THE PRAGMATIC PERSONAL TRAINER

My private gym is based in Great Baddow, Chelmsford but I'm happy to travel to see clients in the following areas: Chelmsford, Brentwood, Billericay, Hornchurch, Romford, Loughton, Chigwell and Ilford.

My philosophy it to be led by the scientific evidence in terms of the exercise and nutrition advice that I offer but distil it down into actionable, effective advice for each individual client. In essence to make personal training, personal.

I completed a 3 year Honours Degree in Applied Sports Science, followed by further Personal Training and Sports Massage qualifications. Which is significantly more than your average personal trainer who get their qualifications via a 12 week online course!

Yes, I offer nutritional guidance, particularly for those wanting to lose body fat.  However, if you have a medical condition which requires specialist nutritional knowledge I will always refer you to a Registered Dietician as they are qualified to offer advice which is beyond the scope of practice of a Personal Trainer.

Simply because doing so would be a conflict of interest and could potentially cloud my evidence-based judgements. For example, If selling you supplements made me money it is much more likely that I am going to sell you those supplements whether you need them or not and that's not the way I operate. For me, professional integrity is much important than personal profit!

I believe in working collaboratively with experts in their field to get the best results for my clients. Take the example of your GP, they train for years yet they still don't claim to know everything and will regularly refer you to more specialist doctors  and I take this same approach.

Simply because I believe my time with a client should be spent focusing on helping them to achieve their goals, not me with my phone out, constantly filming them so I can then get some likes on social media! 

Firstly we would train at time that suits you best. Then when away from training you'd do stuff that gives you maximum benefits without overly disrupting your life. Such as performing little exercise snacks throughout the day rather than going to the gym and by exercising portion control when it comes to your diet so you do not have to spend time cooking separate meals for yourself each day.

You wouldn't have to do it. Simple as that. Yes running is a great form of exercise to work your heart and lungs but if you detest it that much there are plenty of other exercises that we could substitute for it. These are personal training sessions after all so your personal preference matters.

Within the sessions themselves I would include lots of variety to help maintain your interest and away from the sessions I'd use a lots SMART goals to help keep you motivated on a day to day basis. Then as a way of keeping you motivated long-term I'd encourage you to enter some sort of event months ahead such as a 10k run or a fun run to give you some thing to focus on and work towards.