Craig Parnham

Personal Trainer & Expert Nutrition Coach and Trinity Fitness Duty Manager

My time at Leeds Trinity also provided a great platform for me to launch my career in health and fitness, mainly through a very successful first-year professional work placement.

Why I chose to attend Leeds Trinity and my best memories

My main reason for choosing the course I did was that at the time I didn't really have a good idea of what profession I wanted to go into after university. I knew my main interests where in sport and health and the course allowed me to keep my options open whilst also exploring new topics

I thoroughly enjoyed the three years whilst I was at university. The course itself was engaging and the whole 'being at university' lifestyle was great. Being at university opened lots of opportunities for me both personally and professionally and I look back on these memories fondly

How my time at Leeds Trinity has supported my career

My university experience allowed me to grow not just in an academic sense, but it also allowed me to develop some key life skills. It also provided a great platform for me to launch my career in health and fitness, mainly through a very successful first-year professional work placement

The value of professional work placements

For my first-year placement the university arranged an interview with a local health and fitness club. I look back on the placement as a huge success as part way through I was offered a part time position as a fitness instructor.  This opened the door for me to gain valuable, industry specific experience whilst I was studying. This was great as it allowed me a practical environment to implement the knowledge gained through my university studies.

I continued to work part-time as a Fitness Instructor, Receptionist, Pool Attendant and Duty Manager through my second and third years of study

Three words I’d use to describe Leeds Trinity

Friendly, supportive and personal

My career

I have worked as the Sport and Fitness Duty Manager at Leeds Trinity University as well as launching and managing my own business. The role of Duty Manager involves overseeing the day-to-day operation of the sports facilities. Working closely with the Sports Facilities Manager and Sports Development team I’ve planned and developed programmes for engaging students in sports and healthy behaviours. This role also involves ensuring the sports facilities play an important part in the University's role within the wider community by initiating and maintaining links with Schools, Community clubs and Sports teams.

In addition to this, I am also a Founder of my own personal training business - Craig Parnham Personal Training. I provide a range of personal training and nutritional services including fat loss and strength programmes to a wide variety of individuals. I also write regular blogs about health and fitness. 

What I love about working in sport

The best part of my job is the rapport that I have with my customers, clients and members. It's great to build relationships with people that you work closely with on a regular basis. This along with making a genuine difference to people's wellbeing and quality of life

My advice would to current students and recent graduates

My advice is to get out there and try things. Some of my experiences during and also after my time at university weren't always positive, but they helped me decide what I wanted to do career wise. I'm a big believer that you get out what you put in, so go into placements thinking what you can get out of them. Volunteer for projects and offer to work for free, this is a great way of getting better at what you want to do and developing the skills future employers will be looking for.