At AUSactive, we're proud to celebrate the people who make Australia's exercise and active health industry so inspiring.
This month, we're shining the spotlight on AUSactive Member Toni Plumb. Her journey is one of passion, resilience and purpose.
Toni became a personal trainer straight out of high school. After years in the fitness industry, she experienced burnout and stepped away. However, her passion for helping people move eventually brought her back.
Today, Toni runs small-group personal training sessions from her home studio. She has created a space where women can exercise without judgement, build confidence and feel supported throughout their fitness journey.
“Fitness is so much more than reps and sets.”
~ Toni Plumb
Finding Her Way Into Fitness
Toni has always loved sport and being active.
After finishing high school, she decided that university wasn't the path for her. Instead, she chose to complete a six-month personal training course.
For Toni, it was the perfect way to stay active while encouraging others to do the same.
She became a personal trainer in 2012 and soon started her first role at the gym where she had completed her work experience. She went on to spend eight years at the same women's-only gym.
During that time, Toni taught a range of group fitness classes and took on many different roles, both on and off the gym floor.
When Passion Led to Burnout
After eight years in the same gym, Toni's career took an unexpected turn.
In 2019, the gym closed its doors. At the same time, Toni was experiencing burnout and decided to take a break from the fitness industry.
She tried working outside the industry and later returned to teaching group fitness classes. However, the disruptions caused by COVID-19 made her journey back to fitness difficult.
After having her first child, Toni felt the urge to return to exercise. She began teaching group fitness classes at local gyms while finding a new direction for her career.
Creating Fitness on Her Own Terms
After returning to the industry, Toni knew she wanted to do things differently.
She wanted to create a safe space where women could exercise without judgement. She also wanted to move away from the traditional “no pain, no gain” approach and allow people to work at their own pace.
In early 2022, Toni started running her own group fitness classes.
The timing wasn't easy. Just one day before her business launched, she discovered she was pregnant with her second child.
The first six months were particularly challenging. Classes were sometimes attended by only one or two people, while the pressure of managing numbers, costs and attendance became overwhelming.
Then, during maternity leave, Toni discovered Jen and the MumSafe team.
That experience helped transform her business. For the past three years, Toni has run small-group personal training sessions from her home studio. Today, her sessions are consistently sold out, and she says she has never felt more passionate about helping women on their health and fitness journeys.
Finding Success by Staying True to Her Values
For Toni, one of her proudest career achievements is simply coming back to the industry.
After experiencing burnout, she once imagined leaving fitness behind completely. Yet, after taking a break, she realised she couldn't see herself working in another industry.
This time, however, she wanted to build a career that worked for her.
By creating a business that aligns with her values and the capacity she can give, Toni feels she can be the best trainer for her members without returning to the burnout she experienced previously.
Her experience has also shaped the advice she would give her younger self:
“You don't have to do all the things!”
Toni encourages new professionals to recognise their limits, avoid taking on too much and learn that saying no can be just as important as saying yes.
“Pace yourself!”
Helping Women Feel Strong and Supported
For Toni, fitness has always been about much more than exercise.
She loves seeing people achieve things they once thought were impossible.
Recently, one of her members, who had experienced chronic back pain, completed a 50kg deadlift. When she first started training, she couldn't even perform a hinge movement.
Another member had been afraid to jump from the ground. She later completed a four-brick box jump.
For Toni, moments like these are what make her work so rewarding.
Her goal is simple:
“To help women feel safe and supported moving their body in a way that feels achievable to them.”
She also hopes to help as many women as possible feel strong and confident in their bodies.
Fitness Is About People
Toni believes the role of an exercise professional goes far beyond reps and sets.
For her, helping someone can mean listening to them, supporting a personal goal, reducing chronic pain or building confidence. It can also mean simply giving someone a safe space to be themselves.
One recent experience reinforced this belief.
A member told Toni that her therapist had noticed a significant difference in her and said:
“Whatever you are doing, keep doing it.”
