http://www.specialisedfitness.com/

Specialised Fitness, Camberley (2025)

31/01/2023

The longer I do this job, the more I realise that it’s not all about what you know but more about how you make people feel.

19/01/2023

Probably like many people I doubt myself often so to receive reviews like this always makes me feel incredibly grateful.

05/11/2021

The short term result is very enticing because the before and after photos can be impressive.⁣
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But, what you don’t see are the people who complete these plans without any results and often end up in a much worse position. ⁣
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This is because there is a huge lack of transparency - companies/coaches will under deliver making you think it is because YOU didn’t do enough.⁣
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If you are tempted by a 6, 8 or 12 week transformation plan, please be aware of the following…⁣
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Short term, fast results require a HELL of a lot of effort.⁣
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A lot of these programmes will leave you feeling pretty beat up after training because it is about maximising your calorie burn.⁣
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You’ll likely feel very tired outside of training too because they’ll encourage you to jack up your steps to levels you simply can’t sustain. This won’t just affect your training but life outside of the gym too. ⁣
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You will be hungry! This isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s just how it must be for such quick results. The shorter the period of time, the bigger the calorie deficit (ie drop in calories). Again, it’s not bad, dangerous or wrong to go for a really strict calorie deficit - regardless of what anyone tells you, BUT it’s just harder to STICK to. ⁣
(Note: For those with disordered eating it will be different. You want to be getting your nutrition advice from a clinical expert, not them, and not me!).⁣
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It also means you’ll have to be very controlled with your eating. Depending on the time period you'll likely have to weigh and count your calories very precisely. It will take you longer to make meals. It will get boring and become tedious at times. More than likely you’ll have to rely on blander but more filling foods which aren’t always the most desirable. If you did consume something quite calorific then you’ll have to cut back elsewhere. Also, what about social plans? Doing this for weeks on end is hard!⁣
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I’d also ask what’s the point of it? To have a photo where you’re caked in fake tan with ripped abs? There’s nothing wrong with wanting that, but what about in 3 month’s time? You can’t sustain it, so you’ll likely not look like you did in that photo. Overall, what did you gain from the experience?

27/10/2021

Ease yourself in… The chances are regardless of how much you do in your first few sessions your body will be sore in the days after. To limit this, leave the gym in a state where you feel undercooked rather than overcooked. Ignore the stereotypical gym fanatic nut job who must leave the gym not being able to walk properly after every session – it’s not needed.⁣
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Start with the machines… If your goal is to tone and build some muscle, but you are nervous as hell about what to do in the gym, then I would suggest building your confidence by using the machines first. The benefits of resistance machines are that they provide assistance in the movement which can settle the nerves a little. Some personal trainers will tell you that machines are bad for you – my advice, don’t listen to these plonkers.⁣
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Log what you do and how you felt… Let’s face it, we can barely remember what we had for dinner two nights ago, so the chances of remembering what you lifted on that “strange pushy machine” last week is going to be slim. Log the weight, reps and sets and note how difficult it was. If it felt like it was a challenge, but you definitely had more in the tank, then next time you can increase the reps and/or weight.⁣
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Stick with the same workout for the first five weeks… One reason why people get disgruntled by their progress in the gym is due to a lack of continuity. The body needs time to adapt. Changing what you do every single session is only going to bring about too much soreness for a newbie. Use the approach from my previous point above to lift and repeat!⁣
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Do the exercises slowly… Control the tempo of the movement. Vaguely speaking start off by making sure each rep takes 3-4 seconds to complete. This may mean that you do start with a very light weight but over time you’ll benefit more.⁣
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Ask for help… It’s daunting going into an environment where you have very little understanding of what to do. If in doubt, ask a personal trainer. Or if you are reading this, drop me a message. I am more than happy to answer any questions about starting in the gym.

21/10/2021

Whether a food or drink contains sugar and/or fat… This is a recipe for disaster and potentially leads to a poorer relationship with food.⁣⁣
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What the best form of exercise is… If you’re someone that doesn’t do a lot then doing any form of activity that gets you moving consistently will be 👌.⁣⁣
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Focussing too much time on stomach exercises… I understand why there is a demand for this and often it comes down to wanting a “flatter stomach” or a six pack but if that is your goal then sadly that isn’t going to have much of an effect.⁣⁣
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Caring too much about what others are doing…. If you’re chopping and changing your nutrition and/or exercise routine every time someone at work pipes up about what’s working for them then you’ll be going round in circles. There are many avenues to success. Some are more effective than others but being consistent is a good starting point.⁣⁣
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Being perfect… Setting unrealistic goals that you maintain for a week is pointless. I’ve never coached someone who hasn’t experienced an off week. I’ve never had a client that has managed to stick to their goals week in week out. We are humans. We can’t predict what’s going to happen. Sometimes things don’t go our way but it’s how you adapt to these that’s key. This is where a coach can potentially help.⁣⁣
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When it’s best to eat or train… For the general population, there isn’t an optimal time to eat. Find what suits you. There are caveats for those looking to optimise muscle growth but again a lot of what you hear/read is overplayed. The same with training, the fact that you get it done is key.⁣⁣
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People waste a lot of time and effort when it comes to nutrition and exercise. It can cost people a lot of money too. A lot of it is down to a lack of knowledge and understanding. Rather than be that person why not ask for help? If this is you then feel free to send me a message if you have any questions.

