"When I hit a certain age, I realised that I either had to give into middle-aged spread or put in some hard work. I tried fitness classes in a few places but wasn’t getting very far and certainly not learning much about why I was doing things, technique, alternative exercises, or injury management. I was introduced to Steve by my wife, but was dubious. Why? Experience, but also because my natural instinct is to listen and question, which can often look like (un)healthy skepticism. One result of this is that it takes me time to trust, to build belief in someone’s reliability, their ability and honesty.  

​

Surprisingly, the only one of the three common questions that I get asked when I tell people I have a personal trainer (Why? How long? What do you get out of it?) that relates to trust is how long, and then only indirectly. For the record, I have been working with Steve every week for over 3 years. Tell people this and it usually prompts consternation, but this is where trust comes in.

​

Through working with Steve over a couple of months, I realized that rather than enduring being in the gym, I was actually enjoying it. Previously, I had found it boring – the same old exercises, no real idea of why I was doing many of them, and no real encouragement to stretch myself. Steve, in contrast, took time to understand my goals, listened to my concerns, varied the exercises, explained the objective and reason for each of them, and pushed my limits. From the few occasions where I said ‘I can’t’, I realized that Steve would only ask me to try something because he had assessed what I was capable of and designed the exercises accordingly. When I have been injured, Steve has taken time to understand the nature of the injury and adapt sessions accordingly.

​

The biggest compliment I can give Steve is that he took time to build trust and continues to work to maintain that trust. This in turn has led to a long-term relationship in which I continue to learn from Steve, whether that is new techniques, tweaks to techniques to make exercises more effective (often harder), and alternative techniques to use depending on available equipment or to shake up a session. Just as importantly, I have learnt the importance of a strong mentality - that the exercises I hate most are the ones that I most need to do and that I am the one who decides whether to do them.

​

The result? I am fitter and stronger than I’ve been for years. My physique has changed for the better. My outlook is more positive. I continue to improve. And I’ve done things I never thought I would do – run 7-8 km, climbed a 5,000+ meter mountain, completed Born Survivor. . . ."