An experienced fitness instructor has won a prestigious national award for the contribution she has made to Seaham’s community.
Andrea Tweedy-Dixon has been in the fitness industry for over 10 years and was working as an instructor at Seaham Leisure Centre. However, when the first national lockdown she was made redundant.
The setback was a blow, however Andrea turned it into an opportunity and when the restrictions eased, and after testing the water running small outdoor classes in a local field, she decided to launch her own business, ATD Fitness.
Andrea said: “I continued to spend a lot of time teaching outdoors, however this proved to be a little difficult when the temperature started to drop, so I decided to look for indoor premises.
“As soon as I did find somewhere the second national lockdown hit and I was then forced to operate my business online to ensure I could still provide services to both new and existing members. When the lockdown was lifted, I returned to the premises and my business went from strength to strength.
“I have gone from teaching classes of five in a muddy filed to over 170 regular members participating in group exercises, which is fantastic.”
Alongside the classes Andrea runs, she also offers a successful weight loss programme, which has helped over 1000 people since last March. It’s a six-week slim down, which consists of a healthy eating plan, three classes per week and achieving 10,000 steps a day.
Andrea added: “This programme is for people new and returning to exercise and is all about promoting a healthy lifestyle. We do also heavily promote being able to provide a safe place for women to train, especially those who are new to fitness and don’t yet have the confidence to train within a heavy gym environment.
“I am so proud of what I have achieved with the business and was even more proud when very recently I was named Community Fitness Newcomer at The National Community Fitness Awards.
“For me, this is a testament to how much my business has impacted the local community and helped people with wellbeing and mental health.
“In the run up to winning the award, I was struggling to find new premises for my business, however after sharing this on social media and searching Seaham high and low I have now finally secured a new unit and the leases are now being drawn up.
“It’s a much larger space and I plan on providing more classes and times for existing and new members. I am also proud to say I have three members of staff who are on this incredible journey with me, and I want to thank them for all of their support in getting ATD Fitness where it is today.”
If you are interested in becoming a member, contact ATD Fitness via their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/atdfit
