Rory was born in Rome in 1962. At school he swam in regional championships - 100m breaststroke was his specialty - and captained the basketball team in his senior year. At university he rowed and played squash, and continued rowing with the River Lea RC until 1992 when back injury forced him to stop. Unable to stay away from competitive sports for long, Rory took up competitive cycling, mainly road racing and time trials, eventually racing as a sponsored rider for a season in 1996.

 

In the late 1990’s Rory combined his swimming and cycling skills with a third new discipline – running. Triathlon soon became his new passion and he raced successfully in age-group categories from Olympic distance races (1.5km swim, 40km bike and 10km run) all the way up to IronMan where racers swim for 3.8km, cycle for 180km and then run a full-length marathon of 42.2km.

For the past ten years Rory has been planning the opening of his own gym. Whilst working on an IT career in the City, he struggled to balance family / career / relationship with the immense training volumes necessary to compete. The Fitness Factory is the result of realizing the dream. Armed with in-depth knowledge on fitness, nutrition and training techniques, allied to his BsC in Biology, and with the experience of "having been there," Rory embarked on a programme of study to qualify as an instructor in June 2004, then as a Personal Trainer in 2005. Rory’s highly motivational approach to teaching classes combines a powerful mixture of dynamics, aerobic and strength-training to cater to participants of all levels from beginners to elite athletes. Rory will challenge you, but will keep you safe.

Tonia qualified as an ICE trainer in October ‘05 and completed her Pilates Level 1 certification in August ‘06. She leads Easy Rider classes addressing the techniques of our low-impact aerobic exercise system, and Pilates classes addressing the core muscles for all levels of ability.

Tonia has always practiced a variety of sports. Born in Rome from American parents, she naturally took to basketball, and played in the school volleyball and hockey teams as well. At university Tonia cycled for fitness while playing badminton to a high standard.

Her teaching credentials are impeccable: Tonia taught primary school for 8 years until the birth of her daughter in ‘92. Between then and the birth of her son in ‘95 Tonia struggled to get back into shape so she joined a gym to take a more disciplined approach to training and nutrition. With regular exercise her pregnancy-related weight gain was quickly overcome through smart food choices and correct exercise.

Tonia’s holistic view of health and fitness combines nutrition, cardio, flexibility and strength training, as promoted at The Fitness Factory. Easy Rider (L2) is ideal for novices as it offers a pressure-free environment in which to improve slowly. Easy Rider and Pilates can both be as soft or as hard as you want them to be; when practiced correctly you are going to get a great workout at all levels.

 

Hannah was born in Surrey in 1976, and moved to Devon in 2001. At school she took part in all the sports, specializing in gymnastics. She competed at regional level in this discipline until the age of 18, and continued to practice until her first child was born.

After the birth of her third child in 2001, Hannah took up running, which soon became a consuming passion. As a runner she entered many races and enjoyed local success, particularly in the half marathon, which she has run many times.

Realizing that her vocation was in the field of health and fitness, Hanna qualified as an instructor in 2006, but her interest in all things sporting goes beyond the gym; a love for trampolining is shared with her daughters, who take lessons with her. Hannah also volunteers her time teaching youngsters basic gymnastic, and trampolining, and captains her local netball team (the “Denbury Devils”) who are fighting their way up the ultra-competitive local league.

Hanna’s approach to teaching classes fits in with The Fitness Factory perfectly: friendly, dynamic, motivational, energizing, and enthusiastic. She started teaching here just before Christmas, and is already well-beloved by all our members. You will enjoy her classes, and we are delighted to welcome her on board.

 

Rita has nine years experience in Tai Chi Chuan and Chi Gung and is a qualified instructor in the long-standing Zhong Ding International Martial Arts Association. Rita won a gold medal for the Cheng Man Ching form at the 1999 Zhong Ding grand Championships held in Birmingham.

More recently when in China in 2004 Rita was selected as a senior instructor at the inaugural meeting of the Worldwide Association of Chinese Internal Martial Arts. Rita has travelled to China, Malaysia and Europe to train with Tai Chi Masters such as Dr Wang, George Zu, Lau Kim Hong, Koh Ah Tee, Liang He Qing, Tan Ching Ngee, Wu Chiang Hsing, Lim Kim fu and Nigel Sutton, the founder of the Zhong Ding Association.

Rita is also a fully qualified Bowen practitioner and finds that its principles - ‘less is more’ - complement her work in Tai Chi.