Tag: london

Introducing Alex L, Personal Trainer and World Champion Kickboxer

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Trainer Rating: 5 Stars

As one of our ambassador trainers, Alex has over 20 years of personal training experience as well as multiple world kickboxing championships. He has hundreds of success stories ranging from weight loss to helping young offenders.

What do you enjoy about being a part of the TruBe Team?

I love everybody’s energy and enthusiasm ,from the trainers to the tech team. We all want this app to succeed and are willing to go the extra mile.

Where is your favourite healthy date?
It has to be the organic Medjool variety from Egypt 😉 I think you mean where do I go for some healthy time out? My favourite would have to be tree-climbing in my local park.

What is your biggest client success story?

Firstly, I worked with a small group of young offenders. Four out of the six managed to train with me for two years. They developed a martial arts code of respect and found a new inspiration to keep them focused.

Secondly, I helped a bride-to-be prepare for her wedding day. She trained three times a week for three months with nutritional support.  Not only did the training help her lose 6kg, but she toned up and felt amazing. She also benefited from regular stress relief by hitting pads when kickboxing. A must for every bride feeling the pressure! Now a mother of three, she still finds time to put the gloves on every week and train with me.

alex blog training

What do you add to your shake/smoothie for a boost?

I don’t drink smoothies! I prefer to take on my nutrients in their whole organic form. I enjoy eating my fruit and veg as Mother Nature intended!

What was your last health and fitness obstacle and how did you overcome it?

Alex Lawson blog

I decided to re-enter competitive kickboxing and in 2013 won the Unified World Championships welterweight kickboxing world title.

What is your favourite piece of TruBe equipment?

The GripR. It is an ideal training tool that allows clients to work on many planes of motion and is a really versatile piece of kit.

How do you treat yourself?
I enjoy playing with my children – it’s fun and they actually give me a workout!

What is your favourite instagram account you follow?
@twobadbodies

What is your favourite motivational quote?
“Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”
Ulysses 1833
Alfred Tennyson

What is the best piece of advice you have received from a mentor?
“One more round to go and you’ll be a World Champion.”

To book a session with Alex, download the app and find him as one of our featured trainers.

Introducing Matt W, Professional Ballet Dancer and Personal Trainer

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Matt is one of our ambassador trainers with over 10 years experience as a professional ballet dancer. This experience combined with his fantastic knowledge of human movement makes him an expert in improving flexibility, strength and muscle tone using only your body-weight.

Why did you sign up as a TruBe personal trainer?
I love the flexibility of the app. It allows me to choose the hours when I want to train. It also gives me the opportunity to train clients in a variety of locations including outdoors.

matt-1

What is your biggest client success story?

All of them are special and unique in there own way. I don’t just enjoy seeing the physical transformation in clients but also in the mental side. I had one particular client who became much more confident  and outgoing  after seeing the physical changes in their body.

What’s you’re favourite way to really finish off the end of a session?
You can’t beat a good circuit. Non stop work for 5 minutes switching between different body parts and different pieces of equipment.

What do you add your shake/smoothie to give you a boost?
Chia and hemp seeds are a nice addition to a smoothie.

What’s your favourite healthy rejuvenating post-workout meal?
EGGS EGGS EGGS in any form! Poached eggs with turkey bacon and avocado gives you everything you need after a heavy session. Complimented nicely with a true Italian espresso with some coconut oil.

What was your last health and fitness obstacle and how did you overcome it?

matt Q&A ballet

When I stopped dancing full time it was a big shock to the system. I needed something to fill that void. The gym used to be my stress relief from work and now the gym is my work. So trying to find a positive work life balance away from the gym has been quite a challenge.

What is your favourite instagram account you follow?
It has to be @RyanJTerry. He has a great physique and he is a great UK representative in worldwide competitions.

What is the best piece of advice you have received from a mentor?
Try not to overload yourself with too much stuff. Find out what you are good at and make yourself a master at that before you move onto adding to it. Perfect your business before adding extra things to it.

Where’s your favourite place to work out?
My hometown, Bognor Regis beach. It’s got everything you need. Fresh air, the sea and an outdoor gym. It really does rival muscle beach!

