in a gym.
When I went to my first CrossFit taster session around 2017, I sat outside in my car for about ten minutes before I could bring myself to get out.
I was in a difficult place. Groups weren’t my thing, and a big, bright, noisy gym felt overwhelming. Walking through the door took a lot.
For much of that first year, I trained in the same corner. I joined classes, but I liked having my spot, and every dropped barbell made me jump. Even so, I’d found something that made me feel good, and I kept going back.
Eventually, training became such a big part of my life that I had a home gym too. At one point, I shared a garden office with my husband: computers and desks on one side, a power cage, barbells and a rowing machine on the other. A fairly good setup, as far as I was concerned.
Finding my way back
Finding
my way back.
There have been periods when my health made regular training difficult. I trained when I could, stepped back when I needed to and spent a lot of time learning about nutrition, recovery and my own limits.
Over the last couple of years, I’ve been able to train more consistently again. I’m still learning, but I understand myself much better than I used to.
These days, I walk into the gym, say hello, have a chat and get on with training. I feel at home there. That would have been hard to imagine from the driver’s seat outside that first session.
Those experiences shape how I coach. I know how frustrating it can be when you’re putting in the effort but something isn’t working. I also know that someone’s starting point isn’t always obvious, and that walking through the door can be an achievement in itself.
I bring curiosity and patience to every session, paying attention to how you’re getting on and taking your questions seriously. Whether you’re finding your feet or working towards a lift you’ve been chasing for months, I want to understand what would help you move forward.
The other part of my working life
I like understanding why.
“You should feel comfortable asking those questions.”
Alongside personal training and nutrition, I run WinuSoft, the web development business I started in 2010.
It might seem like an odd combination, but there’s a common thread. I enjoy working out what’s happening, asking questions and finding a useful way forward. Years of solving complicated website problems have given me plenty of practice at being patient and explaining things clearly.
That carries into coaching. I want you to understand your training, rather than simply follow instructions. Why have we chosen an exercise? What are we working towards? How do we know when it’s time to increase the challenge?
You should feel comfortable asking those questions.
My approach
What it’s like to train with me.
I’m easygoing, but I’ll come prepared. Your session will be planned around your goals, your experience and what we’ve learned from training together.
We’ll work on your technique, find an appropriate level of challenge and adjust things as you progress. Some days that might mean lifting more than you expected. Other days we might need to change the plan.
You might be new to training, returning after a break or already lifting regularly and looking for help progressing. I’m interested in where you are now and where you’d like to go.
Training through midlife and beyond
Strong for
the years ahead.
I have a particular interest in helping people in their 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond, especially women navigating perimenopause and menopause.
I entered perimenopause in my late thirties. Understanding why my usual approach to training and nutrition no longer seemed to be working in the same way has been a long learning process. That experience has helped shape the direction I want to take my coaching.
I’m interested in how strength training, movement, balance and nutrition can work together to help us stay physically capable as we get older. That includes building and maintaining muscle, supporting bone health and feeling more confident doing the things we enjoy.
Through personal training and my separate nutrition practice, Eat More Plants, I can help you work on both how you train and how you eat, with an approach that takes your goals, experience and everyday life into account. Find out about training through menopause.
Eat More Plants
There’s a nutrition side, too.
I also offer nutrition coaching through my practice, Eat More Plants.
If you’d like help improving your diet, fuelling your training or finding practical ways to eat well around a busy life, we can work on that separately. You can come to me for personal training, nutrition coaching or both.
Explore Eat More Plants ↗Qualifications and ongoing learning
There’s always more to learn.
I’m also studying for a BSc in Nutritional Therapy at the University of West London. Learning has become a fairly permanent part of my life. There’s usually another textbook or course on the go.
- Level 3 Personal Trainer
- Level 2 Gym Instructor
- Nutritional Therapist, The Health Sciences Academy
- Level 4 Nutrition for Weight Management and Athletic Performance
- Plant Based Nutrition, University of Winchester
- Plant Based Nutrition, Center for Nutrition Studies
Let’s talk about
your training.
If you’d like to get stronger, build muscle or get more from your time in the gym, I’d love to hear what you have in mind.