A University of Worcester student set to graduate next week has already launched his own business helping people achieve their fitness and performance goals.
Josh Forbes
Josh Forbes, from Stourbridge, has completed a Master's in Sports Coaching, and will be among those graduating on Tuesday, March 4, in ceremonies held at Worcester Cathedral. Now he is keen to share what he has learned through his studies with others.
“I have always trained myself and it’s something I’ve been passionate about. The drive to wonder, to know more,” he said. “I wanted to know more for my own training, but it allows me to share what I know. It’s quite a fulfilling job especially when you are coaching someone and they achieve.”
Josh has in the last year started his own strength and conditioning business, Josh Forbes Coaching, alongside his studies, which aims to help people with their training goals. This includes runners preparing for a marathon, athletes wanting to excel in their sports performance or anyone building up to a fitness competition.
“When you do sport at elite level, for example for your country, you probably get strength and conditioning coaching one to one,” he said. “I wanted to bridge the gap and get the general public to hit the best level they can as an athlete, to achieve so they can meet their goals.” His Master’s research focused on this area.
Alongside his business, Josh also works at the TSC Centre gym in Worcester as lead coach. He manages small groups of gym members helping them as a personal trainer, working with regular gym goers to performance athletes.
The 23-year-old, who grew up in Stourbridge, but now lives in Worcester following his studies, did his undergraduate degree in Sports Therapy at the University and then continued on to a Master’s. Alongside, Josh completed qualifications in gym instruction and personal training at the University gym, with help from the University staff there.
He said his studies had helped him to define exactly what he wanted to pursue as a career and given him the skills to get there. “When I did my degree I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do,” he said. “I enjoyed the rehab side of things and biomechanics and learning how the body works. I’m quite a hands-on learner so with my degree being hands on and practical was really helpful. It gave me a good foundation of knowledge I can use now for strength and conditioning. My Master’s was a bit broader and that led me down the path of doing personal training and strength and conditioning and brought me to where I am.
“Doing the Master’s helped in the sense of being more individual study. This helps me now because I’m able to continue to learn, analyse papers myself and get information from them that continues my development in coaching because it’s always changing. It really helps me to analyse current data and find trends which allows me to program optimally for my athletes. While I was building up my own competence of critical analysis, there was so much support along the way. This made it a much more enjoyable and easier process as I wasn’t afraid of failing.”
If you are interested in following in Josh’s footsteps, the University of Worcester is now offering its Sports Therapy degree in Dudley, taught at the Black Country and Marches Institute of Technology on Zoological Drive. To find out more about this and other courses offered in Dudley, including Nursing, visit www.worcester.ac.uk/dudley