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Chris, 50 from Cookridge
“The biggest problem I’ve had recently is buying a whole new set of clothes. I could no longer get away with buckling the belt even tighter, the gathering around the waist was just too much”*
*Results may vary from person to person. We cannot guarantee ‘specific’ results, however we do offer a money back guarantee.
Call it a mid life crisis if you want , but just after my 50th birthday, there was a moment when I realised I was no longer that young 20 something and that somehow I had managed to acquire a shed load of extra weight! Coupled with a family history of getting heavier as they got older, diabetes and heart failure, my Jimmy Cricket told me it was time to take care of myself and get back into shape.
Overall I was reasonably fit despite the 30+ years of abuse I had given my body. But I needed some help in this plan. I had used Kieran before, when he worked at another gym, which had been reasonably successful. However I did have my concerns, if there was one fault with Kieran, it was he was just too nice and understanding which I could manipulate to ‘take it easy’ when really he should have been tougher. Well at our initial meeting he asked, so I told him with both barrels that if I was to come on board I need not only an expert in the gym to design and deliver a personal training plan, but I need a trainer /coach who can stay on my case and keep me motivated.
I am very pleased to say that all the coaches, not just Kieran does that part of the job really well, whether that is delivery of a constantly evolving program, to listening to my whining that I am tired, had a hard day or whatever excuse I try to throw up, they all keep you on your toes in a very motivated way.
Results, this has been an interesting experience, for the first couple of months, I saw some immediate gains, weight loss and a few changes to body shape,* but then a good 6 month of stagnation. Why, well to be honest, it was probably my lack of commitment, too many ‘old style’ rewards, pizza and wine etc. Not being very true to my self or the gym. But we carried on, Kieran and team remained committed with me, helping me understand that change comes if you make the right decisions. This is not about being perfect all the time, not about being ‘boring’ and not eating or drinking those ‘good treats’. No, it’s about making better and better choices. Those choices add up, for some people this is an easy journey for others, me included it was a hard won battle. But we keep going.
Chris has achieved an amazing transformation – in fact Kieran couldn’t believe that the trim and nimble figure in the video above was Chris! He keeps me on my toes, continually setting new goals and wanting to up the ante… I always need the next progressions cued up ready for him to push a bit harder when the time is right.
Lyz – DF Level 2 Coach
Pre Christmas 2015, things started to come together – a relatively good Christmas period left me motivated to have a pre spring push. Combined with my Ayurveda practitioner, who was working in conjunction will me and Kieran, we set our plans for the spring. Come March, my body decided that it was OK to flick that switch resulting in significant weight loss. Overall about 10kg in lost fat, my body shape started to come together – I have a waist and some definition in the stomach area: not quite a 6 pack as yet but no longer a party 7 (showing my age with that one)*.
The biggest problem I had in May was buying a complete set of new clothes. I could no longer get away with buckling the belt even tighter, the gathering around the waist was just too much. So trousers have dropped down two sizes and are tailored fits. Work shirts have dropped from 17.5 inch collar to 15 inch collar. I am back into medium fit tee shirts and jumpers and no longer wear tents for tops! My spring goals was a 100km bike ride – I smashed it in less than 4 hours, I wasn’t that tired and even sprinted the last 5 miles just for fun*!
Three simple words, planning, planning , planning. Without this, temptations were just too easily taken. Removing the temptations have been key to my success. I found them almost impossible to avoid unless I had a plan. You know what I mean, going into the garage for a chock bar, only to come out with a four pack as they were better value, and then eating them all over a couple of days. As has been said many times before if you fail to plan, you are just planning to fail, so true (for me anyway). Better eating habits have been a major contributor to my weight loss. Good food is the way forward. That is different for everyone, so get to understand what you body needs rather than what is thinks it wants.
Many things, but the ones critical to me are: variety of programs, after 4 weeks or so you get new ways to torture yourself, so even the one you don’t enjoy as much as other can be tolerated! The people around you while training. The trainers themselves, but also the other clients, often sharing a laugh, but not the ‘poser’ community you get in other gyms. Competitive but in a constructive way. One girl once urged me one by telling me her knees creaked as much as mine!
Get stuck in, take a 3 month trial and see what happens, I reckon there’s a good chance you’ll be signing up for the 12 month program (much better value). Talk to the coaches get a feel for how they will work for you. One word of advice to any new member, keep quiet if its too easy, one small suggestion and Lyz, Dan or Kasha will be on you case seeing how they can up the anti! But seriously, if it is too easy tell them, likewise if it too hard tell them too. There is no shame in struggling because their job is to coach you to achieve your goal, whatever that is, at whatever level you set. But I bet you’ll start shooting for higher goals once you hit those lower foothills.
Diligent is different from other gyms or personal trainers, it’s actually quite hard to define why it is different. They don’t have posh fancy machines, but hey do have skilled trainers who best of all work to your level, any pressure on you to achieve comes from within you. This is in my opinion the very best motivation going because without that inner drive to better yourself, what are you going here? Diligent can only work if you really want it to work for you. This is something I have come to understand, Kieran and his team can not motivate the unmotivated, but they can give you the inspiration to do so.
*Results may vary from person to person. We cannot guarantee ‘specific’ results, however we do offer a money back guarantee.
