Hi - I'm Jenny MacLean and before you hear what I've got to say about all things health, fitness and lifestyle, I thought that you might like to know who I am, how I came to own EnergyWise and what inspires me to keep working enthusiastically to help individuals of all shapes and sizes.

I've been fortunate to have always had the opportunity to have a healthy lifestyle - doing a wide variety of team sports, individual sports, generally messing around outside and dancing (ballet, tap and modern) in classes and on small village stages throughout my childhood. This interest continued through my University days where I was busy working towards a Mechanical Engineering degree alongside travelling round the UK working, doing plenty of aerobics, learning (and teaching NinJitsu) and later on, taking up running.

Leaving Uni and working for Rolls-Royce Aerospace in Derby, it never occured to me that there was the potential to have a 'career' working in fitness, even after taking my aerobics instructor course and running my own classes one night a week in the local community for a couple of years. It was only when settled up in Edinburgh and being introduced to Fiona Brown who was looking for people to train as Pilates Instructors and Personal Trainers and come and work for her that this remote thought became a reality.

The continuous thread running through all this was my desire to help other people to enjoy exercise as much as I did. Initially, this was simply encouraging and working with folk to help them to get better at the activities that I did for my own fitness. However, the shock of the difficulties involved in taking up running in my early twenties (how could it be that I, a very 'fit' person couldn't manage to run all the way round the park in one go?) that opened my eyes to the reality of how daunting it is to get started and keep going with any new activity.

I persevered with running. Gradually building up my mileage, speed and confidence with the support of friends and family, I was petrified each time I first did a new race type or distance and ecstatic each time I successfully completed the challenge. A fair few years on, I have a number of Scottish titles to my name and consider myself a 'serious competative' runner, but have never forgotten what it felt like half way round the park that first time. On a personal level, I'm never happier than when outside (ideally with some sort of mud, weather or challenging terrain) taking in the scenery and feeling truly alive with fresh oxygen coursing through my body. But... Clients just get to bask in reflected glory, secure in the knowledge that their workout is 100% their own and they'll only ever be asked to push just beyond their own, individual comfort zone.

I've worked with a huge variety of individuals on a one to one basis over the past seven years of working at EnergyWise and still love seeing the transformation in people when they 'get it' and are able to become motivated by the achievement of their own personal challenges and the day to day benefits they're seeing from being more physically active.

A keen cook (I love my food), I've long been horrified at the rubbish which people put into their bodies on a routine basis and the health problems which they put up with as a direct result. So, I'm also on a mission to empower and educate people to eat well, enjoy it and get the energy and enthusiasm to tackle their lives and an active lifestyle with gusto.

All these passions will come to the fore with future blog posts. Expect fitness, nutrition and lifestyle tips, inspirational stories from my own and clients lives, along with news and views from the health and wellbeing community.

Feedback is welcome and I'd love to hear your stories, ideas and reactions to my blog topics.

Yours in fitness

Jenny :0)