HL Personal Training

5 things I don’t do as a personal trainer 👇

1. Post transformation pictures
Because a before & after photo only tells you one tiny part of the story.
It doesn’t show the strength you’ve gained, the confidence you’ve built, the things you can do now that you couldn’t do before, or how much better you feel.

2. Start work at the crack of dawn
I’ve had 3.5 years of disturbed sleep. I can’t commit to being out of the house at 5am 🤣

3. Tell you to turn up NO MATTER WHAT
Sometimes life gets in the way. Kids, work, illness etc.
Missing the occasional session isn’t going to undo your progress.

4. Programme purely for aesthetics
If getting stronger, fitter and more capable isn’t part of the goal, my heart probably isn’t in it. I’m here to help you build a body that can do more. Looking different can be a lovely side effect — but it’s not the whole point.

5. Stick rigidly to the plan
Because you’re a human, not a robot.
Bad night’s sleep? Awful day at work? Pain or a ni**le? Feeling completely wiped out?
We adapt.

The programme is there to serve you — not the other way around.

Cancer treatment can take a lot from you. Your strength, energy, confidence in what your body can do.

So, what’s the point of training when you have cancer?
Exercise during and after treatment can help you maintain strength and muscle, support your physical function, manage fatigue, improve mental wellbeing and help you stay connected to the things you enjoy doing.

Importantly, it can be adapted.
Some days that might mean strength training.
Some days it might mean a walk.
Some days it might mean doing less — or nothing at all.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to exercising through cancer treatment. If you’re going through cancer treatment and want to know how exercise could be safely adapted for you, reach out.

Weekend ⚖️ 🚲🍕🎪💪🏼🥂🌅

I nearly let a few bad days convince me that everything I’ve done to get to this point was for nothing.
That’s how quickly my brain can go from “I’m disappointed with that session” to “I’m putting all this effort in and I’m STILL not getting better.”

Training doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Sleep, stress, nutrition, life, hormones, work, kids, and a hundred other things can affect how you perform on any given day.
And sometimes… you just have a s**t session. It doesn’t mean you’ve lost your strength, gone backwards, or that your efforts have been wasted. Something I preach to my clients week in, week out, but have a hard time applying to myself. 

Sometimes you have a s**t session, sometimes everything just CLICKS. For me, yesterday was a great reminder of that.
A failed lift (or 3) and a few disappointing sessions weren’t evidence that I wasn’t progressing.
They were just difficult days. We want progress to look like a nice upward line, but the reality is more ↗️↘️↗️↘️↘️↗️↗️↘️↗️

So if you’re in a bit of a slump at the moment, don’t make a permanent judgement about your progress based on a temporary feeling.
Keep going. Make the small adjustments you can. Give yourself time. Look how far you’ve come.

Credit to Rachel Taylor and Leona Jessica for putting up with my sulky behaviour and helping me out of the hole 🕳️🫶🏻

Meet Sophie. 📸💜
As a wedding photographer, her job is far more physical than most people realise.
One day she’s carrying heavy camera equipment, squatting for the perfect shot, walking thousands of steps and spending 10+ hours on her feet.
The next, she’s sat behind a screen editing for hours.
Strength training helps with both.
It gives her the strength and endurance she needs for busy wedding days, while improving mobility and helping counteract the stiffness that comes with long editing sessions.
Sophie is also dealing with various injuries and pain. While exercise isn’t a cure, finding the right type of training has become an important part of helping her manage symptoms, stay resilient and continue doing the job she loves.
This is why I love strength training.
It’s not about chasing PBs or looking a certain way.
It’s about building a body that’s capable of supporting the life you want to live.
What does being stronger help you do? 💪

July July. A bit of this, a bit of that. Strong month