When it comes to female empowerment, Jessica Conti is raising the bar.
A force to be reckoned with, the uplifting 29-year-old from Aberdeen is a competitive powerlifter and personal trainer who is going above and beyond to help others feel strong in body and in mind.
“Powerlifting makes me feel really confident and empowered as a woman,” says Jessica
“It has given me a sense of strength which I didn’t have before.
“Before I started training, I used to be very insecure, but powerlifting has made me feel more confident.
“I just want women not to be scared of getting strong and putting on muscle – go for it.
“Just get out of your comfort zone.”
Force of nature
From a self-conscious gym goer to a self-assured powerlifter, personal trainer and exercise instructor who works at PureGym in Shiprow, Jessica’s journey into the health and wellbeing world is a remarkable one.
Forever a fan of keeping fit, Jessica, who was born in Italy before her family moved to the Granite City, has always enjoyed working out and running.
“My family have always been quite into fitness so I’ve always done something here and there whether that was gym classes or running,” says Jessica.
Life experience
After school, Jessica moved to Edinburgh where she started a beauty therapy course.
“I wasn’t completely sure what I wanted to do when I finished school so I started a beauty therapy course in Edinburgh but after a year, I decided that it wasn’t really something I wanted to do in the long term,” says Jessica.
“So I started working in hospitality and I did that for 10 years.
“I even worked in Australia for a year as well.
“I really enjoyed it and I learned a lot from it.”
During lockdown, when the hospitality sector was forced to close down, Jessica returned home to Aberdeen where she decided to explore the idea of becoming a personal trainer.
“During Covid I was furloughed so I came back home for a few months and decided to do something to make the time off worthwhile so I started doing a personal training course online,” says Jessica.
“At the time, I just wanted to improve my own knowledge about fitness and what to do in the gym as I wasn’t 100% sure of what I was doing when I was in the weights area so I thought I would do a course to try to learn a bit more.”
Leap of faith
After the Covid lockdowns eased, Jessica moved back to Edinburgh but found juggling her cafe job with her personal training studies tricky so she decided to take a leap of faith.
“I moved back to Aberdeen to finish my course and I found a personal training job up here so I’ve been here ever since,” says Jessica.
“It was scary to take that leap because I had been in the hospitality sector for 10 years and I felt really comfortable with it so it was like jumping into the unknown because it was a self-employed position which I was not used to.
“It took quite a bit of courage but I decided to go for it anyway because I wanted to try something new.”
The risk paid off for Jessica who initially worked at Bannatyne Health Club in Danestone before moving to PureGym in Shiprow where she is based today.
“I’ve been at PureGym for just over a year and a half and it’s been really good,” says Jessica.
“So I’ve got my own personal training clients and I’m also employed by PureGym to teach classes as well.”
Helping people change their lives
Describing her job an immensely rewarding, Jessica loves to see people transform their lives through the power of fitness.
“It’s really rewarding seeing other men and women get confident and also fall in love with training,” says Jessica.
“It’s nice to show clients that rather than a chore or something painful, working out in the gym is really satisfying, fun and empowering which can make you feel good.
“One particular client had a bit of a tough background and has struggled with mental health throughout life.
“But her confidence is so much better now and she’s really enjoying the gym, doing sessions on her own.”
Stellar squats
And when Jessica isn’t helping others at PureGym, she can usually be found at Results Gym in Aberdeen where she trains in powerlifting.
“I didn’t know about powerlifting until I started following some athletes on Instagram,” says Jessica.
“Someone also said to me I should give powerlifting a try as they thought I would be good at it so I decided to invest in an online coach and it all started from there.”
In just 18 months, Jessica’s powerlifting has gone from strength to strength.
“When I started, my squats were at 70kg and I was struggling with it and now my personal best is 150kg so I’ve progressed quite a lot,” says Jessica.
“My current coach is based in England so it’s online coaching.
“He sends me the programme and I complete it and send him the videos and he gives me feedback.”
Competitive powerlifting
Jessica says powerlifting has not only made her physically stronger but also more mentally resilient.
“Powerlifting is not based on how you look it’s more about strength and how you feel,” says Jessica.
“When you’re struggling with other stuff you realise that you’re so strong because you can do these things in the gym so it carries over to life outside the gym as well.”
Jessica is now a competitive powerlifter who has high hopes to represent Scotland in the sport one day.
“I’d love to do an international competition at some point but I know it’s going to take some time so I’m going to work as much as I can to get there,” says Jessica.
For more information on Jessica, check out her Instagram page @jessicacontifitness
Conversation