The top 10 personal trainers in the world gathered on common ground outside of London on Sept. 27 to share their passion for fitness and demonstrate their training skills at the Life Fitness Personal Trainers to Watch competition – and one trainer emerged the winner. Today, Life Fitness announces that Kim Ingleby, 35, of Bristol, England, has won the Life Fitness 2013 Personal Trainers to Watch competition.

“I feel truly blessed to have been a part of this, and to have been selected as a finalist, let alone the winner among such talent and passion,” said Ingleby. “The spotlight that Life Fitness has put on the personal training industry through this competition is extremely important in helping spread the global fitness experience.”

Ingleby is the founder of Energised Performance located in Bristol, England. Her training philosophy combines the mind and body to enhance clients' physical and mental wellbeing. Ingleby's mission is to give clients the tools to empower them to be their best, inside and out, so they become fitter, stronger and more energized. She is a certified European Register of Exercise Professionals (EREPS) personal trainer with more than 12 years of experience in personal training and sports therapy. In addition, Ingleby has won recognition in the United Kingdom (UK) for personal training and writes for various leading UK national fitness magazines. She is also passionate about fundraising, having raised thousands of dollars for charity through fitness events.

Among her many outstanding achievements, Ingleby emerges triumphant not only professionally, but personally, too. She recently returned to full health after battling Weil's disease and receiving pre-cancerous cervical cancer treatments earlier this year. Ingleby attributes overcoming this disease to her mental strength and the excellent physical condition her body was in as a result of her passion for fitness.

“Kim's story is an inspiration to all who took part in the competition,” said Chris Clawson, Life Fitness president. “The resilience, strength and humility she has shown in her journey are awe-inspiring. She is truly deserving of this award — for her achievements both inside and outside the gym.”

First-Ever Live Judging Event

The Personal Trainers to Watch program is in its third year, and this year's competition brought in more than 1,500 nominations from 43 countries. New to the 2013 competition was the introduction of a live global judging event, which was held at Nuffield Health Fitness and Wellbeing Centre St Albans, just outside of London. The top 10 finalists, hailing from all corners of the globe, were flown in to demonstrate their training skills in front of a panel of five elite fitness industry professionals. Each finalist was randomly paired with a volunteer that acted as their client for the demonstration. Finalists developed workout routines for clients utilizing the Life Fitness Synrgy360 personal training system based on the client's fitness level and goals. Judges then scored the personal trainers on their ability to enhance the client experience, with criteria including building client confidence, motivating the client, appropriately adapting exercises, and progressing and regressing exercises as needed.

To view a video profile on Kim Ingleby, winner of the 2013 Life Fitness Personal Trainers to Watch competition, and to watch action from the live judging event, visit www.lifefitness.com/pttwevent.

The Personal Trainers to Watch program is held in partnership with the International Confederation of Registers for Exercise Professionals (ICREPs), an international partnership between exercise professional registration bodies around the world, and the European Health & Fitness Association (EHFA), the European Union approved industry standards setting body for the European health and fitness sector.

Life Fitness is the global leader in commercial fitness equipment manufacturing. The company manufactures and sells strength and cardiovascular equipment under the brand names Life Fitness and Hammer Strength and distributes its equipment in more than 120 countries. Headquartered outside Chicago, in Schiller Park, Ill., Life Fitness is a division of Brunswick Corporation.