To book a session with Matt W, download the app and find him as one of our featured trainers.

The Benefits of Jumping for Fitness

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Jumping, also known as plyometric training, consists of fast, explosive movements which activate the fast-twitch muscle fibres associated with building muscle, strength and power.

We include variations of jumping exercises in all of our TruBe workouts for the following reasons:

1. Improve Strength and Power

Using plyometric exercises such as jump squats, box jumps, lateral jumps, single leg jumps alone or in a circuit will help to activate fast-twitch muscle fibres. These fast-twitch fibres have a big part to play when the muscle contracts against resistance; they are longer and stronger than the short endurance based slow-twitch fibres. We recruit more fast-twitch fibres during plyometric training resulting in muscle growth, strength and power.

2. Build Muscle

The more muscle fibres you can recruit, the more muscle you will be able to build. Plyometric exercises performed over a time frame of between 45 – 90 secs ensure that you are working in the lactic acid energy zone, causing muscular fatigue. This fatigue recruits more fast-twitch fibres to try and cope with the demand placed on the muscle. Research states that this is the perfect environment to see muscle growth or hypertrophy. Activating large muscle groups in the legs will also increase the amount of blood and therefore nutrients to the area, decreasing recovery time.

3. Sports Specific

hopping pic

Jumping is a common movement in many sports, such as football, tennis, basketball, netball and athletics. Practicing similar movements in your workout will help you become more efficient in your sport, making your body more conditioned in these movements, which also helps with…..

4. Injury Prevention

Conditioning your body through a variety of movements replicating those performed in your sport or function will help to reduce the risk of injury. We tend to become injured when we increase the range of movement in a direction that we are not used to, with more resistance than our body can cope with. The landing of a jump in multiple directions and ranges places a force which conditions the body against injury.

5. Improve biomechanics

If you have a sedentary lifestyles our bodies can become more and more restricted. Certain muscles over work whilst others don’t get worked enough. An example of this is sitting. Our quads and hip flexors overwork each time we get up and sit down, the dominance of these muscles will potentially interrupt our biomechanical sequencing and cause restrictions in important joints. Therefore we need to get the glutes and hamstrings working in their true form for example landing when jumping. Our glutes and hamstrings lengthen with the resistance of body-weight slowing down on our landing, much like suspension on a bike or car.

6. Increase Heart Rate and Burn Fat

Adding plyometrics into a circuit can help push your heart rate to the next level. The compound and explosive nature of jumping means that it requires a lot of energy, burning more fats and sugars not only during the but also after the workout. An example of a good circuit would be a lift squat, push, pull and jump. 45 seconds on each with a 15 second rest x 3 rounds.

7. Co-ordination

Using a variety of jumps; one footed, two footed, backwards and twisting activates your motor skills helping you to become more coordinated. At first your jumps may be a bit wobbly, but if you keep practicing you will see big improvements in power and stability. Being more coordinated greatly decreases your chances of falling and causing injury.

8. Fun

jumping fun

Use jumping to create challenges with your friends making your workouts competitive. Enjoying your exercise helps you to achieve your goals more efficiently. The competitive element encourages you to perform maximally. Some simple but fun challenges are a standing broad jump or vertical jump, simply measure your best attempt and challenge a friend to do better!

Try one of TruBe’s signature workouts by downloading the app and booking a session.

P.S. Subscribe to the blog below or follow us on Instagram and Twitter at @trubeapp for more inspirational ways to reach your health and wellness goals!

Ten Reasons to Get a Personal Trainer

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Personal trainers have rapidly emerged as a key component to living a healthy lifestyle and reaching your fitness goals.

At times they are your best friend, shouting encouragement and pushing you to be your best. At other times they’re your worst enemy as they push you to do yet another set of burpees.

We believe having a personal trainer in your life adds a myriad of benefits to your training, so we’ve compiled a list of reasons why you might consider trying a personal trainer.

1. You struggle for training motivation

If you’re struggling to get your sessions done, you may be in need of a personal trainer. When you train with someone else, it not only motivates you to get to a session but you train harder during it.

