I’m lucky enough to have always loved exercise, and my passion for fitness, health and sport has shaped my life and career.

1977 Born to Judy and Alan McRae, whose interest in sport and coaching influenced my early life. My dad was a keen cyclist and club coach, and my mum ran her own swim school. My sister and I trained as swimmers for Bournemouth Dolphins under local legendary coach Laury Dormer. I then switched my focus to cycling, racing for Bournemouth Arrow CC, while my sister took up netball. It was my early experiences training for swimming and cycling that got me hooked on the process.
1990s As a keen young competitive cyclist I was national U16 champion at cyclo-cross and criterium racing.
1998 Following my sister Laura, I graduated from Loughborough University with a first class BSc in Physical Education and Sports Science, choosing to write my final year dissertation as a comparative study of cycling culture in France and Britain.
1999 I briefly represented team GB as a road cyclist whilst living and working in Australia, before moving to France to race full-time supported by the Dave Rayner fund, a charity supporting talented riders racing abroad. Whilst in Australia I qualified as a swimming teacher through their AUSTSWIM system, a qualification recognised and accepted by the British ASA (Amateur Swimming Association).
Early 2000s Coming home from France and moving to London, I immersed myself in the fitness industry and took up my first proper job as a gym instructor. Realising how little I knew about functional movement and everyday issues for many people I started looking for where I could learn more. Seeing Paul Chek speak at the ‘Fitpro’ conference in 2000 was instrumental in the next decade of my learning.
Through the CHEK institutes educational courses I supercharged my knowledge of movement anatomy and developed practical tools to work with clients across the spectrum from rehab through to fitness. I developed a more ‘corrective’ and holistic approach, integrating and personalising flexibility, stability and strength in detailed client programs. My studies culminated in qualifying as a Level II CHEK practitioner (now called ‘CHEK Integrated Movement Science’) and CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach. To this day the knowledge and skills I learnt through the CHEK method have been formative in developing my own approach.
During the early days of my involvement in fitness I also taught every type of class you can imagine, specialising in teaching indoor studio cycling to other instructors nationwide for the Canons group, and internationally for Keiser group cycling. As I learnt more about peoples’ individual differences I was increasingly drawn to focus on personal training and coaching clients one to one.
2002-2008 Foundational Fitness Ltd. was born, originally as a partnership with two other CHEK professionals. Setting up a small exercise studio based in Keston, my one to one work was based there until 2008 when I relocated to Addington Palace Country Club. At that time independent personal trainers could not easily work the way they wanted to, and so creating my own work space was the best way for me to avoid compromising my approach to fit the mainstream.

