Phil

The 1st January 2014 was the greatest day in my life. It was the day of the birth of my beautiful little boy Gabriel. What should have been the start of a lovely new chapter in our lives sadly turned into the most difficult of times. After a complicated birth Gabriel was found to have a rare life threatening genetic disorder. He was only given a few days to survive. Amazingly he showed great courage and will to live and for a small period we had him home enjoying a moment of somewhat normal family life. Sadly after 4 and half months he left this world to spend time with the angels. My life has never been the same since.

By the end of 2014 my health was suffering, living at Alder Hey Hospital for 4 months had taken its toll and the psychological damage is hard to comprehend. You never feel like you are truly back in sync with life. I’m not sure what jolted me partly back to the land of the living, maybe the desire to help my wife through this journey (the experience we have shared has brought us closer) or my desire to want to make Gabriel proud or maybe my annual medical which showed that I had extremely high blood pressure, that I had put on about 2 stone in weight ( I was 16 stone 4lbs the heaviest I had ever been in my life) and my cholesterol was 8.7. I needed to do something.

I had last trained with Jason in Autumn 2013 and had stopped due to the impending birth of my boy, so when I came back to train in January 2015 things were a lot different. I was completely out of shape, out of breath, not focussed and unsure whether I had the motivation to start a period of regular training. Now 18 months on I’m feeling the benefits of sticking with it in the difficult early months not only from physical perspective but also the fact my mental state has improved. Today I’m 13stone 7lbs, my blood pressure is normal and my cholesterol is down and I’m in a much better place mentally. The benefits of exercise on stress and dealing with trauma cannot be understated. I don’t know where I would be without the help of Jason and his personalised training routines, with individual goals and importantly a varied training plan to keep motivation high.

My tailored workouts have increased my strength, flexibility and body shape. I’m no longer out of breath and I feel and look a different person to the one of 18 months ago. I have learnt new training techniques, discovered the mental positives and how stress can be managed through a regular training regime. I have discussed (and argued) the benefits of a Vegan diet in a training regime and gained a thorough understanding of the way to utilise different equipment in physical exercise whether it be the Kettle Bell, Bulgarian Bag or the good old Tractor Tyre!

One of the not thought of benefits is the fact you pay for a session. Its booked in paid for and so when you wake up at say 6am to do a session at 7am and its pouring down outside, its cold and the heating is not on yet, the fact you have paid for it makes it feel like a work meeting, one that you can’t miss. So you get up and go what ever the weather. If I was going to my local gym I doubt I would make it on a day like that. Being motivated however it comes is crucial.

I couldn’t recommend Jason enough, his passion, drive and enthusiasm to help you reach your goals make what is a hard session into one that becomes enjoyable. He has a detailed knowledge of the correct techniques for each routine and how the combination of different exercises can enhance your physicality.

On a personal level, Jason has supported me in helping raise funds for Claire House Children’s Hospice, selling bracelets made in Gabriel’s memory (available from www.gabrielbracelets.com) as well as attending fund raising events.

If you feel you need to change something in your life or just an improvement in your fitness and wellbeing, training at PTW is definitely a positive step in achieving your goal. It’s a tough enjoyable journey that I am glad I have taken. Hard work does pay off and Jason is a highly qualified trainer who will help you on that journey.

My beautiful boy – Gabriel