Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
I had always looked after myself and had multiple personal trainers previously.
However, after moving back to the UK and changing careers at the start of 2020, then multiple national lockdowns, catching COVID twice and suffering with long covid, I was the heaviest I had ever been (gaining almost 18kg) and feeling utterly miserable. I was also working crazy hours in my new role and felt I had no time to train. And when I did train, I was just doing cardio and worrying about how many calories I had burned!!! Exercise had become toxic. Then I found Will…
The timing of Will coming into my life was perfect as I had just 8 months to get wedding ready! We had a big challenge ahead to get me back to my optimum weight.
Our sessions were one hour, three times a week and focused on strength and conditioning. He also coached me on my nutrition - simple rules and tracking my food. Will helped me to enjoy going to the gym again (like I actually looked forward to our sessions!) he reminded me how much I enjoyed working out and how my physical wellbeing was inextricably linked to my mental health. Will was also able to work through my needs - for example, I had a couple of bad flare ups with my lower back and he modified my workouts and also showed me some really powerful recovery techniques and stretches.
By the time I got to my wedding, I had lost all the weight, and a bit extra… 21 kg down!!
I hadn’t just lost all that weight but also gained strength - lifting weights I had never lifted before! My body was smaller, so much stronger and more defined. And not only was I physically in great shape, I was also mentally stronger and fitter - My stress levels were lower, despite a demanding job and planning a wedding!! Will picked me up when I was at my lowest and turned me and my life around!
I’ve been training since my early twenties and had always been motivated to hit the gym regularly, but after lockdown I really lost that motivation.
While I still managed gym sessions, they became less frequent, my workouts got stale and repetitive and I began picking up a lot of little injuries which really slowed me down, I started to worry my best years of training were behind me (I was approaching 40). All of this really affected me physically and mentally which in turn impacted both work and home life so I decided to try a PT for the first time.
Given my years of training I wanted a very experienced S&C coach to help take me to the next level. I began training with Will who assessed my strengths and weaknesses, then designed a personalised training program to improve my strength, technique, body composition and reduce injuries.
The program was great, targeting more functional moves and every part of the body, Will also always seems to know when to push his clients a bit harder knowing they are capable of more, but also when to take the foot off the gas to make sure the sessions are enjoyable and to avoid injury.
My strength improved as I began lifting heavier weights than I had in my twenties, I lost body fat, I learned a huge variety of different exercises and stretches, and critically my aches and pains began to disappear as the program levelled my musicale imbalances. I genuinely learned more in the first 12 months training with Will than my previous 15 years training alone, I only wish I'd done it sooner.
Overall, the experience reinvigorated my love for the gym and exercise in general, I honestly feel in the best shape I have done for years.
I understand that a lot of people will be weighing up the cost of an experienced S&C coach, I can only speak from personal experience when I say it's hard to put a price on feeling physically & mentally strong, and the subsequent impact that has on other aspects of your life.
Before I met Will, I was struggling with severe pain in my neck, shoulders and back which were caused by nerve damage due to excessive cycling. In addition, I was suffering from joint pain throughout my body and I finally realised that I couldn’t continue with the training regime I had been doing as even simple movements were becoming increasingly restricted. I came to the conclusion that If I didn’t change my whole approach to training the result would be irreversible damage.
I met Will at the gym where he was a personal trainer. After an in-depth assessment, Will changed my training regime completely from mainly hours of repetitive cardio to a combination of movement and strength conditioning. However, he adapted the programmes in such a way that my cardio system, which I was used to working hard, was still being maintained.
The improvements to my physical health have been gradual. However, after two years I have almost entirely recovered from the effects of the nerve damage without having to have an operation, which was the only other option open to me. Surprisingly, I am still within a few Kilos of my cycling weight, which is maintained without hours on the bike. And, what has been even more gratifying is that I still have a very strong cardio engine.
Since training with Will, my movement and flexibility are almost back to where they were 10 years ago, which has had a massive impact on my everyday life. I am almost free from the aches and pains that I was starting to accept I would have to get used to living with.
Training with Will has meant that I have gradually become stronger, am overall in better physical condition, and am far more aware of my wellbeing.
Will not only changed my training but also changed my whole thought process of how to train.