From teaching assistant to PT: how Rochdale mum Jen Daker found the strongest version of herself

There is an obvious physical transformation in Jen Daker’s story.

She is in the best shape of her life, trains with formidable discipline and has built a new career around fitness.

But Jen’s transformation goes far beyond how she looks.

For 16 years, Jen worked at the same school as a teaching assistant. She loved education, loved working with children and, for most of her adult working life, it was all she had known.

Then she became a mum.

After two pregnancies, her priorities began to change. Fitness, which had always been part of her life, became increasingly important not simply for how she looked, but for how she felt.

“I loved working in education, but after having children my priorities changed,” she said. “Fitness helped me so much physically and mentally after two pregnancies. I realised that if I could help other people feel like that, that was what I wanted to do.”

At 36, with two young children and a mortgage, changing careers was not the easy option.

Jen did it anyway.

Today she is a personal trainer at The Hybrid Hut in Rochdale, working with women and men of different ages, abilities and levels of confidence.

At the heart of her approach is one simple principle: consistency matters more than perfection.

Jen gets up at 4am to train.

There are mornings when staying in bed would be considerably easier, particularly after a broken night with the children.

But before school runs, clients, work and everything else involved in raising a family begins, Jen deliberately creates time that belongs to her.

“My workout isn’t just about keeping fit — it’s my time,” she said. “Before the school runs, work and everything else that comes with being a mum, I get an hour that’s just for me.”

Training first thing sets the tone for the rest of her day. She feels more energetic, her mood improves and she has already done something positive for herself before everybody else begins needing her.

It is an impressive level of discipline, but Jen is quick to point out that she does not wake every morning overflowing with motivation.

“Motivation comes and goes, but habits keep you going,” she said. “Some workouts are amazing and some aren’t. Showing up is what matters.”

That is also what she wants her clients to understand.

A healthy life is not built from one heroic gym session or one perfect week.

It is built from the ordinary things repeated often enough to matter. One walk. One healthier meal. One short workout. Then another.

Jen is equally clear that she did not make such a dramatic change alone.

Behind the early mornings, late evenings and weekend sessions is a family finding ways to make it work — and she credits her partner Damien as one of the central reasons she has been able to pursue it.

“I honestly couldn’t have made such a huge career change at 36, with two young children and a mortgage, without Damien,” she said.

“There are early mornings, late evenings and weekends where we’re juggling family life around work. Having someone who believes in you, encourages you and helps share the load makes such a difference.”

Her family, she says, have supported her from day one.

That strong relationship with Damien and her obvious love for her children sit at the centre of the life she has built rather than competing with it.

Jen does not pretend the balance is effortless. Some weeks work better than others.

“I’m still figuring it out,” she said. “I’ve learnt that looking after myself isn’t selfish — it’s necessary.”

Sometimes that means a workout. Sometimes a walk. Sometimes simply finding enough time for a quiet coffee.

For Jen, exercise has increasingly become about mental wellbeing.

She describes herself as having an active mind and says she can struggle to switch off. Exercise creates headspace.

“Life can feel hectic with work and children, and training gives me time to reset,” she said.

“It’s helped build my confidence and resilience. I don’t exercise because I want to look a certain way anymore. I do it because I know how much better I feel mentally when I move my body.”

But even someone capable of getting out of bed at 4am has had to learn that discipline is not the same thing as endlessly pushing harder.

There have been days when Jen has been exhausted or overwhelmed and recognised that another intense workout was not what her body needed.

Sometimes the healthier choice is a walk. Sometimes stretching. Sometimes rest.

“Listening to your body is just as important as pushing yourself,” she said. “Fitness should support your wellbeing, not become another source of pressure.”

She admits she is still learning to follow that advice herself.

Jen’s attitude towards food is similarly grounded in real life.

She loves food. Nothing is completely off limits.

And she does not want clients spending their lives bouncing between restrictive diets and guilt.

Her philosophy is that a healthy lifestyle must still leave room for birthdays, holidays, meals out and the foods people genuinely enjoy.

“One meal or one night out doesn’t undo months of healthy habits, just like one salad doesn’t suddenly make someone healthy,” she said.

“Food shouldn’t come with guilt.”

Instead, Jen encourages moderation and habits people can realistically sustain.

“Consistency wins every time. It’s what you do most of the time that matters, not what you do occasionally.

“Celebrate birthdays, enjoy holidays and make memories. Then just get back to your normal routine afterwards.”

There is no waiting for Monday. No declaring the month ruined because of one bad day.

“It’s never too late to start again,” Jen said. “Make your next choice a positive one and keep moving forward.”

Some of Jen’s proudest results cannot be measured with scales or photographed in a mirror.

One of her earliest clients found her after seeing a recommendation on Facebook. The pair had never met.

The woman had never even been inside a gym and arrived nervous and lacking confidence.

Over time, that changed. She began trusting herself. She became comfortable training. Eventually, while Jen was away on holiday, she went to the gym on her own — something she once would never have imagined doing.

“She is like a totally different person to the woman I met,” Jen said.

For Jen, that is the real reward.

“I’ve met people who were scared to walk into a gym become confident enough to train on their own,” she said.

“Most of the time the biggest transformation isn’t physical — it’s the confidence they gain in every part of their lives.”

She sees that particularly among mothers.

Motherhood can be all-consuming. Somewhere among school runs, work, washing, appointments and everybody else’s needs, women can begin feeling that the person they once were has disappeared.

Jen understands that. And she loves watching them find themselves again.

There is another misconception Jen would happily dismantle: that personal trainers are endlessly confident.

She believes the reality can be almost the opposite.

Working every day in an environment where bodies and physical performance are constantly visible can make trainers highly critical of themselves if they allow it.

And they certainly are not expecting new clients to arrive already fit.

“Most trainers just want to help people improve, whatever their starting point is,” she said.

Jen even experienced nerves herself after recently returning from a two-week holiday.

“I got the pre-gym nerves going back,” she said.

Her message to somebody frightened of walking into a gym for the first time is straightforward. Almost everybody has felt like that. Most other people are concentrating on their own workout, not watching yours.

“Every confident person in the gym was a beginner once,” Jen said. “The hardest part is walking through the door.”

There is perhaps no such thing as perfectly balancing motherhood, relationships, work, health, friendships and everything else expected of women.

Some days one thing will inevitably win.

But Jen Daker’s story suggests women can get remarkably close.

Today, Jen offers one-to-one personal training, small-group sessions and tailored online fitness plans, working with people of all ages and abilities.

She describes The Hybrid Hut as a gym where beginners, experienced athletes, younger people and older clients are all equally welcome.

Train with Jen Daker at The Hybrid Hut.

The Hybrid Hut, Unit 1A, Moss Mill Street / Woodbine Street East Industrial Estate, Rochdale, OL16 5LB. Telephone: 07547 619709. Jen can also be contacted through her Instagram and Facebook pages, or by visiting The Hybrid Hut in Rochdale.