Qualifications and Experience
My name is Mark Wrench and I have been working full-time in the fitness industry since October 2007. I completed a level 3 Health and Fitness Diploma at Kidderminster College in June 2007, which mostly involved studying massage, personal training, nutrition and antomy and physiology.
I began my career working as a fitness instructor in the gym at The Wyre Forest Glades Leisure Centre in Kidderminster on 1st October 2007. Whilst working for D.C Leisure I had the opportunity to learn from some fantastic people working in the fitness industry and fantastic members attending the leisure centre. I progressed to become a personal trainer and group exercise instructor, gaining many more qualifications.
In 2009 I started teaching a couple of classes on a self-employed basis, hiring local halls. As my classes outside of the Wyre Forest Glades Leisure Centre became more and more successful I added to them; I have been fully self-employed since October 2011. To date, I teach or have taught: circuits, HIIT, low-impact aerobics, Body Pump, Boxercise, kettlebells, ViPR, core ball, Activity Referral, yoga (several types) Pilates, tai chi, qigong, fall prevention for frailer older adults, Active Seniors and chair exercise classes. I have delivered thousands of gym inductions/appointments/personal training sessions and have taught over 15,000 exercise classes. I have trained in a variety of disciplines in the heath and fitness area and I feel that a strength I have is seeing many of the pros and cons of all types of exercise, rather than narrowly promoting one form of exercise or method. It's, quite simply, all good for you and doing several types of exercise is almost always best.
I am committed to a lifetime of learning: I have a long list or health and fitness courses I want to complete in 2027 and beyond. I am also a strong believer in evidence-based pratice so I attempt to extract what is evidence-based from yoga, tai chi and qigong. I am also aware of many exercise myths; I am constantly checking claims made and recieved wisdom for actual evidence. I also think it's way simpler than many in health and fitness make it sound and that most people simply need to move more, choosing forms of exercise they enjoy and scheduling in when they are going to do it.
I now teach the following 5 class types: Yoga and Qigong, Tai Chi and Qigong, Intermediate Tai Chi, Modern Pilates and Active Seniors, yet I apprieciate all forms of exercise and realise that not everyone is my customer: I am more that happy to refer you on elsewhere if something else suits you better. e.g. high intensity cardio, body building or chair exercise.
Enjoy your training.
Mark Wrench 07973 970 093
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Longer Health & Fitness Qualifications: 6 months + of Study
June 2007, Level 3 Health and Fitness Diploma, VTCT
Aug 2008, Level 3 Advanced Fitness Instructor, Lifetime
Aug 2009, Level 4 Falls Prevention Specialist, Later Life Training
Nov 2011, Level 3 Yoga Teacher, CYQ
May 2018, Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Mat Pilates, HFE
Sept 2026, Level 1 Tai Chi and Qigong Instructor, Deyin Taijiquan Institute
Medium-length Health & Fitness Quals: 1 to 6 months of Study
Jan 2009, Level 3 Exercise Referral Consultant, The Wright Foundation
Jan 2010, Body Pump International Instructor, Les Mills International
May 2010, Level 2 Exercise to Music, Focus Training
April 2011, Level 3 Skills of a Personal Trainer, Lifetime
Sept 2014, Personal Training Bridging Course, PTA Global
July 2016, Tai Chi for Beginners, Tai Chi for Health Institute
Sept 2016, Tai Chi for Arthritis, Tai Chi for Health Institute
Sept 2016, Tai Chi for Falls Prevention, Tai Chi for Health Institute
May 2019, Tai Chi for Arthritis Part 2, Tai Chi for Health Institute
Short Health & Fitness Quals/CPD: less than 1 month of Study
Feb 2008, Level 2 Supervising Exercise with Disabled People, IFI
April 2010, Boxercise Instructor Award, Boxercise
April 2010, Kettlebell Instructor, Premier Training
May 2010, Level 4 REPs (Register of Exercise Professionals)
Oct 2010, Boxercise Personal Trainer Award, Boxercise
May 2011, ViPR Instructor Award, Fitpro
May 2011, Indoor Rowing Technique Instructor
Sept 2013, CPD 1, Later Life Training
April 2016, PureStretch Instructor Training, PureStretch
Nov 2016, Tai Chi Yang 24 Forms weekend workshop, Linda Arksey
Dec 2016, Automated External Defibrillation, St John Ambulance
Jan 2024, Safeguarding Children Level 1, VitalSkills
May 2024, Safeguarding Children Level 2, VitalSkills
June 2024, Safeguarding Adults Level 1, VitalSkills
June 2024, Safeguarding Adults Level 2, VitalSkills
June 2024, Fire Extinguisher Awareness, VitalSkills
Sept 2024, TRX Suspension Training, TRX
Feb 2025, Level 3 Emergency First Aid at Work, Safe Haven Training
July 2026, Tai Chi Qigong Shibashi Set 2, Midlands Tai Chi Rehab
July 2026, Tai Chi Qigong Shibashi Set 1, Qigong Teacher Training
Aug 2026, Deyin Taiji Summer Retreat 2026, Deyin Taijiquan Institute
2026 - ongoing, Number of Yoga International CPD courses completed: 1
Public liability insurance: FitPro (expires Jan 2027)
First Aid at Work (expires April 2029)
Basic DBS (expired on Nov 2024: as I am a one-man band renewing this every year feels like chucking money down the drain: I know I haven't been arrested etcetera so I don't need to check up on myself each year)
Memberships:
*FitPro
*Deyin Taijiquan Institute
*Yoga International