About Not So Typical Fitness & Rhiannon Cooper
Neuroinclusive personal training | Wolverhampton & online, across the UK and worldwide
I spent years thinking I was broken.
Too sensitive for the gym. Too inconsistent to stick to a plan. Too much for spaces that were never built for me.
When I was diagnosed as autistic and ADHD at 30, it wasn't a crisis; it was an explanation. Suddenly I understood why gyms felt overwhelming, why every "simple" workout plan fell apart, and why I'd been failing at something that seemed effortless for everyone else.
I wasn't failing. The system was.
And if you're reading this, there's a good chance it's been failing you too.
I've lost over 7 stone. I've also gained some back.
I'm not going to pretend otherwise, because that's not how real life works; especially not with a neurodivergent brain navigating burnout, mental health, and a world that doesn't always make space for us.
For me, getting healthier was never really about weight. I wanted to feel better, move more, and stop dreading my own body. Weight loss happened, but it was a side effect, not the goal. What I found instead was something the fitness industry rarely talks about: that progress isn't linear, setbacks aren't failure, and sustainable change only happens when you stop fighting your brain and start working with it.
I became a PT because I needed a coach like me, and one didn't exist.
After my diagnosis, I started to see a pattern. So many of us had been masking our way through group classes, white-knuckling through sensory overwhelm, and quietly blaming ourselves when we couldn't maintain routines that were never designed for how our brains work.
So I trained as a personal trainer to build the space I wish I'd had. One where you don't have to pretend to be someone you're not just to get healthy. One built around how you actually think, feel, and move; not how fitness culture expects you to.
That means sensory-aware training, executive function support, flexible scheduling, and a coach who genuinely gets it. Not because they've read about it; because they live it.
I hold CIMSPA-registered certifications in personal training, gym instruction, and nutrition, with more in progress. My professional training is grounded in lived experience, not just theory.
You don't need to be smaller to be worthy.
That's the title of my TEDx talk, and it's the belief everything I do is built on.
In July 2026 I took the TEDxWolverhampton stage as part of the Mind, Machine, Meaning event to talk about how we're taught to shrink ourselves; physically, emotionally, socially, in order to feel accepted. Drawing on my experience as an autistic ADHDer, a plus-size personal trainer, and a competitive strongwoman, I challenged a fitness culture that ties health and worth to weight loss, appearance, and constant self-correction.
Real wellbeing comes from something else entirely: strength, enjoyment, alignment, and what our bodies can actually do. Refusing to become quieter, smaller, or more manageable isn't selfish. It's a powerful act of change; and when you do it, you give the people watching permission to do the same.
Watch the talk: You Don't Need to Be Smaller to Be Worthy — TEDxWolverhampton
What I do, beyond the gym floor
I'm a size 20 competitive strongwoman; proof that strength and capability exist at every size, and that strength sports belong to everyone, not just the bodies the industry expects.
I'm also a speaker, podcast host, and accessibility consultant. I host the Not So Typical Fitness Podcast, run a free community, consult on event and space accessibility, and create resources used by clients and personal trainers across the UK. My work has been featured in The Guardian, The Sun's Fabulous Magazine, ITV, Fitpro and Neurodiverse Sport, and reached a wider audience when fitness creator Joe Fazer featured me in a viral video asking whether a fat PT could effectively train him.
At a glance:
TEDx speaker - TEDxWolverhampton 2026, You Don't Need to Be Smaller to Be Worthy
Competitive strongwoman - competing as a size 20 athlete
CIMSPA-registered - personal training, gym instruction, and nutrition
Podcast host - the Not So Typical Fitness Podcast
Accessibility consultant & speaker - conferences, workshops, and event accessibility
Featured in The Guardian, The Sun, ITV, Neurodiverse Sport, and Joe Fazer's channel
I'm not here to fix you.
Your neurotype was never the problem. The programme design was.
This isn't about finding what's "wrong" and correcting it. It's about building on what's already there; your focus, your pattern recognition, your ability to hyperfocus when something actually clicks. I understand sensory needs from the inside, I work with executive function rather than against it, and I measure success by how you feel and what you can do, not by a number on a scale.
Not So Typical Fitness exists because fitness should belong to every body; and because the people who need it most have been failed the hardest. If that's been you, you're in the right place.
Based in Wolverhampton. Working with neurodivergent and anxious adults online worldwide, and in person locally.
This is bigger than personal training.
Not So Typical Fitness exists because one coach can only reach so many people, and the need is enormous. Alongside 1:1 coaching, I run a free community, host the Not So Typical Fitness Podcast, and create resources used by both clients and PTs across the UK. If you're a personal trainer looking to work more confidently with neurodivergent clients, there's a space for you here too.