Revolution Personal Training Studios Blog

Our Top 3 Transformations in 2011

2012-01-05T20:53:00.014Z

Anna lost 3 stone in 12 weeks

"When I started training at Revolution, I felt a little bit nervous about a new experience, but the atmosphere was so welcoming and encouraging that I soon became very excited about starting my training. I received a lot of motivation and support from my personal trainer, Bex, as well as all the other trainers in the studio. Everyone is happy about my achievements and that keeps me going. The trainers are friendly and full of joy, the atmosphere is great - it is nothing like training in a regular gym, where everyone looks at the TV and listens to their own music. Training at Revolution is for me like a social time which does not leave me with big hangover the following day, but with a great boost to my energy levels.

I love training with Bex. Every session with her is hard work, which brings great results and big satisfaction. I never would have thought I could do some of the things I can do now, but with Bex’s experience, skills, patience and reassuring approach it seems anything is possible.

I have been training at Revolution since the end of January 2011. My lifestyle has changed. I have been eating more sensibly, I have been exercising more, my energy level has gone up, I have been generally more positive and happy. I feel great. I feel healthy, fit, strong and more confident. I can say that one of my wishes has come true. Before I started training at Revolution, I was one of those people who wanted to be slim and fit but I did not believe I had strength to do it. Now I look at myself in the mirror and I say: ‘I did it!’

The team at Revolution will be able to help you to achieve your goal. I highly recommend their services. So what are you waiting for?"

Anna Kotek

Dan lost 7% body fat and gained a 6 pack in 12 weeks
"I recently turned 30 and to convince everyone - not least myself - that I was still young, I decided to run a marathon and couple of triathlons.

‘All the gear and no idea’ summed my approach up. But I did manage to whip up some self-discipline from somewhere within, and ramped up my training over the past 16 months.

I was training 6 times a week and getting good results; I lost weight, felt fitter and was able to improve my race times, but it was a long, hard slog. And I couldn't shift the tyre round my waist, no matter how many crunches I seemed to do. You could definitely pinch an inch or two or three.

I then hooked up with Will at Revolution. His motivation, training plan and secret diet tips were honestly a revelation. I burnt that tyre away in under 8 weeks, improved my flexibility and general fitness, whilst maintaining muscle mass. It happened all really quickly and pretty effortlessly, particularly when compared with the hard training I had being doing over the previous year.

I love the buzz in and around Revolution. The team are really motivating and make the sessions fun. Will varied each work-out and gradually increased the intensity over the 12 weeks. I honestly can't believe the results.

I'd like to thank Will and everyone at Revolution for helping me with my goals over the past 12 weeks. And for making it really fun too. There's a lot of great banter in the studio, which helps you to forget how hard they're making you work."

Daniel Larcey

Erin went from size 16 to size 8 in 12 weeks

"After 3 years of a 'work hard, play hard' lifestyle in London, I realised that I had become a slightly "jigglier" version of my former self. I had always been quite active, involved in dance, beach volleyball, ice hockey etc, but at the age of 34, I had graduated to a dress size 16 - the largest I have ever been. With an imminent move back home to Toronto, I needed to spring into action. After weeks of dabbling in cardio, classes at the gym and altering my calorie intake (with minimal signs of improvement), I decided to seek guidance from Revolution Personal Training Studios.

I had seen their advertisements at Angel tube and outside the Business Design Centre, and was skeptical that they could really make that much of a difference, but what did I have to lose? The specific measurable goals that I set with Giuseppe's coaching during our first session seemed quite daunting, but I was assured that they were realistic and achievable. After the first week I began to feel the difference in my energy levels, and by week 3 I was well on my way to seeing real results. My Wednesday and Friday evening sessions at Revolution quickly became the highlights of my week. I was feeling great, getting results and having a fabulous time. Everyone at the studio took a real interest in my progress and I truly felt that both Giuseppe and I had ownership of achieving my goals. The results I have achieved have not come without hard work and commitment, although Giuseppe's coaching and motivation were the catalyst. I smashed my goal at 12 weeks. Praise and gratitude to everyone at Revoluton PTS!!!"

Erin Cooney

End of my 12 Week Transformation

2011-11-01T21:01:00.010Z

Before and after...

So the end of my 12 weeks has finally arrived, and for once I'm not going to write too much as I think my after picture (on the right) speaks for itself.

Just wanted to thank all the trainers and clients at Revolution for their continued mickey taking, banter and at times support. Particular thanks go to Neil McGuigan, Giuseppe DiCredico and my brother John, but most importantly a big thanks to Mrs G for putting up with my moods when I couldn't have a caramel slice.

I'm going to summarise my 12 week transformation over the weekend, as I'm too busy promoting the Revolution white collar boxing show on Thursday night at the Troxy (for tickets call 020 7288 6121) to do it this week.

