McCarthy Fitness and Wellbeing

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McCarthy Fitness and Wellbeing

Personal Trainer based at Halo Gym in Tunbridge Wells offering 1-2-1 and group training This is to help their performance and to mitigate injuries.

Hi, my name is Ollie and I am a strength coach specialising in strength training for runners. I have worked with clients of varied backgrounds and abilities while trying to promote health and fitness as a whole. My degree in Exercise, Health and Nutrition combined with my coaching background has meant I use a unique balance of evidence based nutrition and practical training methods to help clients achieve their goals. If you want to make a positive change in your life to become fitter and healthier then send me a message and we can get started!

14/10/2025

Back to running half marathons at 66.

After 5+ years away from running Nigel made a comeback.

Running a half marathon and entering another with the aim to improve his time.

He is a great example of what you can do when you commit to something you want to achieve.

Looking forward to the next training block 🚀

13/10/2025

“It must be me.”

That thought may have crossed your mind.

You work hard. Get your training in. Recover well. Fuel appropriately. Read up on what you need to be doing.

And yet…..

You have niggles that are always hampering your progress. Races that never go to plan. Hours of training that seem to go to waste

All the while it feels like everyone else is making leaps and bounds forwards.

But guess what.

It’s not you that’s the problem.

It’s your training and lack of structure.

It’s the lack of speed work. The dismissal of mobility. And the fact that you think strength work will make you big a bulky (it won’t.)

It’s the fact that you spend all your time running at one pace.

You can plod all you want.

But if you want to run PBs, get strong and healthy, you probably need a new approach.

It’s actually not hard to implement. You just need to know what to do.

And I guarantee within a month you will be running stronger than ever.

If you need help….drop me a message.

10/10/2025

Save this formula.

For your running:

- do something fast that makes you work hard.
- do something that feels easy.
- do something that gets progressively longer (relative to your goal.)

For your strength:

- cover the main movement patterns (upper push, upper pull, lunge, hinge, calf work, core work.)
- lift heavy but under control.
- progress this over time.
- lift full body if time poor.

Progress all runs and lifts over time for several months. Take it easy a week or two before your race.

Simple.

09/10/2025

Tonbridge Half in pictures.

Pushing the final 3miles -> coming across the line -> relief to finish -> the medal shot.

17 days until Beachy Head where the aim is to beat last years time.

Then looking to race slightly shorter (5 or 10km) in November before a 10 miler at the end of December.

The main focus of these races is giving me something to work towards and build fitness ahead of London Marathon prep.

Ideally go into the festive period as fit as possible and maintain over Xmas. Then run a fast half 12 weeks out which will give me a rough idea of timings for race day.

From there the final build into London Marathon.

That gives me just over 90 days (to the end of Jan) to get as fit as possible before transitioning into the longer runs.

I’m raising money for .uk a charity which has helped myself and navigate having a child who was born unable to swallow and everything that comes with that.

If you want to donate then there is a link in my bio 🙏

08/10/2025

Things I wish I had learnt earlier.

What are your 3 biggest lessons from running?

06/10/2025

This ones for you.

If you feel like you are in the constant cycle of stop/ start.

Injured then rehabbing then injured again.

Chances are your facing one of two problems.

Either you are too gung ho and you threw yourself back in to training where you left off.

Rather than gradually rebuilding to where you were before.

Or you did you rehab to the point of returning to your sport.

And then you stopped doing any rehab or strength work.

Heres the thing.

Rehab is a continual ongoing process rather than a line in the sand.

You're not broken then fixed.

You scale it up over time.

And then keep scaling it up as you adapt.

This goes for the strength element too.

You don't rehab then stop.

You keep adding layers.

So the area you are rehabbing gets stronger and can adapt to the stimulus you put on it.

So over time you get fitter, stronger and get past the point you were at before.

And if you need help, drop me a line.

03/10/2025

Not every run is going to feel great.

And the further in you go into this training malarkey.

The less runs feel epic, the more they feel average and sometimes they feel terrible.

But understand that progress is a process.

A process of stringing together lots of runs, strength and mobility that often feel average, sometime great and sometimes terrible.

But also that the incremental gains you get over that period all add up.

Knocking a few seconds off a PB.

Adding a few kg on a lift.

Or even just feeling stronger in each run.

It all adds up and helps you to move the needle forward.

02/10/2025

Heres what changed.

From self doubt and injury.

To confidence in what she is capable of.

Sometimes you need to slow down to speed up.

We slowed runs down, built strength and got some wins.

Which showed her what she was capable of.

Self belief and confidence is only built through having the proof to back up the feeling.

But once you have that.

You start to see that anything is possible.....

01/10/2025

This changed the game for me.

I know many runners just go straight out the door.

But taking 5 minutes for some mobility, activation and warm up can completely change the way you feel.

Give it a go and let me know how you feel.

29/09/2025

If you feel like you aren't making progress, read this.

If you want the formula to making progress it's pretty simple.

Simple training, executed with effort and done consistently for a long time.

The problem is most people are either trying to over complicate their training/ do too much.

Or not training in a way which they complete consistently for a long period of time.

If you strip things back.

Focus on doing the basics really well.

And in a way that works for you.

You will make more progress than you have done in the last year.

Stop overcomplicating.

Start progressing.

27/09/2025

When this little fella came along we had never heard of the condition Tracheal Oesophageal Fistula or Oesophageal Atresia (TOF/OA.)

We just knew Ezra was born unable to swallow ( which wasn't good.)

Those early days were un-nerving.

We had no clue about what it all meant or what the long term prognosis was for our son.

Luckily we were quickly signposted towards TOFs- a charity set up to help parents and people who are born with the condition.

Their book and facebook group have been a lifeline- not only to help us understand what the condition was and how to navigate it.

But also to help understand what the long term outcomes could look like.

When I got the place to run for the charity it felt like fate.

And gave me sense of purpose and being able to give back.

To help other people who find themselves in the same position as we have.

And running the worlds most iconic marathon.

For anyone who does want to donate- the link is below. Any donations are hugely appreciated and gratefully received.

https://fundraising.tofs.org.uk/fundraising/ollie-is-running-londonmarathon-for-tofs

25/09/2025

This week on Training to Endure we talk to Leo Wyndham who is singer and guitarist for Palace.

We talk about how running has become such an important part of life.

How he uses it to explore on tour.

And also how he uses it creatively and to manage the pressures of performing, fatherhood and life.

To listen to the full episode follow the link in my bio.

Or type "Training to Endure" into the podcast player of your choice.

Address

Halo Gym, Rock Villa Road
Tunbridge Wells
TN11HA

Website

http://www.mccarthysf.com/

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