13/10/2021

Sweet potatoes are no better (or worse) than a typical white potato!⁣
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The number of calories burned after a HIIT workout is hugely overstated!⁣
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Eating foods that will cause a spike in your insulin levels is not going to stop you losing body fat!⁣
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Weight loss will NOT guarantee happiness!⁣
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There is no such thing as starvation mode!⁣
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Working out in the ‘Fat burning zone’ does NOT mean you are burning body fat! ⁣
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Meal plans are often a waste of money!⁣
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Spending 10 minutes foam rolling is a complete waste of your valuable time!⁣
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Getting DOMS (that muscle soreness) after every workout is NOT a good thing!⁣
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Just because a food is labelled as being ‘High in protein’ doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to give you adequate amounts!⁣
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If you have any questions feel free to comment below…

21/09/2021

Thank you for the review Abbie.

15/09/2021

Thank you for the kind words Maisie.

01/09/2021

A very kind review left by one of my clients.

Thank you Laura.

22/07/2021

“Don’t eat 1,200 calories a day!”

The above statement sounds very definitive doesn’t it? It’s as if going down to 1,200 calories is bad and you’ve done something wrong.

But actually the statement is incorrect and misleading. I’ve seen a few posts recently about this and I’m not sure why they’ve chosen 1,200 as the ‘devil’ number - possibly because some well known fitness influencer has probably posted something and with the fitness industry lacking originality they run with it.

Eating 1,200 calories is not bad! But whether you should do it will depend on you and your situation. The industry is too quick to go down the one approach fits all whereby something is either right or wrong. There’s no in between. Most answers I give start with “it depends”.

Take the 1,200 calories statement. Should you do it? Now there’s sooo many questions that should be asked and this is why I would sit down with a new client for 1-2 hours after they’ve filled in a detailed consultation form so that I know as much as possible before working with them to create a strategy.

To anyone who makes this statement I would challenge them and say…

What about the structure of the calorie intake? Someone that does a 5:2 fasting approach may benefit from going much lower on two days a week to allow for more calories on the other five days. If that suits their lifestyle then why not?

What about if they have to drop their calories low because of their starting point? Take a 5 ft 2 female weighing 70kg will very low activity levels. Their maintenance is likely going to be around the 1,700-1,800 mark and so If they want to drop 1lb a week then their calorie intake will have to be around 1,200-1,300 mark to achieve this.

What if someone wants to lose it quicker and they are in a great position to do so? Research has shown that for SOME people a faster rate of weight loss is more motivating and the thought of dieting harder but for a shorter period of time is more suitable.

Yes there will be people arguing “but it’s not sustainable” but a calorie deficit is only sustainable for as long as it needs to be. No one can maintain a deficit forever - if they did they’d eventually die. So whether you go fast or slow with your weight loss you’re only going to be able to sustain it until you reach your desired goal or you cannot stick to the diet protocol any longer. Now if it is the latter then it might suggest that their current approach is too much for them. But again this is where it comes down the right education and advice.

Some might say that it will give a person an eating disorder. Again, you cannot be so definitive. But if someone has a history of issues with their eating then yes, absolutely going very restrictive isn’t something I’d suggest but I’d also say if someone is struggling with their relationship with food and there’s a long history associated with this then no personal trainer is qualified to advise those people - it’s out our scope of practise. They should be seeking the help from a professional (dietician and/or psychologist).

Also, to quickly answer the “but they’ll go into starvation mode”… no, that’s not true. The other argument people use is “they’ll just regain it and more”… again, no, this is not guaranteed to happen.

I’ll finish off by saying that a lot of the time people cannot stick to 1,200 calories and often is the case that they don’t even need to go that low but I want to emphasise that with nearly all topics related to health and fitness the answer may change from one person to the next.

If you have any questions feel free to message me.

