don’t just take my word for it… let my clients tell you their story
Claire
“Spiralling towards the big 50 - I decided it was time to prioritise my physical health”
My kids have now left home and I work at a school so during the summer holidays when I felt I needed some purpose, I joined the Waterside - where I had a gym induction with Rae.
I have a busy lifestyle so I struggled to find that illusive work-life balance, but I now have a regular gym routine, going at least 3 times a week and it has given me a new lease of life.
Being peri-menopausal I wanted to focus on building strength and maintaining bone and muscle mass, so Rae designed a personalised training programme around this. Meaning I do exercises that align with my goals and I have a plan to follow so I don’t worry about not knowing what I’m doing.
My strength is improving all the time, I’m able to deadlift, squat and do pull-ups - which I never imagined possible.
Rae has an extremely reassuring and encouraging style of personal training which has built my confidence and enjoyment of the gym.
Over a year on - I still feel like working with a coach is the best decision I’ve made for my health and wellbeing!
Sheila
“Spiralling towards the big 50 - I decided it was time to prioritise my physical health”
I have trained with Rae, twice a week since December 2023. I originally contacted her because I was struggling with my fitness, especially in relation to stiffness in body. She stood out me because she is LGBTQ+ inclusive.
I had broken a shoulder following a bike accident a number of years ago and was having problems with the flexibility and strength in my shoulder and arm. We worked on this, through rehab exercises using resistance bands. As well as working towards my other goals.
I’ve always found gyms intimidating, so having a coach who is really inclusive and affirmative, and is also a member of the LGBTQ+ community, made me feel at ease and confident in the gym.
Within weeks I was able to touch my toes and wasn’t getting pain in my shoulder! I felt stronger and could lift the same amount of weight with less effort. Rae would increase the weight at that point to keep things challenging enough for me.
I am taking two months off this summer dur to travel and will be back with Rae from September for 1 session per week at least.
The difference in my overall fitness is fantastic given I am a walker, climbing mountains regularly, I was finding I felt stiff during walks and was sometimes unable to finish routes without taking ibuprofen. I don’t feel stiff when I wake up any more and I’m finding joy in my walks again.
Rae is also really flexible and understanding if I have has to postpone or change sessions at short notice. I really am very thankful to Rae and I highly recommend her.
Cath
This is a highly individualised process and there is real depth of expert knowledge there.
Additionally, its really good fun!!!
I have been working with Rae since mid January 2024 and have learnt so much already.
As a busy 50 year old, post-menopausal woman, I was looking for help to maintain and if possible (I know it’s tricky!) increase my muscle mass and strength whilst retaining and improving my flexibility and mobility.
I didn’t want to lose weight specifically so was looking for a long term, sustainable approach. It was all about how I feel and what progress I can make safely in terms of the strength that I can develop - particularly functional strength for everyday life.
Not only have I seen exceptionally good results so far, particularly in terms of activating strength, but more importantly for me, I am really enjoying the process.
After 20 years of being a gym member and only having done fitness classes, I am now able to confidently use the gym equipment and enjoy that by myself too.
This was something that I had not ever been able to do before despite having worked with other personal trainers in the past. As with everything, finding confidence is key and this is something that Rae excels at.
I could not recommend Rae highly enough, particularly if you have been put off previously by trainers deciding for you what they will do for you, not what you are looking for!
Jenny
“I feel stronger and more confident than ever”
I’ve been weight training for several years and focussed on heavy lifting to build strength. Until I became unable to hold a barbell for back squats due to limited range of movement in my left shoulder.
After an initial assessment with Rae we decided that the best course of action was to focus on mobility work, to improve the range of motion in my shoulder as well as building my core strength.
We worked on my technique and I am now able to back squat with a barbell - I have great form and I increase my personal bests regularly, which is very important to me.
I have been working with Rae for over a year now, we do 30 minute sessions due to my breathing problems and I also go to the gym twice a week and follow the programme that Rae and I have built together.
Jess
“I’ve always been worried about going to the gym.”
Initially my goal was weight loss and to improve my general health and fitness and having never set foot in a gym before, I met Rae for a chat at the Waterside.
She was reassuring and put my mind at ease. Since doing one to one sessions, she’s given me the confidence to go to the gym for two months so far.
She’s shown me how to use the equipment correctly and with having a bad knee, she also worked around that. As well as showing me different exercises to strengthen the correct muscles in order to ease my knee pain.
I can already feel several benefits to working out and I’ve dropped body fat!
Rae always manages to keep me motivated and makes me feel comfortable with whatever we are doing.
David
“Transitioning is a bit different for non-binary people, because there really isn't any one way that a non-binary person looks, and that's why I like it so much.”
My name is David Clare Neilson, my pronouns are they/them and I'm 40 years old. I was very much a gender non-conforming child, but I wasn't able to describe myself as Non-Binary until my late-30s, the language just wasn't there.
For me personally, there are physical parts that I'm taking steps to change and parts I'm not. It's not as simple as going "from one gender to the other", nor is it "stopping in-between." It's attempting some sort of space that's outside of the current Western binary genders, and finding different ways of visual expression. I take aspects of both masculinity and femininity to present to the world something different from what it expects.
I never thought I'd make it to the gym regularly, I thought that it was beyond me, because of a lot of social pressure. To someone who experiences gender dysphoria or body dysmorphia in general, the gym can be really intimidating - it can feel like there are mirrors everywhere to remind you of your faults, other people around to wordlessly judge you or possibly mis-gender you, and those thoughts and feelings can be overwhelming.
I knew that my actual barriers to joining a gym were a mental block; going to the gym on my own initiative wasn't working and I was put in contact with Rae. I was so grateful! All the worry and anxiety was put at ease in our first meeting and she showed me around the facilities. You get to see other people use the gym and find that there isn't just one body type/age/gender - there are people recovering from injury, people getting stronger, just... other people! As a person rather than a man or a woman, that's so important to me.
We did weekly sessions for about 6 months and it helped that I was very clear about my goals, and that’s because a big part of the change I desire is developing more defined muscles. There are more and more people sharing body positive selfies, to fight transphobia and fatphobia, and now I have seen strong people my height and body type, I have a very clear idea of what I want to look like and that it is actually achievable.
Having Rae at my side while I work out, whether I’m doing bicep curls, or absolutely smashing it on the leg press is such a motivator to push myself in a very specific way. If ever a piece of equipment is uncomfortable for me to use, usually anything that involves pressure on the chest, Rae doesn't make a fuss and finds another way to do the movement. Even after a session is over I’m rarely out of breath and am still capable of cycling back home, which is important to me. I didn’t realise that you don't need to resign yourself to exhausting cardio work outs if you don't want to!
Now that I am a member of the gym, and often train by myself, there is still that voice telling me that I can do it. I can get through the last couple of difficult reps. That's how motivational Rae can be, it stays with me, and let me tell you a very infectious enthusiasm for my personal growth is priceless! I now have monthly sessions with Rae and these are really fun to show off what I can do, and I certainly wouldn't be capable of progressing without someone to keep me on track.
I cannot imagine any one else as my coach!
View my Instagram highlights for more client reviews
