Pete Gawtry Fitness

Only train once or twice a week and feel a bit guilty about it?

A 2025 review of 21 studies looked at people who pack their exercise into one or two sessions a week. Their risk of dying early was 23% lower than people who do next to nothing, and close to the 30% seen in people who train most days.

The catch: those one or two sessions have to be proper ones. Full body, compound lifts, weights going up over time.

I've written the whole thing up, including where the research falls short. New on the blog: pg-fitness.co.uk/do-you-really-need-to-train-every-day

Personal Trainer of the Year. Again.

The CorporateLiveWire Global Awards have named me Personal Trainer of the Year for 2026/27. That is the twelfth industry award in five years, and the fourth time I have been named the UK's Best PT.

These ones are judged, not voted for. A panel looks at what the coaching actually involves, what happens to the people who go through it, and whether it holds up year after year rather than for one good season.

Which means a fair chunk of this belongs to the people I train. The panel was looking at your results, not my opinions.

Nothing changes tomorrow. Same studio in North Leeds, same early start, same people getting stronger. The trophies are just the receipts.

pg-fitness.co.uk

'Fibremaxxing' is doing the rounds — and for once it's a trend worth copying.

Most of us get about 20g of fibre a day. The target's 30g, and only about 4 to 9% of us actually hit it. It's one of the cheapest, simplest things you can do for fat loss and feeling full — and no, you don't need a powder or a £40 gut drink. A normal supermarket shop does it.

Half a tin of beans is 8g. Two slices of wholemeal, 5g. A jacket potato with the skin on, 4g. Build it up over about three weeks rather than overnight, drink a bit more water, and your gut handles it fine.

I've put a full 30g day from a normal shop on the blog: https://pg-fitness.co.uk/fibremaxxing

It's official — my app is live on the App Store. 🎉

Everything in one place: your plan with every exercise properly demonstrated, food logging with a barcode scanner, weigh-ins and photos — and the new PG League. Everything you log scores points every week, and I'm on the board too, from my own real training. Beat my week and everyone knows about it.

Clients — check your email, everything you need to get in is there. On Android? Google Play version is coming soon, and the same app runs from your browser until then.

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/pete-gawtry-fitness/id6788908946

As a kid I ended up with twelve metal fillings. For years afterwards I carried a low, flat mood that never had an obvious cause.

About twenty years ago I had them all taken out, properly, by a specialist dentist. In the months that followed, the fog lifted. I can't prove one caused the other. I can only tell you the order it happened in.

I've written the full story up on the blog. What amalgam fillings actually are, where else these metals turn up (tuna, rice, dark chocolate, even protein powder), and the honest version of getting them out. Where the evidence behind my own choices is thin, I say so.

One thing before you read it: if you think metals might be a problem for you, talk to your GP first. Test, don't guess.

Full story here:

Heavy Metals: The Hidden Load — My Story Twelve amalgam fillings, twenty years of detoxing, and a depression that finally lifted. Where heavy metals hide and what the evidence actually says.

You've probably seen the "cortisol belly" videos - the 10-minute morning routine that "melts" your middle, the teas, the gummies. One of them's had over 300,000 views this week.

Let me save you the money.

Cortisol is real, and long-term stress and bad sleep genuinely can nudge your appetite and where you store fat. That bit's true. But "cortisol belly" as it's sold online is diet culture in a lab coat:

- You can't spot-reduce fat off your belly. No routine, drink or breathing drill does it
- Most people carrying belly fat have perfectly normal cortisol
- Your fat isn't secretly sabotaging your diet 24/7

What actually shrinks a belly is boring and it works: a slight protein-led calorie deficit, strength training to hold your muscle, decent sleep, a daily walk, and going easier on the wine. Manage stress because it's good for you - just don't expect it to melt your middle.

The honest breakdown: pg-fitness.co.uk/cortisol-belly-truth

Seen the cortisol-belly stuff pop up on your

'Cortisol belly': what's actually true, and what's diet culture in a lab coat Cortisol is real, and chronic stress does nudge appetite and belly fat in some people. But 'cortisol belly' as it's sold online is fear-marketing. Here's the honest version, and what actually works.

I'm going to say something that might not be popular.

I'm a personal trainer, and I'm not a fan of the weight-loss jabs.

Not because they don't work - they clearly do. It's how fast they're handed out, and how little people are told before they start. Most get them off a quick online form and walk away thinking the only downside is a bit of nausea.

Here's what rarely makes the sales pitch:

- A rare eye condition (NAION) that can cause sudden vision loss - now on the label
- Bone-density loss, the last thing you want through the menopause
- Up to 40% of the weight you lose can be muscle, not fat
- More than 3,800 lawsuits in the US over stomach paralysis and gut damage

I'm not here to judge anyone. If you've decided a jab is right for you, that's between you and your doctor. What I can do is help you come out the other side strong instead of wrecked - because the muscle you lose is the bit nobody warns you about, and it's the bit that decides whether the weight stays off.

So I've written the honest version - three guides, no scare tactics:

1. The muscle-loss trap: pg-fitness.co.uk/mounjaro-ozempic-muscle-loss-trap

2. How much protein you actually need: pg-fitness.co.uk/how-much-protein-on-weight-loss-jabs

3. For women through the menopause: pg-fitness.co.uk/menopause-weight-loss-jabs-womens-guide

Genuinely curious - would you take one, or have you? No judgement either

On Mounjaro or Ozempic? The Muscle-Loss Trap Nobody Warned You About I'm not a fan of the weight-loss jabs, and the side effects don't get talked about enough. But if you're taking them, here's how to protect the muscle you're losing without realising.

Creatine is having a "moment" with women right now - and most of what you're being sold is nonsense.

Here's the honest version from someone who isn't flogging you a tub:

You do NOT need a special "women's creatine." The pink "for her" pots are the same plain creatine monohydrate as the normal tub, with a markup and a nicer label. Don't pay for it.

A few things that are actually true:

- It's one of the very few supplements with real evidence behind it - for strength, and increasingly for brain, mood and bone, which matter more through the menopause
- The dose is 3-5g a day, every day. No "loading", no cycling, no gummies
- The little jump on the scales is water inside the muscle, not fat. That's the point of it
- The hair-loss scare comes from one tiny old study on male rugby players. It's never been repeated

It's the cherry, not the cake though. It does nothing on its own - lift, eat your protein, then let creatine top it off.

Full honest guide (including the myths and the rip-offs): pg-fitness.co.uk/creatine-for-women-over-40

Are you taking it, or been put off by the

Creatine for women over 40: the honest guide (and the 'special women's creatine' rip-off) Creatine monohydrate is the one supplement with real evidence behind it — but the pink 'for women' versions are a rip-off, and it's useless without the lifting and the food. Here's the honest guide.