27/05/2021

I constantly remind my clients that it is okay to come into a session feeling like they can only give 50%. I remind them it’s absolutely okay not to beat what they did the week before in the gym.⁣
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I will often encourage them to reduce the weight and reps when they feel like they are having an off day.⁣
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I don’t train athletes. I train people just like you! I train those who...⁣
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Have kids. ⁣
Have a stressful job that saps most of their mental energy.⁣
Don’t always get adequate sleep.⁣
A lot of the time don’t enjoy exercise.⁣
Over eat sometimes.⁣
Have a night or two each week where they will enjoy a beer or a glass of wine.⁣
Will have a takeaway when they can’t be bothered to cook.⁣
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I train the typical man and woman on the street.⁣
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If you walked into the gym and saw me training a client, I wouldn’t stick out. You won’t hear me shouting at clients to go harder or push them way beyond their limits. You won’t see me spotting them on a 1 rep max back squat in case they fall to the floor and collapse. You won’t ever see me with a client and a bucket in case they puke. Most of my clients aren’t 100% confident about the gym anyway so it would make no sense at all bringing more attention towards them.⁣
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The gym offers so much more than just burning some calories - which isn’t all that much anyway (sorry for the spoiler).⁣
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It’s a place where you are protecting against diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis... and many more illnesses and diseases.⁣
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The gym is also a form of medication for the mind. It’s crazy how positive the impact of exercise can have on people. I see people come in feeling beat up and lacking energy due to the stresses of life. You can see it in their body language and facial expression. But by the end of the session it’s the complete opposite.⁣
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People are always looking for small financial investments that have big returns, well exercise is by far the best investment you’ll ever make on your health. Yet so many people hate it and feel intimidated by going to places like the gym. If this is you and you’d like some tips feel free to message me.

04/03/2021

No!⁣
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And often this is why people end up having poor experiences.⁣
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I get that a trainer needs to show they do practise an element of what they preach. However, this doesn’t mean they have to be very lean or extremely muscular.⁣
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The problem is simple, our lifestyles are all different.⁣
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It was only last week I was chatting to an old friend about training and they happened to mention that they had a PT before lockdown. Let’s just say they weren’t happy with the experience.⁣
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I asked them what happened and why they chose that person over other trainers in that gym.⁣
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“He was ripped and I wanted to be like him”.⁣
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They went onto explain that this trainer was very young and still living at home with their parents. They were also looking to do a bodybuilding contest and would only eat chicken and rice with broccoli.⁣
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My friend, who hadn’t trained for years, was thrown in at the deep end and told “Well this is how I train myself and everyone”. As a side note, it’s a bad sign if a trainer is giving the exact SAME workout to all clients every session.⁣
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Anyway, it got me thinking that although this was very poor from the trainer it also says a lot about how people perceive personal trainers and training.⁣
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Wanting to copy a lifestyle of someone who is years younger with no mortgage, family (and therefore next to no stress!) as well as a career that allows them to be in the gym all of the time is NOT the way to go.⁣
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Finding what works for you and your lifestyle is paramount. ⁣
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There are people who I look up to and would deem as being elite within the fitness industry but if you saw them in a gym you’d think nothing of them by how they looked. However, if you had a few sessions with them you’d be hooked on the whole experience, realising that image isn’t everything - be sure to dig beneath the surface!

20/02/2021

In short, yes it CAN be useful!⁣
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Recently I have seen a number of fitness professionals post that you should completely ignore the BMI.⁣
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This is incorrect!⁣
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One reason why fitness professionals like to say this is because the BMI has some really obvious limitations such as the differences between the ratio of body fat mass to muscle mass which can skew the results.⁣
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For example, you take a professional rugby player and their BMI is going to very high. The same would apply to anyone who has been doing resistance training for a considerable amount of time following a progressive programme.⁣
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So for these groups of people the BMI wouldn’t be a reliable tool to use.⁣
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However, that doesn’t make it redundant. These populations I mentioned are not the general population! They are more the minority.⁣
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The average person doesn’t attend the gym consistently and even then it’s probably unstructured or more cardio based. I’m including HIIT here as well - I wouldn’t put HIIT in the traditional sense as being resistance training - it’s more central fatigue (heart and lungs) than peripheral fatigue (muscular level).⁣
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There are lots of people who do little to no exercise at all and so the BMI can be a useful measure for doctors and other health professionals to USE ALONGSIDE waist:hip circumference ratio, blood work and other metrics. There is also a level of common sense here. In some cases it’s pretty obvious if someone works out because of their size. Even then a health professional would use their intellect to ask them further questions about their lifestyle to see whether their BMI is representative or not.⁣
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I personally don’t tell new clients what their BMI is because they’re coming to me to improve their health so regardless of where they’re at it’s just a starting point. That being said I have used it a couple of times to reassure new clients that what they had been doing had put them in a good position.⁣
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I think all too often fitness professionals are making definitive statements about topics that don’t have a yes or no - good or bad conclusion. With a lot of things it depends.

05/02/2021

A client was telling me how they hadn’t been to gym for years. When they first joined they went with their mate who was the go to “gym person” in their friendship group. This friend had been going for years and wanted to show them what it was like by putting them through one of their typical sessions.

