our journey with personal training

Avid readers may have seen our introduction to Right Path Fitness, founded by GB and England freestyle wrestling champion turned personal trainer Keith McNiven. Right Path Fitness is a personal training team that knows hows to deliver results and keen to find out the benefits, our very own Ben Smith took on a 6 week programme.

Why were you interested in personal training?

For me, it was about consistency. Consistency in working as hard as you can as well as often. My problem was working out enough to make a difference, sometimes it would be 3 times a week and then a week off because I was going to this and that. So having someone there where you have committed to a time to meet means I have to be there. It also means that I have someone not just planning the workout every time but tailoring it to suit what I want to get out of it, AND they are pushing me, telling me I can do it.

So talk us through what you did at Right Path Fitness?

Well, my goal was to put on a little muscle. In six weeks I might not be able to get that ‘hench’ but I could make a start. Week one was all back to basics, getting used to weight lifting, movement and form. Weeks two to five were all about targeting specific muscle groups on training days and each week got harder, each set got heavier and this is where it got mentally difficult sometimes to really push through. The final week however was the hardest; high-intensity circuits, punishing sets, high reps, speed and endurance with minimal rest that made me rain with sweat, moan like I was possessed and make involuntary noises like a weeping child.

And how did you feel during the six weeks and how do you feel now?

During the training, there was not a day I was not sore after, leg days were the worst because I have legs like a little girl and limited flexibility in my hamstrings. However hard a set was, whether it was killing me mentally or physically, I always felt amazing after it. After every session I felt good, strong, healthy and happy….in a good mood. Even in the last week when it was super hard, afterwards I was on a high, either from completing something and having a sense of achievement or from the feeling exercise gives you, those endorphins are powerful. Now I have finished, I want to not only maintain the good work, I want to continue to reach my goal so I am determined to keep it up…but I do think without a personal trainer I will cheat, get lazy and take shortcuts, and that isn’t going to get me where I want to be anytime soon.

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What about the diet, did you change the way you eat?

Everyone has different goals, mine was to increase muscle, so I had to eat a lot and where generally I do eat healthily so didn’t have to change too much…it was more adjusting and eating more. My trainer (shout out to Tamas) at Right Path Fitness talked about my food all the time, instilling it into me that this is more than half the battle. He advised me on what to eat for breakfast before training, when to have a protein shakes, telling me not to skip meals, to take snacks when I am out all day so I don’t skimp on protein…the key is to be organised and prep for it. He’d check in and tell me I need to eat more, point out what a ‘good day’ was, which was really useful to me.

So come on, six weeks later what difference has it made?

I trained three times a week, improved my diet by eating clean food and more of it, mainly protein. I weigh just about the same, fractionally heavier but lost a few centimetres off the stomach. Then all three measurements were taken on week one had increased, chest, arms and back…with my back being the biggest gain by 7cm…and you can tell (my mam said anyway). All the bumps and grooves are in the right places. I feel good, I’ve been educated on how the body works and what you need to feed it and have to put in mentally to push yourself into making progress. I sleep better, my posture has improved and I am most definitely fitter and stronger. I feel like I have had a taste and want more, if I turned this six weeks into six months then there would be a significant lifestyle change and that for me right now is appealing.

So, it sounds like Right Path Fitness is where results are made. To find out more about their personal training offerings which they tailor to suit your goals, get in touch and tell them we sent you. Be prepared to put that work in, you’ll feel good about that in no time.

rightpathfitness.co.uk

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