The POWER of Online Training
Last year I hit 50 years of age. After a life time playing lots of different sports (at a low level!), I had accumulated a number of injuries, such as rotator cuff and knee problems, which reduced my exercise regime to a minimum. Combine a reducing exercise workload with my love of food, chocolate and beer and the inevitable had happened – my weight increased to over 103 kg and I was fat, energy levels suffering and my blood pressure had worryingly increased to the point my doctor wanted to put me on medicine to control it. I had become a middle aged fat man!
I therefore decided I needed to do something drastic to address the situation and believed that my local gym instructors were too “commercial” to really help. Based on a passion for RL I had been reading Deans blog with regard to Super League players and getting them fit during the off season so decided to do something completely different and try an on-line Personal Trainer. One has to bear in mind I’m English and live in Italy, Dean is based in Australia, so everything is email based, and we have never even spoken on the phone!
Following my initial email contact, Dean and myself swapped several emails to discuss my particular goals, injuries and time I can spend in the gym. From this Dean put together a program for me to follow together with a nutrition plan to get my over-eating under control! As this year has progressed we have completed several 8 week training programs, each one building in what I can now see an intelligent progression on what has gone before. Included in each training plan has been work to address my shoulder problems and knee problems. My knees no longer give me trouble as my legs have been steadily improved and become much stronger, reducing the stress on my knees. My shoulders, although still giving problems, are stronger than they’ve been in the last 10 years or so.
My weight is currently 93kg, a loss of 10kg since I started 9 months ago. To be honest the 10kg weight loss is what prompted me to write this! At the same time my strength has increased a lot and on such things as squat, dead lift and bench press I’m as strong if not stronger than I’ve ever been. Just goes to show that age is just a number and it’s never too late to either get strong or regain the strength you once had.
Throughout the past 9 months, Dean has always been encouraging, always willing to listen and give advice when needed; the thing that impressed me more than anything however has been the challenging nature of the workouts. These have progressively got more challenging, always pushing me right to the edge – sometimes beyond – what I thought I was capable of doing. I have regained my old fitness and more besides under Deans guidance, to the point that this 50 year old fat bloke can more than hold his own with the 20 something’s in the local gym.
If anybody out there has any doubts, as I did, about using an on-line personal trainer I can only say give Dean a try, you will not be disappointed. He is dedicated, knowledgeable, encouraging, everything that is good in a personal trainer, including being a masochist when constructing training programs. I can’t think of a single downside to having Dean as a personal trainer! You will note I have used the word “we” on a few occasions as Dean makes you feel you are in this together (even though he’s on the other side of the world) and that does make a difference as it encourages you to complete the training programs as he’s prepared them.
On a final note, my blood pressure is now under control without the need to take prescribed tablets for the rest of my life. Long may that be the case!