The progress has been phenomenal. I have improved my cardio and strengthened my leg muscles massively. I can now easily run a 5km in less than 25min whereas my best was 30min before. My core and upper body are far stronger than six months ago.

HH Loses 8% body fat

I have spent the first 28 years of my life doing no physical exercise at all (apart from the occasional 5-a side football game). When I decided to stop being lazy I joined a gym and started going 5 times a week. It was great as I lost a lot of weight and built some muscles, So far so good. But after 6 months of intense training, I got really bored by the program I was following, I was not progressing anymore, it was repetitive and frustrating. I felt I was losing quite a lot of time every week and I was looking for sustainable progress so I decided to leave the gym.

 I decided to contact James in May 2014 as I was looking for a personal trainer with whom I could train outdoors in Highbury. After giving a bit of background regarding what I did in the past and what I was looking for, James came up with a program that I liked and I decided to give it a go.

After doing more than 70 JB Fitness UK sessions, I think it is time to comment on the past:

*Training:

Even if our sessions are at the oddest hours, I am always eager to train. Every session is structurally different from the others: new exercises, new weights, and new constraints. But bear in mind that James is not here to entertain you, not at all! The sessions are fun but extremely tough, with my heart rate often getting to 190bpm.

Each session combines kettle bells, TRX, body weight exercises, running and the deadly battle ropes. After doing 3 sessions per week (1h each) for 6 months, my body fat has dropped significantly (lost 9% body fat) and I replaced all that weight with lean muscle, which was my primary objective.

*Nutrition:

James has helped me a lot to have a proper diet in place; an increase in protein and less dairy has helped me a lot!

*Availability:

James is extremely professional and dedicated so can really accommodate any schedule. My working hours are quite long and I don’t want training to overlap with my parental duties, so we train either at 5.30am or 8pm. I can also reach out to James at any time if I have a question of want to do some bits of training at home and want a personalized plan.

 *Social media:

James is everywhere, twitter, great newsletters and emails. I find that extremely refreshing! It makes the exercise routine part of the lifestyle.

 *Injuries:

I want to mention also the importance of having a good trainer when it comes to avoiding injuries. James made me understand the importance of warming up and stretching before starting an intense 1h session. As a 30 year old guy, you think that it is all about how much you can lift. But if you want to keep progressing, you need to do it right. When I was going to the gym, I had frequent lower back pains and shoulder pains. Why? Simply because I didn’t understand the technique needed for physical exercise. It is all about the move, if you don’t do it correctly, not only is it useless, it can be dangerous. Exercises as simple as lunges are often done incorrectly and can become completely ineffective (think about which leg is supposed to work). Do a deadlift with the wrong posture and you will hurt yourself.

 My only injury this year (fingers crossed) was what I thought was a knee injury that manifested when I was running. I told the physio about it and told me it is probably the ITB and that I need to let it rest. I told James about it and he told me it is definitely the ITB and gave me a plan to fix it. Again, it was all about strengthening my leg muscles with a proper stretching programme which was designed to aid my recovery between sessions.

 Whether you are a complete beginner or an accomplished athlete, please do yourself a favor and train with a professional, call James Bramwell and JB Fitness UK.