A look back – 2017

A look back – 2017

I hope that you have all had a fantastic 2017 and that you have been progressing towards your goals, whatever they may be and have enjoyed the process!

This year has seen clients, across the board, making huge leaps in areas such as; strength, weight loss, sports specific development and injury rehabilitation, as well as passing my course with Mac Nutrition Uni with distinction enabling me to practice as n MNU certified Nutritionist.

I thought i’d write this short blog to share with you our highlights of this year, and give you an insight as to what benefits there are to training, being consistent and trying to be just a bit better every day, from my point of view and that of some of my clients.
I am very lucky to be able to have a job that i love and am extremely proud of everyone who turns up and puts in effort every session, improving their health in the process.

Accepting that adaptation is not an overnight process, and does require regular commitment to a process in order to reach your end goal is essential in order to avoid wasting money and time on ‘quick fixes’ that are all too prolific in the New year rush to fulfil resolutions.

Planning a long term strategy to help you remain consistent and not throw in the towel if you happen to stray off the path briefly is essential. Everyone struggles at times – you are not alone here, but the key is to have a process in place that enables you to get back on track quickly and easily.

This often goes hand in hand with a deciding to follow a process that you actually enjoy – this doesn’t mean that you HAVE to choose one specific path. But if you love running for example, then run! Adding in some focussed weight training will almost certainly help your running for example, but there is no reason no to keep doing what you love.

There are some fundamental principles that must be adhered to in order to progress – such as the need to be in a caloric deficit in order to lose weight, or the necessity to create progressive overload when it comes to improving when training. But there is a vast array of methods that you can utilise to ensure these principles are upheld.

This is often where a specific, tailored coaching process becomes very useful in order to effectively plan your route.

I’ll begin with some client feedback – more reviews can be found on Google or Facebook by searching for ‘JL Fitness solutions’

Here is what Emily had to say regarding her experience over the past 7 months:

“I’ve been working with James for about 7 months and could not recommend him more! At the start of the year, a back injury meant I could barely move, let alone get to the gym. James has been absolutely instrumental in getting me from that point, to where I am today. He has great knowledge about my injuries and has always developed our sessions to work with and react to my back in a way that has meant I am constantly improving and getting stronger. I have seen huge progress in what I am able to do, but James has also introduced me to a huge variety of exercises, so there’s no stagnation or boredom. I am looking forward to achieving more strength goals long term. Thanks James!”

Anthony was referred in to me with shoulder and Hip issues, and had this to say:

“I was recommended to see James from another fitness instructor due to problems I was having with my right hip and shoulders, I had previously been to Physiotherapy who were able to diagnose my issues but I quickly got bored with my standard theraband exercises.
I have found James to be very knowledgeable and put together a great programme for me, I am feeling stronger in my joints and having less pain. I am using a mixture of online training and one to one, after initially being reluctant to do online training, it has given me a structure to follow and I walk into the gym with a purpose. Thank you James for making my body feel stronger and more mobile.”

Enabling clients to be more confident in their movement and helping to provide a pathway out of pain is something that i consider to be extremely motivating and rewarding, not to mention essential for long term health.
With Lower back pain and other musculoskeletal issues being one of the leading causes of absenteeism in the workplace in 2016 according to the office for national statistics, this further highlights the importance of daily movement practice:

“Minor illnesses (such as coughs and colds) were the most common reason for sickness absence in 2016, accounting for approximately 34.0 million days lost (24.8% of the total days lost). This was followed by musculoskeletal problems (including back pain, neck and upper limb problems) at 30.8 million days (22.4%). After ‘other’ conditions, mental health issues (including stress, depression, anxiety and serious conditions) were the next most common reason for sickness absence, resulting in 15.8 million days lost (11.5%).” 1

As exercise has also been shown to help to decrease symptoms of many mental health conditions2 , employers would be well placed to actively encourage their employees to partake in regular exercise in order to reduce avoidable sick leave taken and therefore improve efficiency within their business.

Improving body confidence,self-esteem and helping clients to enjoy the process and tailor each aspect to their needs is essential to success,

Mustafa notes:

“I find James’ approach very thoughtful and professional. He is also kind and determined. He tracks my progress and he takes me to basic movements if my mobility or strength is not sufficient. He makes sure that we have strong foundations before we increase the weights or move on to more complex exercises. James also gives useful nutritional advice. As an academic my work is office based and it is not conducive to sustain correct posture. With James I have seen improvement in my posture, body image and overall confidence. I look forward to our sessions as they set me well for my work later in the day. I trust his professional opinion and feel that I am in good hands to practise with him.”

Being able to see the impact that the approach of improving a persons body image via appropriate nutritional and training interventions, specific to their needs is exceptionally encouraging and the opportunity to be able to work with this range of clients provides opportunities to learn and develop my skills at every turn, leading to and enhanced client experience throughout.

Paula had this to say:
“I’ve been training with James for about 9 months now and I like to think this is just the beginning. I love James’s creativity in developing a type of training that is perfect for me and my needs- I am a practitioner of Ashtanga, a challenging system of yoga, and we’ve been using the sessions to improve my strength and active mobility on specific muscle groups that are key to my practice. With that, I started to think of training in a completely different way; no longer the necessary evil, or simply a way to get fit, but a brilliant tool to help me improve in something I’m passionate about. I couldn’t think of anyone more knowledgable and competent than James to support me on this journey.

As a result of this years development and client results, 2018 is shaping up to be even better, and hopefully many more people will feel the benefits of progress with their training and nutrition!
For help making 2018 your best year yet –

E-mail: info@jlfitnesssolutions for 1-2-1 Training and Nutrition enquiries
Or info@simplesessions.co.uk for our group online training programmes.

With thanks to Andy MacKenzie and the Combined Strength Group (www.combinedstrength.com),
Chris Burgess and the Lift the Bar team (www.liftthebar.com))
And Martin MacDonald (www.mac-nutritionuni.com)

For providing great resources to support my professional development and enable me to deliver the best service possible to clients.

References:

1.https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/labourproductivity/articles/sicknessabsenceinthelabourmarket/2016
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1470658/