Gym training guidelines

You will need regular access to a gym with weight machines and free-weights to participate in my online personal training gym plans. Please see your personalised plan for details or ask me for help if you are unsure.

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If your gym does not have the equipment written in your personalised plan, please let me know as I can make some changes, however you can substitute like-for-like exercises yourself if what you are choosing to do is very close to the exercise set and working is working the same muscle/muscle group.

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I advocate the wearing of a weight belt during all weight training. Do not have the belt too tight and do not breathe/push into the belt, make sure you are keeping your abdominal muscles engaged during exercises.

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(Bikini competitors must wear a neoprene waist belt during your all of your cardio exercises. You can wear this under your weight belt.)

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In addition to your programme, you must do a full body stretch at least twice per week. The best time to do this is whilst you are warm eg. After a workout. See instructions here.

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Your workouts should take approximately 60-90mins and be a moderate to fast pace whilst keeping good form and paying attention to the muscle group you are working. Try not to drag out the workout with too much rest between exercises and also try not to rush through too fast- We want the muscle to experience time under tension and properly work, going too quickly relies on the momentum to lift the weight instead.

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If the machines/equipment are not free you can change the order of exercises, but try to stick to your plans as they are written. You can substitute exercises if your gym does not have the correct equipment. Please let me know if this is the case and I shall make the appropriate changes to your plans.

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It's paramount you keep the risk of injury as low as possible, so make sure you warm up for at least 5-10 mins prior to your workout and take time to stretch/cool down afterwards. See instructions here.

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For plans involving weights, you should be using a weight that is challenging but still doable. It is okay to "fail" on the last couple of reps or take a pause, reset and resume when you are able to with good form. Take the weight down if you can't do it keeping correct form. Always make sure you control the movement. Focus should always be on good form, not how much weight you are lifting. As time goes on you should be able to increase your weights, however we are not aiming to lift too heavy as we want to keep a small waist and therefor do not want to build too much muscle around the core as this may make you look a little too 'chunky'.

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Don't ignore pain. If it's muscle soreness you are experiencing as a result of training them well, in short, suck it up. If it feels painful or you are concerned you have an injury, stop. We are in this for the long game...you don't want to damage yourself.

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Only do the training that I have set you on your personalised plan, unless we have discussed otherwise. Never do extra without letting me know. Track all workouts honestly. If we need to change anything as we go, we can.

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Resting is vital for muscle growth as it allows the muscles to rebuild. This also aids weight-loss as the more muscle you have the more calories are burn at rest, because muscle burns more energy than fat. Resting yourself is also paramount for recovery of the mind. We may love fitness, but it is not our entire life, we must do the hard work it calls for and then try to 'switch-off' and enjoy other things too, balance is key longterm.

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That being said...

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Don't cheat yourself- By this I mean... It is going to be hard; taking the easy route and opting out when things get tough will prevent you from getting your best results. This is as much of a mental challenge as it is a physical one. There will be really tough times but by sticking to the plan you will develop a great level resilience that you'll be able to transfer to so many other areas of your life!
Remember, I am a hardcore coach but I really care too...so if you need to chat, drop me a message- Sure you'll often get tough-love, but I am here to listen and support too.