Chris Newton.

Rest Up & Keep Moving Founder. Health Coach. Everyday Adventurer. Husband. Father. Lover of Baseball Caps!

Meet "Coach" Chris.

Before we get started, can I first extend a warm welcome to you.

Thank you for your interest in the Rest Up & Keep Moving community and discovering a little more about me.

Now, seeing as you found this page – out of all the more interesting pages you could have visited here – I guess I should get out of my comfort zone and talk about myself.

So here goes. (One last chance to read something more interesting, like my interviews with Mother Nature, or What you can learn about Burn-Out from a Bird?)

No? Okay, you seem persistent. That’s a great attribute for taking on a life enhancing health journey BTW.

Okay, enough messing around. Let’s talk about me!

The Boring Credentials Thing Made Interesting.

A journey to learn about health.

I started my journey into health coaching back in 1995 when I first popped out of college and became a fitness instructor.

However, it wasn’t until 2006 when I actually went into the health industry after 10 years in the family photography, design and printing business, which I rather fell into.

In 2005 I went back to school to learn Sports & Remedial Massage, closely followed by studying Sports Nutrition, Personal Training and Corrective Holistic Exercise Kinesiology (fancy words for a lifestyle approach to exercise and injury prevention).

These courses changed my life’s path, and I was excited to help people improve their health and wellness, initially through the lens of Pain and Injury Recovery.

Since 2007 I’ve worked in my own clinic helping people recover from injury, manage chronic pain and improve diet & exercise habits. Most of all though, I’ve been educating and empowering people to rebuild their innate resilience, rather than having their symptoms treated.

Over my nearing 20 year career it became evident to me that underneath the symptoms my clients presented with were some basic needs that were not being met. So my practice evolved to focus more on foundational health, and coaching people to overcome their exhaustion that was leading them to pain.

Since 2006 I’ve completed 100+ hours of professional development training most years (40 is the target – what can I say, I love what I do!). Continually learning from my peers, and developing my skills in nutrition, exercise and health coaching is something I plan to keep doing for many years to come.

Before starting Rest Up & Keep Moving, I had the privilege of over a decade of service as a senior tutor, teaching for NLSSM School of Sports Massage, in London. That time in my career exposed me to so many people and taught me to be a better teacher and coach; something that has influenced my work ever since.

And yes, throughout this time I’ve struggled with health and exhaustion too?

The Story Of My Own Health Journey.

It's not all roses for the health coach either!

Although I’m passionate about health now, I haven’t always been great at following my own advice (shocking right!)

Like many people, I found it really hard to juggle life’s pressures and other people’s expectations, against my own wants and needs. So I got myself pretty mentally and physically unhealthy for a while.

To make a long story short…

Early in life I played Squash competitively, and for many of the latter years I was truly exhausted by competition and the expectations I’d been imposing on myself. I was playing more out of obligation and not letting people down, than for my own enjoyment. I’d really fallen out of love with sport, and to regain some control (and try to get dropped from the team), I’d rather let myself go.

At the same time I’d found myself working in an industry I didn’t really enjoy either. I’d fallen into the family printing business because I hadn’t really found my self confidence yet. And although I have a lot to be grateful for, it really wasn’t a direction I wanted for my life.

As you can imagine, when working in a family business, there were long hours, high expectations, a career path that made me feel I was compromising my dreams and family dynamics (need I say more!) to navigate.

The challenge, when we’re young, is that we rarely know what those dreams are. We just know they’re not being met. In fact, this is something even older people struggle with too, don’t you think.

So with no outlet within sport, and work pressures overwhelming me, I was getting myself into pretty bad shape physically, and even more so mentally. And, as with many of us, it took a really low point in my life to start the process of turning the ship.

For me regaining my health came in two forms – stumbling across a new career path. And walking.

Turning my attention back to studying health in 2005 connected with me values I’d forgotten I had. It was a bit like meeting a soulmate. I knew it was for me immediately and I couldn’t take my mind off it.

But although I was now focussed on learning about health and fitness, I had some pretty ingrained habits to break to get back to actually practicing the stuff I was learning.

The soulmate I came across to help me change that, was walking.

I’d originally started walking in open countryside just for mental health reasons and it really did the job. It reconnected me with many of my sporting values – plus nobody was asking me to compete so I wasn’t putting pressure on myself to perform, which was a radically new experience for me!

Walking turned to Hiking, then to Nordic Walking and Trail Running. And it gave me a reason to do other kinds of healthy practices, like improving my diet and sleep, and diving into deeper teachings from philosophy, spiritual practices and psychology. All of which have vastly improved my quality of life.

I still struggle from time to time. Life still has pressures in business and in having my own family now. I’m also still suffering from many of the ills that neglecting myself for so long developed. So it’s certainly not all roses I can tell you.

But for me it’s all part of the story that builds my wellness, my self confidence and my resilience.

A story I’d love to help you develop too.

And with all that, you’re probably thinking one thing!

How Does Knowing All This Help You?

Well, I've lived on both sides of this health coin, so to speak.

I’ve trained with some of the best minds in health, fitness, stress management, nutrition, pain and injury. And in doing so I’ve developed a deep understanding for the practice of wellbeing.

But I’ve also experienced what it’s like through my clients’ eyes. How it feels to struggle through repeated bouts of burn-out, whilst desperately wanting change.

I’ve learnt first hand, and through working with clients, how easy it is to push yourself when you should be resting, and resting when you have the energy to push yourself.

Because of this, I’ve developed a healthy respect for the energy imbalances of modern life.

Putting this all together has lead me to develop a deep empathy for the health journey of my fellow men and women. Whilst using my depth of knowledge allows me to help them reach their health goals without going deeper into overwhelm.

And that’s how we got here – With you reading my indulgent ramblings… and me, excited to be part of your health journey.

Want To Write The Next Chapter In Your Own Health Story?

Let’s help you learn how to be healthier today and for a lifetime.

Are you ready to get started?