‘I want to help women become the best they can be’

Becoming fitter and stronger in the mind and body is what fitness trainer, Niamh O’Neill, who was once on the brink of anorexia, is teaching women across Tyrone and Derry.

The Dunamanagh mother-of-two knows exactly how it feels to be at both ends of the spectrum in terms of her weight – when she was 14-years-old, she weighed 15 stone, and by the time she was 16-years-old, she weighed only seven stone seven pounds.

But fast-forward to today, and the trainer, who works at a gym in Derry, has proudly reached her fitness goal, and she is now helping to motivate women of all ages, shapes and sizes to become the best version of themselves.

Speaking to the Tyrone Herald, Niamh said that it was a case of ‘trial and error’ that helped her achieve her dream body.

“I’ve been at both ends of the scale,” she said. “I would describe myself as overweight at the beginning of my journey, and so then I wanted to become as small as possible.

“That, then, meant I ended up becoming severely underweight to the point of being anorexic.”

Impressively, though, through hard work, determination and a healthier mindset over a period of ten years, Niamh was then able to get herself to a better place.

“I now use this valuable experience to understand and help others to get to where they want to be,” she said.

“A lot of women stay away from big weights in fear of being too bulky.

“But, the truth is, having a lot of muscle mass takes years and years of training, and won’t happen overnight.”

Niamh also says that there are perks for women who lift weights and build muscle mass.

“Having more muscle mass means you can eat more food just to maintain what you’ve got,” she said. “That is just once of the many benefits of lifting weights.”

However, Niamh admitted that she also knows how daunting it can be for people to walk into a gym and start their journey – and that is why she offers a flexible approach to training women of all ages and abilities.

She has previously trained groups of women in the local park in Dunamanagh for just £3 a session, which promotes good physical health and helps those in the local community to feel a sense of belonging to a community that is supportive and enriching to their fitness goals.

However, Niamh also offers one-to-one training, online training, nutritional advice and individual food plans, depending on the unique and individual needs of the client.

As a busy mother of two young boys, Niamh understands the time constraints of being everything to everyone at times.

She, herself, is a working mother who is also running her own business.

As such, she endeavours to always make her clients feel relaxed and doesn’t put them under pressure to diet hard, and train 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

She understands that on busy days, yes, you do want to eat that cupcake… or two!

However, she advises when this happens, to just get ‘back on the horse’ and re-focus yourself the next day.

“This is because life happens,” she said. “Whether you’ve got a night away coming up, a wedding, a birthday meal or something unexpected that takes you over your calories – you’ve got to live your life, too!”

And what about the next day?

“Then, get back to normal – there’s no need to detox or starve yourself.

“Get back into your routine, drink plenty, go for a walk, hit the gym – and eat some good food.”

For more information on how to train with Niamh, please visit: Niamh O’Neill Coaching on Facebook.