2. Your routine has become stale

pt blog boxing

Always doing the same exercises in the gym? There’s nothing more demotivating than doing the same boring session every time you go to the gym. A personal trainer will provide new exercises to perform in different ways making every session exciting. You will find yourself looking forward to your training sessions instead of dreading them.

3. Your diet is unhealthy

We believe in the holistic approach to training, great food, hard training and the best rest and relaxation. If you find you are starting to incorporate unhealthy eating habits into your routine, it may be a sign you need the professional guidance and goal setting a personal trainer brings.

4. You aren’t seeing performance gains

Have your results slowed or plateaued? A personal trainer will help you to set new achievable goals with measurable benchmarks along the way. They will then help you to formulate a research lead strategy that will get you to each milestone.

5. You keep getting injured

Personal trainers ensure that you follow exercise programmes that doesn’t over-stress your body. Our trainers are trained to teach sessions that work in harmony with your body instead of against it.

6. You don’t have reliable training buddies

pt blog park

Training with friends is fun, and sharing sessions can be a beautiful thing. It is great to set goals together and motivate each other to do those hard sessions. However, if you find yourself regularly training solo, it may be time for a new fitness friend.

7. Your passion has dwindled

You know that feeling when you first fall in love with getting fit? We believe a key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle is constantly falling back in love with physical fitness. A personal trainer can bring new dimensions to your training to help you reach your goals.

8. You never have time to workout

pt blog pic house

When living a busy London life, regular exercise can sometimes fall by the wayside. If you find that you never have time for a workout, it may be that a pre-booked personal training session, at your home, will be the motivation you need to get out of bed.

9. You want to undertake a new challenge

Often we set goals for ourselves like running a marathon or entering a CrossFit event without really understanding the extreme physical stress we are about to put our bodies through. A personal trainer can help prepare you both mentally and physically for the challenges that lay ahead.

10. You’re stressed or depressed

If you are stressed or depressed the last thing you want to do is exercise. However regular exercise is a great way to lift your spirits. Having a pre booked personal trainer who is sympathetic towards your lifestyle will be able to adapt your session accordingly.

After a TruBe workout, we’re always thankful for our personal trainers who help us stretch ourselves further than we would on our own. Why not try TruBe by downloading the iPhone app and see if a personal trainer makes a difference to your fitness? Try a variety of different workouts with a range of our expert TruBe trainers.

 

Introducing Personal Trainer: Dana V

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One of our highly experienced personal trainers, Dana V, has been in the industry for more than 12 years. She is a national hurdle champion, has a degree in sport sciences and maintains a fantastic philosophy for fitness and life. Not to forget a mum to two adorable daughters.

Dana’s commitment to her client’s success is her top priority. She has a kind and gentle nature but that doesn’t mean she will let you getaway with those extra burpees. TruBe customer’s love her workouts and also enjoy her integration of Yoga training.

Who is your biggest client success story?
I trained a mother of two who lost 15 kg. She not only looked amazing but she could do six clean pull ups and established a personal best doing broad jump exercises.

What do you add your shake/smoothie to give you a boost?
I love adding raw cacao and chia seeds. It makes it a heavenly and beautiful smoothie.

What do you enjoy about being a part of the TruBe Team?
It makes you feel like a special agent who goes out into the world to help people achieve their goals. I just love being part of the TruBe community.

Dana blog pic

What was your last health and fitness obstacle and how did you overcome it?
After having two children I suffered from diastasis rectus, the separation of the abdominal muscle. It took a lot of work to repair it but I’m happy with the results.

Where is your favourite healthy date?
I love cooking new and healthy combinations for my family and friends.

What is your favourite instagram account you follow?
@Yogainspirations

What is your favourite piece of TruBe equipment?
Speed ladder and the gripper sandbag.

dana sand bag blog

What is your favourite motivational quote?
“Stay original and true.”

What was your latest qualification?
Vinyasa Flow Yoga Teacher

What is the best piece of advice you have received from a mentor?
Always find time to breathe and connect with your inner self.

To book a session with Dana, download the app and find her as one of our featured trainers.