My client hated it so much that they didn’t go back. They were pushed so hard that they couldn’t walk without pain for a week. It made them feel like they weren’t suited to the gym.

I see this sometimes in the gym where there’ll be one person absolutely beasting someone else and just by looking at the way they’re performing you can see they’re incredibly uncomfortable and not suited to that particular choice of movement.

I get it, some guys want to show off how much they can lift. It’s an ego thing. They see themselves as being the one with authority because they’ve been doing it for longer and so they want to enforce the same thing on their mate. The problem is it’s a great way of destroying someone’s desire to come back. Something I’ve learned is that people can be experienced at knowing very little.

So if you’re that person who ends up inviting their mate along, whatever you do don’t push them way beyond their limits. Just ask yourself, when you first started were you doing exactly what you’re doing now? No! So don’t expect your mate to be anywhere near what you’re capable of.

Instead, ease them in with a weight that’s very comfortable. Reduce the number of sets they do compared to you but get them to slow it down and own every inch of the movement. Encourage them; don’t give them the “PUSH IT, COME ON! IS THAT ALL YOU’VE GOT?” bu****it. Do you really think bringing attention to someone who’s already very anxious about the gym is going to inspire them with confidence? Of course it isn’t. So don’t do it.

For those of you who have experienced this and you still dread the thought of going to the gym, feel free to send me a message and I’ll give you some tips for when it reopens.

20/01/2021

Sound familiar?⁣
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Circuits (metabolic workouts) can be a great way to burn some extra calories, although in the grand scheme of things it’s not huge.⁣
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The problem is in order to tone/build your muscles, circuits won’t really give you this in the long term.⁣
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To build muscle you need to push the body close to failure and SOMETIMES to that point where you cannot complete the exercise with good form. Note: The end point is where technique starts to go.⁣
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You’re probably thinking “yeah but I always push hard in circuits, I’m breathing out of my arse all the time”. And this is the problem, there’s so little rest that you’re just fighting to catch your breath all of the time. All you’re doing is working your heart and lungs close to max rather than your muscles. You need to rest longer!⁣
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The other issue is that because of the short rest periods and being out of breath you simply cannot lift enough weight to maximise muscle growth. Put simply, in order to build muscle you need to be progressing in sets, reps and the weight but this is impossible in a circuits class.⁣
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You’re probably thinking “yeah but you can just add some more weights on in class”. Yes that’s true but I’ll give you an example to prove that this isn’t logistically possible in a class setting. A few years back I had a client that wanted to tone up more. She used to go to classes but didn’t see a change. On the glute bridge, for example, she’d only have one or two small plates each side of a bar (20kg) in a class. Within two months she was lifting 500% more (120kg for 10 reps). This wasn’t her thrown in at the deep end. We grooved the exercise and then built it up but she felt so comfortable that the jumps were massive. In a class setting you cannot do this!⁣
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If you’re that person that does HIIT 4-5 times a week but you’re not seeing the benefit then I suggest the following...⁣
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1. Use resistance training to tone rather than classes. 2. Master the technique. 3. Add reps and sets. 4. Add weight. 5. Don’t be afraid to go close to failure every now and then; maybe every 4-5 weeks. 6. Take enough rest; 2-3 mins on that particular lift.⁣
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Any questions, post below or message me privately.

14/01/2021

Something us fitness professionals are very good at is putting people off exercise. You’ll see it if you scroll through social media.⁣
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There will be pictures of people on their knees looking absolutely exhausted looking as though they’ve got nothing more to give.⁣
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The captions will follow a similar theme...“Don’t leave anything behind”⁣
“No pain, no gain”⁣
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You may even see a bucket next to them as if to suggest you’ve got to push past your limit.⁣
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I’ll admit that in the past, back when I first started, I thought what you needed to do as a coach was push people to their max.⁣
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I quickly learned that this is NOT optimal.⁣
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Yes, exercise will often be a challenge and yes it’s not meant to always feel easy or comfortable BUT at the same time it should be enjoyed. There’s a time and a place to push yourself to your max.⁣
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For most of you reading this you’d be far better off, especially during lockdown, to go outside three times a week and do a brisk walk or slow jog for 30 minutes. The benefits you’ll get from a physiological point of view will be huge.⁣
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Our bodies can’t distinguish between psychological stress and physical stress. All that we do requires effort and therefore recovery. ⁣
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A lot of you will turn up to the gym feeling tired and stressed more often than not. People will have family worries, job issues etc and so by making training overly demanding every single session, you’re only adding to this stress. Any benefit of undertaking this type of training too often is likely to be very short lived.⁣
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Don’t be afraid to test yourself in training & push yourself hard at times but remember that it’s okay (and more conducive to your overall goals) to reduce the intensity and dial things back every now and then.

Specialised Fitness