Some said it wouldn’t last. Some said I’d even fail at acheiving my goals. Well, here we are 18 months on since first sitting down with my Personal Trainer – Matty Schmid – and I’m still going strong, stronger than ever!
Gym Life – The Numbers
544 Days have passed since I first stepped into a gym for the first time in my life on 6 September 2023. Out of those 544 days I have visited a gym at least once a day for 462 days (usually two or three times a day) whether it be my local JD Gyms Thornton-Cleveleys, or training with Matty at Preston or Blackpool, an away day at Rugby, Derby or Newcastle-under-Lyme, or on holiday in Turkey or Lanzarote. That’s an average of 6 days a week in the gym over the past 18 months!
If anyone thought I’d be slowing down by now…
1st Oct 2023 – 6th Mar 2024
134
Gym Days
1st Oct 2024 – 6th Mar 2025
137
Gym Days
When I first started training with Matty it was basic bodyweight exercises – kettlebell deadlifts, goblet squats, lunges, trx row, press-ups, etc before introducing a PPL training split (push/pull/legs) a couple of months later.
- PUSH – chest, shoulders and triceps
- PULL – back and biceps
- LEGS – quads, hamstrings and calves
It was around this time, towards the end of November 2023, that I took part in my first ever gym class – the JD Burn – and I increased my personal training sessions to three times a week.
As we moved into 2024, I upped my personal training sessions once again to four times a week. These were not my only gym sessions, I was still going in almost every day, at least once but usually twice or even three times, to work on something.
By April 2024 I had hit my weight loss target of losing 40kg.
But the journey wasn’t over. Having recovered from a slight knee injury which I picked up running on New Years Day, it was back to ParkRun in May 2024 and building up the preparation for the Great North Run later in the year. On 4th May 2024 I ran my first ever 5K.
Whilst the running was clearly a goal, the focus didn’t shift from the weight training in the gym, even ensuring I could get gym sessions in when away from home on business or on holiday.