The same member described Toni's studio as the only place where she feels safe, comfortable, empowered and able to be her complete self.
For Toni, that is the real impact of being an exercise professional.
The Power of Small-Group Training
Although Toni has always loved group fitness, her approach has evolved over time.
Earlier in her career, success meant having the biggest and most popular classes. Today, she chooses to keep her groups small.
Why?
Because smaller groups allow her to create the community she loves while still giving every member individual attention.
No one is forgotten at the back of the room. Instead, members know each other, support each other and receive training that can be adapted to their needs.
Toni hopes this type of community-based fitness becomes even more important in the future.
She believes the growth of running clubs and boutique studios shows that people are looking for opportunities to move, connect and enjoy exercise together.
A Commitment to Lifelong Learning
Toni's commitment to professional development continues to shape her work.
Her qualifications include:
- Certificate III and IV in Fitness
- Bachelor of Health Science in Nutritional and Dietetic Medicine
- Level 2 MumSafe™ Trainer
- Safe Return to Exercise Pre & Postnatal
- Training Perimenopausal & Menopausal Women
- Radical Fitness certifications
- HIIT Training
- Core Foundations Pelvic Floor Training through the Continence Foundation of Australia
For Toni, education is not simply about collecting qualifications.
She believes that continuing to learn allows her to provide better care and training for members at every stage of life.
She would also like to see more education around pre- and postnatal fitness and women's health included in Certificate III and IV training.
What Being an AUSactive Member Means to Toni
Toni returned to AUSactive in 2023 after first being a member from 2012 to 2014.
For her, being an AUSactive Member means doing things correctly and providing her members with safe, professional training.
She also values the support that comes with being part of a regulated industry.
“I'm registered and doing everything correctly to provide my members with the best and safest training.”
Three Words That Define Toni
When asked to describe her career in three words, Toni chose:
Passionate. Achievable. Empathy.
Together, these words capture the approach Toni brings to her work.
She is passionate about helping people. She believes progress should feel achievable. Most importantly, she brings empathy to every person she supports.
Celebrating AUSactive Member Toni Plumb
At AUSactive, we're proud to celebrate Toni Plumb and the contribution she continues to make to the exercise and active health industry.
Her story is a reminder that career paths don't always follow a straight line. Sometimes, stepping back can help you find a better way forward.
After experiencing burnout, Toni returned to the industry with a clearer sense of purpose. She built a business around her values and created a space where women can feel safe, supported and empowered.
Her journey also highlights an important message for exercise professionals: you don't have to do everything to make a difference.
Sometimes, the greatest impact comes from finding an approach that allows you to care for others while also looking after yourself.
And for Toni, that means continuing to help women move, grow stronger and believe in what their bodies can do.
Toni's Journey in Pictures
From graduating as a personal trainer in 2012 to building her own home studio, Toni Plumb's journey has been shaped by fitness, motherhood, resilience and creating a better work-life balance.
- Toni graduating as a personal trainer in 2012, marking the beginning of her career in the fitness industry.
- Toni demonstrating exercises at Freedom Fitness, the first gym where she worked from 2012 to 2019.
- In early 2022, Toni launched her first classes at a local indoor sports centre, running six weekly classes from February to September. The day before launching, she discovered she was pregnant with her second child.
- Toni returned to classes in February 2023 when her son was just four months old. She taught small-group PT sessions at a local osteopath studio, often with both of her children by her side.
- Toni teaching six small-group PT sessions in the new room at the osteopath studio, where she spent six months growing her business.
- Toni's husband transformed their old shed into a dedicated fitness studio, allowing Toni to relaunch with 10 weekly classes and create a better work-life balance.
- Toni's son would nap inside while she ran classes, while her daughter helped entertain the other children. Her child-friendly sessions ensure mothers don't have to compromise their opportunity to move their bodies.
- Toni now runs 13 weekly classes with more than 50 regular members. Many of her members have been part of her community for three to four years.
- Toni's home studio bringing her community together. Classes are capped at seven people, although two classes were combined for this session.
