Just this month, Broughton graduated from the New Zealand Institute of Heath and Fitness as a qualified Personal Trainer.
The 23-year old was born and raised in Taranaki and joined the Black Ferns Sevens as an 18-year old in 2014. She’s since played 112 matches, scored 315 points, including 63 tries.
“For me, it’s a great accomplishment that I passed. The last time I studied was when I was 15 and by then I had already been kicked out of high school, I didn’t have the greatest record at school.”
It all started in May last year, when the Black Ferns Sevens Personal Development Manager (PDM) at the time was really keen for Broughton to find something to pursue outside of rugby. Her passions are art, rugby and dancing, but she admits it was really tough to find something that excited her.
“There was nothing really available that I was after or interested in. Whatever I decided to do had to fit around my training schedule as well, because we train every day. Claire (PDM) came across the personal training course at the New Zealand Institute of Health and Fitness and it was lucky because they had a course here in Tauranga. It was also perfect because I only had one class a week which was every Thursday, which happens to be our Personal Development day where we don’t train as a team.”
Broughton had to move some things around with travel, when the team would be away, but she said the course ticked all of her boxes as an athlete.
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“Because of rugby, I already have a good understanding of my body, but it was about really going deeper into the personal trainer role and learning more which was something I was keen to do.”
She was really nervous about passing the course, given her track record at school.
“I haven’t studied since high school and I was kicked out at the age of 15. I wasn’t good at school and it’s been a long time since I was in front of a book. I was questioning whether I was going to achieve it or not. But I really stuck at it and I have to give thanks to my study buddies in the team. We still have a study group in the Sevens squad and they definitely helped me when my eyes started to turn a bit dark.”
While Broughton says her current focus is on the Olympics, she said one day she would love to look into the business side of personal training and also combine some dance and rugby into her fitness regimes. She has become hot property since announcing she had qualified.
“Honestly, I have had so many people contact me via Instagram or Facebook and a lot of my family say come on cuz you can train us now. The best thing I learnt at course was don’t train your family, because as a PT you have to be the good guy and the bad guy sometimes.
“I know a lot of people who expect my services for free because we have the same last name or we are cousins of cousins. It’s definitely quite entertaining seeing everyone want a piece of me now. It’s awesome.”
Broughton has some advice for people out there who are looking to study something.
“The course was amazing, the tutors are amazing, and you meet some cool new people. I had classmates that drove all the way from Taupo to Tauranga just for the course, it was insane. Don’t believe your mind sometimes, have belief in yourself because it was incredible.”
And now she’s a qualified personal trainer, allblacks.com were intrigued to find out what her favourite and least favourite workouts are.
“I love a good front squat. I could squat all day, every day because it’s a whole body movement and it works everything. But I absolutely hate bench press. I have developed the movements over these years playing rugby, and we do them in the gym every single day, but I just can’t seem to get past 70kg and it’s getting on my nerves.”