2007 CPCAB Level II certificate for counselling skills and helping roles - Realising the importance of the emotional/mental aspects of training clients one to one, I took an introductory course in counselling and psychotherapy at the local college to improve my listening skills. ‘Life stuff’ is always relevant when working on health and fitness goals, and sometimes getting a better sense of that backdrop can make me a better coach. This course helped me to understand where my clients are coming from better, and more easily move them to where they want to go.
2006/2007 Bromley Swimming Club - As a qualified swimming teacher, I had always maintained a handful of swimming lessons in my weekly schedule, but in 2007 I became a poolside coach for Bromley Swimming Club. Shocked by the injury issues affecting the top swimmers, as well the lack of strength and conditioning in their program, I designed and integrated a ‘poolside land training’ program into the squad schedule. This involved adding valuable 15 minute exercise extras on poolside, as well as longer training sessions where possible to build basic conditioning and prevent injury.
2007 Regional swimming development camps - As a result of this work I was approached by several regional swimming development groups to run ‘land training’ sessions as part of their weekend workshops for their best swimmers. These were practical, fun sessions focussed on strength essentials to provide swimmers and club coaches with ideas of what kinds of exercise are most relevant for swimmers.
2006-2007 Freelance journalist for Swimming Times Magazine. During this time I also wrote several short pieces for the magazine on relevant topics.
2006-2014 After a long break from competitive cycling I found myself progressively drawn back into the sport after joining my local cycling club for weekly rides out into Kent. This resurgence of interest culminated in winning National medals in the niche track sport of ‘Derny racing’ where I won a bronze at the National Championships in 2008 and then again in 2012. In 2009/2010 I came 2nd in the national off road cyclo-cross series (the National Trophy) and in 2011/2012 I enjoyed a couple of seasons racing for the small “Look Mum No Hands!” womens team which included racing the National Tour Series, and the Tour of Ireland.
2010 UKSCA Level 1 - Novice strength and conditioning coach. As my work became a little more mainstream I started to add a handful of courses and qualifications to my knowledge base to boost my understanding in the key areas of Strength and Conditioning.
2009-2014 Freelance journalist for IPC media group (cycling weekly, cycling fitness, cycle active), online magazine Road Cycling u.k. - As a result of these spiralling cycling interests for several years I was a regular contributor to the ‘fitness’ content of various magazines, pushing my agenda of balancing endurance sport with strength and conditioning for both injury prevention and optimal performance.
2012-2016 Bikefitter at Le Beau Velo, Shoreditch - As the bike fitting industry boomed I became interested in adding a more bio-mechanical focus to the process of fitting a rider to their bike. I collaborated with Mal Pires whose boutique shop designed and made to measure bespoke Italian bicycles for customers looking for something special. While Mal focussed on the bicycle geometry, my measures of flexibility/mobility in particular informed the process so that the bike fit the body well. Many riders would come in with niggles that affected their riding, and the addition of a personalised mini exercise program from me, together with a well fitting bike, often resolved the problem.
2012-2014 Ride leader for RPM 90 - During this time I also worked in France and Italy leading small groups of keen cyclists on long weekends or week long cycle trips. This included riding several of the well known alpine climbs in the Tour de France, and the white roads of Tuscany.
2013-2016 During a break from cycling I found myself in the weightlifting room at Crystal Palace Weightlifting Club. Olympic Lifting was something I had always admired because of its technicality and power, but it was not something I thought I would ever be able to do myself. A couple of years regular practice and some good coaching proved me wrong, and I became competent at both the clean and jerk and the snatch. The challenge of lifting weight overhead, and the excitement you feel once you’ve achieved what seemed impossible is a joy I love to share with clients whenever I get the opportunity.
2016 Publication by Bloomsbury of my book “Ride Strong - Essential Conditioning for cyclists”, published by Bloomsbury. This book was the culmination of thoughts and ideas I had been developing as a freelance writer for various cycling publications since 2009. Its three chapters focussed on Stretch, Strength and Core essentials for cyclists are a ‘choose your own adventure’ guide to including some conditioning basics in any cyclists regular training program.
2017 BWLA - Level 1 - Having reached a level of competence in weightlifting myself, I was keen to learn to coach the skill to others. This qualification added to the process of learning the lifts myself and allowed me to be safe and effective in teaching others the basics.
2018-present One to one personal training in specialised private PT gyms now represents 90% of what I do. As the fitness industry has evolved I have been able to work in a number of locations as an independent trainer, offering the service I want in the way that I want. This freedom allows me to find clients who are a fit for the way I work so that I can provide the service I have always wanted to.
2019-present Blackheath and Bromley Athletic club - The winter before the covid pandemic I had become involved in introducing some strength and conditioning to one of the middle distance training groups at B&B athletic club based at Norman Park track. Through the pandemic I provided exercise videos to keep the young athletes fit and active at home, and since 2020 I have been regularly involved in developing a year round strength and conditioning program in collaboration with club coach Mike Reeves. The group we work with are mostly young athletes competing in the U17 and U20 categories at 800m and 1500m on the track, and in cross-country through the winter.

Key qualifications

◦  BSc Physical Education and Sports Science, First class honours, Loughborough University

◦  CHEK Level II Practitioner (now called Integrative Movement Science) and Holistic Lifestyle Coach

◦  UKSCA Level 1 Novice Strength and Conditioning Coach

◦  BWLA Level 1 British Weight Lifting Association

◦  CPCAB – Level II certificate for counselling skills in helping roles

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