“Physically I was in the worst condition I have ever been. I weighed in at 235lbs and felt stuck.”

What made you start personal training at PP?

I have been going to different gyms on and off since my late teens but after a bad knee dislocation in 2014, my fitness levels plummeted and I gradually put on weight. I would start a fitness programme but it wouldn’t last long and I was constantly losing a few pounds only to put it straight back on. I’ve never had any form of personal training as I always felt I knew what I was doing. I had subscriptions to all the health and fitness magazines which I believed was a better and more cost effective alternative. When all of these programmes failed (at least long term), I started to search for something different. I didn’t want a personal trainer who would just regurgitate everything I had already read in Mens Health and tell me to stay away from carbs etc etc.

I wanted to do weights and get strong, I wanted to push sleds, I wanted to throw weighted balls and do HIIT, basically I wanted everything. PP seemed to fit the bill and after meeting with Jerome I wanted to sign up there and then. There was no hard sell. All there was was a confidence in what is offered and a willingness to let people find out if PP is for them. Straight away Jerome gave both myself and my wife (fellow PP member) some nutrition and lifestyle advice and emailed through some really helpful information. This was without any commitment from us and just shows the level of genuine care that Jerome (and all the staff at PP) have. Right from the off, I just knew this was something different.

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Can you describe how you were feeling physically and mentally before training?

Physically I was in the worst condition I have ever been. I weighed in at 235lbs and felt stuck. I had convinced myself that I was still relatively fit but I knew deep down that I had become more and more unhealthy. My clothes sizes were going up and I was buying things which would disguise my body, of which I was becoming more embarrassed. I always laughed it off but I was actually very self conscious in the way I looked. The trouble with feeling like this was that I actually didn’t really want to do anything, as each time I did, it would just remind me of how unfit I had become.

Related: Nick Shoesmith – My Experience with Personal Training

What did you want to achieve?

When I signed up for the months trial, my goal was just to lose weight and get healthy. I didn’t attach any specific numbers to it, I just wanted to get myself moving in the right direction. I knew right away that I would be signing up after my trial and so I stuck with the initial goal of losing fat and getting healthy.

Related: Seb Broster Beating Cancer & Getting Healthy Again

What results have you seen whilst training?

It’s actually quite difficult to fully quantify the results that I’ve had, but for me they have been phenomenal (both physically and mentally).

I have lost over 40lbs.
Lost 9.5 inches on my waist.
Gained muscle and am now at the strongest I have ever been.
Gained a level of cardio fitness which is at the highest it has ever been.
Gained an understanding of how to work out efficiently and effectively along with understanding nutrition.
Gained confidence in my appearance and a real sense of pride in what I have achieved (seriously mirrors are like a magnet to me now). It has also given me the desire to keep pushing to see what I can achieve as I have only been training at PP for 6 months.

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Would you recommend PP and why?

100% PP has changed my life. It is not like any other gym. The sense of community among fellow gym members and staff. The quality of the training, equipment, support, booking platform (app) and education make this far more than just a gym. The members online group is a massive source of advice and encouragement and makes you really feel apart of something.

This isn’t to say that PP is pink and fluffy. There is a level of accountability. You will be worked hard, you will sometimes find it difficult to navigate stairs and occasionally you may feel like you are going to vomit. There are no egos, you will be encouraged to push yourself beyond what you actually think is possible. The trainers just seem to know how far you can go. But most of all, you will enjoy yourself whilst doing it and keep coming back for more.

So many times at PP I have found both trainers and fellow gym members truly inspirational, which is why at the very first opportunity I got, I signed up for a years membership.