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Hello! Sarah & Steve Killeen here. We work with clients online 1 to 1 on Transformation Coaching programs.
Each program is tailored to suit clients goals of weight loss whether it is to let go of 1 stone or 3-5 stone & create a healthier body & mind for their future.
If you would like to work with either Sarah or Steve, then please feel free to get in touch with a brief message via this link below:
We created The Mind-Body Engine as a direct result of COVID-19 & had to re-invent our business model into an online space. We brought our strengths as coaches to offer online Spin, Body Weight Circuits & Kettlebells to our clientele. After deciding to close the gym & our commitment to having a physical premises in June 2021 we then expanded our online business to combine our skills & knowledge to working one to one with mainly weight loss clients with our tailor-made Transformation Coaching programmes.
Then in May 2022, Steve had a health setback & after suffering an ischaemic stroke out of the blue we have had to re-assess things yet again. Thankfully Steve is on his road to recovery even though he had a couple of knockbacks after some small procedures we are hopeful that he will continue to be in full health again. He has started back doing his PT clients & online kettlebell classes & is slowly building back to his own fitness & returning to his passion which is Kettlebell Sport.
In 2021 Sarah embarked on his Forest Bathing training & now has gained a permit to offer Forest Bathing Walk experiences in Portumna Forest Park for 2023. The planned monthly walks will be on the first Sunday morning of each month & booking is advisable as the group maximum is 12 people.
Sarah continues to offer her LIIT for Ladies online programme. This is a community of ladies who do a low-impact 20-minute exercise class each morning & have the option of joining live or recorded.
After closing the gym due to the pandemic & finding a new platform to work from, our vision of our new direction was becoming clearer. The difficult decision then had to be made as to whether we would go back to our previous way of working or not. Having worked through the list of pros & cons we both made the decision to take the risk & give this new business direction our best shot.
I started working in the fitness industry 25 years ago as a gym instructor & lifeguard. Unfortunately I spent much of my time cleaning and adhering to procedures. I returned to third level education & achieved a degree in Science from University of Maynooth, followed by a Masters in Agri-science from UCD. In this time I also qualified as a Life Coach from Athlone I.T.
Fast forward to 2012 when Stephen & I opened our gym, The Engine Room. There was much more satisfaction in the interaction we got with clients during classes & in general.
I decided to up my skill set, becoming a Spinning & kettlebell instructor. Also, I returned to Ballet, running my school which I operated from The Gym studio. I enjoyed it all, could see the improvement in my clients, customers & students, & built a steady following over the last 7 years.
The responsibilities of running the business were challenging and took time, but we felt we were making a difference & delivering a great product. However, regarding our one-to-one clients, there was always a challenge to get results, not just to train them physically, but to try & get them to address their nutrition & lifestyle as well.
If covid did one thing, it made time available to us to assess how we interacted with clients, particularly those wanting to lose weight & improve their well-being, as well as their fitness. Through our training with our mentor, & drawing on our previous experience & qualifications, we decided to begin Transformation coaching.
The outcome speaks for itself. Although daunting & involving a complete change of perspective, we have not looked back. We have fewer clients, yes, but a high success rate! We also are more time efficient, yet deliver more. We are better able to support the client, coaching them through their exercise & nutrition. Getting them to be accountable, to make realistic but lasting changes. While at the same time educating them in self-care & adopting a better mindset.
Now in my late 40s, I can honestly say that I feel much healthier, fitter, stronger & content with who I am as a person & see absolutely no limits to what I can do or achieve. I want to help empower other ladies & men to start believing that they are never too old to change, follow their dreams & live their best lives.
I believe that I have found a new way of working & bringing all my skill sets together to offer an excellent service to each & every client that is ready for change.
Would I have done this 6 months ago while running & working in The Engine Room & busy being a Mum, Wife, Daughter, Sister & Friend????
The answer is probably NOT!!
Before this to change my career or my work direction I believed I should feel…..
Realistically if I have waited I would be still waiting & wondering…….
At the end of March, there was a point where it finally hit me that NOBODY COULD GIVE ME PERMISSION, I NEEDED TO JUST GIVE MYSELF PERMISSION TO DO IT.
And here’s what I know: As a coach, you feel a deep responsibility & calling to share your gifts with the world. But in order to make the income and impact you desire, you need to build a real business by learning how to COMMUNICATE your value.
My journey in business is very much a by-product of who my parents are & what they taught me in terms of work ethos. From working in our public house, to serving lunches & pulling pints for locals & tourists to working in the office of my Dad’s Veterinary practise to doing the book for his TB testing & chasing up farmers to pay their bills there were valuable life lessons learned that could never be taught in school.
To both my parents I am eternally grateful.
My journey in fitness began in 1998 when I completed the first of my Instructor courses in The Defence Force School of Physical Culture, in the Curragh.
In fairness, it probably started way before that, in Gaa, Rugby & Athletics. Sports that I participated in since I was a child.
I knew what team meant, what training & preparation meant. I knew or believed that If there was no pain, there would be no gain. (Thankfully, over time that attitude has changed).
I started to coach & train teams in my late 20s. I gained experience as an S & C coach at the senior rugby level with the Buccaneers & in Inter County Hurling with Offaly.
In time, due to my work in the gym, I became involved in Kettlebell sport & it was here I found a renewed interest in competing again. I’ve represented Ireland at both the European & World Championships, Medaling at both competitions. Our club in Portumna allows me the opportunity to coach adults and children. And the men & women involved are helping to develop the sport in the west of Ireland.
I knew what it was to be part of a team. To be a team leader, & to serve & to show loyalty. Or at least, I thought I did.
Opening the gym was a challenge for me, and us! Firstly, I was still serving when we did open, & did so for another 2 & a half years. Within a month of opening, my Dad passed away. Within 2 months of opening, my son was born. And all the time I trained clients, trained soldiers, & tried to show up for my family too.
After retiring from the Defence Forces I threw myself into the Gym, PTs, Classes, and Workshops. We were busy. We were doing well. There were bumps on the road, we learned as we went, and we made a living. Then, Covid-19 happens.
Panic, worry, annoyance. That all came first. Then, we sucked it up, worked out Zoom & online bookings, took a deep breath & put ourselves out there, to:
That had a greater chance of success, even for those clients who before, would have struggled because they needed more.
I wish the COVID-19 pandemic did not happen. However, it did open a door for us to online coaching & business in general. It allows us now to work on our strengths. To put our practical knowledge & our interpersonal skills to good use with clients that would ordinarily fail to reach their goals. Closing the gym was not an easy decision. But to not take this path, for ourselves, simply wouldn’t have made any sense either.
So now….we work with committed people who want to see changes. We keep our client base small, but deliver quality coaching & support. We educate, we prepare to be educated ourselves. We respond to each individual’s needs & aspirations, making sure they achieve their goals, be it:
Where possible we do it with good grace, humour & client centred at all times.
