Meet the interns: Lea Faes

Lea's open mind and desire to learn make her a great intern and a valued addition to the community. Get to know Lea, her love of food and deadlifting and how she's found the Romero Athletics intern program so far:

Tell us about your interests

I love to eat! One of the reasons I got into fitness was the fact I ate too much and gained 30kg while I was pregnant. If I’m not eating then I also love to bake what I’m about to eat: cakes, cookies, flans, everything!

Apart from food, I love exercising (deadlifts to be specific) and going on bush walks with my family.

Why did you apply to intern at Romero Athletics?

I found the online course I completed to become a trainer very vague so I have always wanted to further my education in fitness.

My bosses have followed Romero for a few years and told me about him and some of his techniques which made me so intrigued… I mean, to lift without a belt seemed so ridiculous to me at first! After a little bit of Facebook stalking and blog reading I realised that this man is actually very smart.

I am quite a shy person in new environments but my goal for this year was to grow my mind and learn as much as I could, after all, I’m no spring chicken in the world of fitness! When I saw that Romero offered internships I knew it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn from him and his team. I think it was the best decision (career wise) that I have ever made.

What do you hope to gain from your internship?

As much knowledge as my mind can absorb. I love the idea of an internship because I learn best by watching and then doing. These 12 weeks are going to be a huge learning curve for me and I can’t wait to put everything I learn into practice with my own training and my clients.

What’s your history with sports and training?

I don’t have a long history with sports or training at all. The closest I got to being sporty when I was a kid was 2 terms of netball in yr. 6 – and the only way my mum convinced me to play was to bribe me with a sausage sizzle at the end of each game.

I started my fitness journey in 2015 after the birth of my second child. Like I said before, I like to eat, so I gained 30kg during pregnancy. After my daughter’s birth my self-esteem was at an all-time low and I knew I had to do something about it.

I brought a 5 pack of PTs and my now boss convinced me to try out powerlifting. I was reluctant at first, because you know, I didn’t want to “look like a man’’, but I soon realised how strong it made me feel and how capable my body was. I lost approx. 27kg and then completed my certs in fitness. Since then I have been the number 1 advocate for women incorporating strength training into their fitness routine.

What about training now – what are your favourite exercises?

I absolutely love training. My favourite exercise is deadlifts. I could deadlift all day every day! #deadliftsarelife

I strength train 4 times/ week and currently teach spin 2-3times a week. I love how fitness has become such a huge part of my life.

Favourite athlete?

The only sports player I follow is Zac Davis (my son) from the U6 jaguar’s soccer team. You can find me on the field every Saturday mornings screaming ‘go Zac go’ or ‘turn around Zac, your goal is the other way’

Hit us with your goals – in training and in life.

Training goals –get to 150kg deadlift by the end of the year and, this is a new one since starting with Romero, hold a crow pose for 30sec

Life goals – just be as awesome as possible. An awesome wife, mother, friend and trainer.

What have you learned so far at Romero Athletics?

I have learnt so many new cues and training techniques that I have already started to incorporate into my own training and teaching. Learning injury prevention and rehab and also the ‘why’ behind different exercises has been particularly interesting.

However I think that the biggest piece of insight Romero has given me is to think more openly. Just because everybody is doing something doesn’t mean that it is right or the most efficient way.

…I have also learnt that the longer I stare at my toes while doing my toe yoga (or toe-ga as I like to call it) the weirder they start to look.