Cheers
Rob G

Never go out drinking with a mad Irishman and a crazy northern lass!

2011-10-22T15:23:00.004+01:00

On Thursday night, I was invited to celebrate the Business Design Centre being open as a business centre for 25 years. Over the 6 years that Revolution has been open, I’ve built up great relationships with the Morris brothers who own the BDC, and Dominic Jones who is the CEO, and thought it would be great fun to join them for their celebrations.

With this in mind, I ate perfectly all day and had a plan to say ‘no’ to all the lovely food on offer, but to say yes to 2 glasses of red wine. I was joined by my good friend and senior Revolution trainer Neil McGuigan. For those of you who don’t know Neil, he is someone who works hard but likes to play even harder.

The party was fantastic, and as a business owner I found it really inspirational. Stories were told of how the family business started and how - against all odds - it succeeded to become a huge success and also one of London’s iconic buildings.

I was on track to stick to my 2 glasses of wine, but then Neil hit me with the old classic “one for the road mate”. Well, it was never going to be just one more, especially when you’re out with Neil. After several glasses of pink champagne (I was including that under the ‘red wine’ banner) and more wine, we headed out of the party and down to the gym to grab our bags and head on home. Not sober by any means, but certainly not sozzled.

That’s when we bumped into Bex Maslin, London's top female trainer, locking up the gym after a late finish. We all looked at each other and said “one drink in the nags head?”. Well, the rest is a blur but I’m going to call it power drinking. Within no time at all, there were 3 empty bottles of red wine on the table, more drinking followed but I can’t honestly remember what it was.

I was in no fit state to get a tube home, and thought sleeping in the gym was a good idea. I sneaked past the BDC security and went to sleep on the physio’s couch. A terrible night’s sleep was followed by a horrific hangover. How Bex was back in the gym for her 5.30am session, I’ll never know.

Yesterday was damage limitation, and considering my hangover I ate well yesterday, and to coin a phrase from ex football manager and TV pundit Ian Dowie, I’m going to show my ‘bouncebackability’. This is exactly what I’m going to eat today.:

7.30am – black coffee, no sugar
8am – porridge made with water and squeeze of Manuka honey
12 noon – 1 organic chicken breast, sweet potato, carrots and broccoli
3pm – 2 Brazil nuts, 4 almonds and a black coffee
6pm – baked fillet of cod with stir fried green vegetables
9pm – green tea

What lessons have I learnt?

1. There’s no one so easy to fool as yourself. I was never going to have just 2 drinks. Once you’ve fallen off, don’t worry about it, just get back on track as quickly as possible.

2. Never go out for a drink with an Irishman and northern lass on a school night.

Cheers,
Rob G

Week 11, Day 3 of my 12 Week Transformation

2011-10-19T21:34:00.010+01:00

Nutrition
6.30am - 2 Brazil nuts, 4 almonds and a 35ml Yakult yogurt drink

7.15am - white Americano, no sugar

10am - 4 poached eggs, a large handful of spinach and half a tin of kidney beans in chilli sauce

12 noon - 10 almonds and a spoon of organic coconut

2.15pm - Mexican black beans, peppers, onions, chicken breast, steak, sour cream, cheese and avocado

4pm - white coffee

6.30pm - large fillet of salmon with a Greek salad and avocado

9.30pm - mug of green tea

Training (legs and shoulders)
Deadlift - 6 sets of 10 reps at 80kg
Arnie press - 4 x 12 at 17.5kg

Shoulder blast, called 'around the world':
- Lat raise, hands start at hips, 3 x 7 at 4kg (super set with below)
- Lat raise, hands start at lower back, 3 x 7 at 4kg (super set with below)
- Db reverse fly, 3 x 7 at 4kg

Cheers,

Rob G

Week 11, Day 2 of my 12 Week Transformation

2011-10-18T22:05:00.005+01:00

Long day and late finish, so I'm just going to write down what I ate today:

8am - 2 Brazil nuts, 4 almonds and a Yakult yogurt drink

8.30am - porridge made with water, and squeeze of manuka honey

9am - white americano coffee with no sugar

12.15pm - micro whey protein shake after training

2pm - chicken breast with salad of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, sprinkling of feta cheese and three quarters of a tin of kidney beans in chilli sauce.

4.45pm - black coffee with no sugar

5.30pm - a mouthful of chicken breast with a very small bit of salad left over from lunch

8.30pm - 4 egg omlette with side salad and a cup of green tea

Training
6 x 2 minute boxing rounds on the pads with my brother John
4 x 600m runs at 18km an hour (with 1 minute recovery in between) on the treadmill

Cheers,

Rob G

Week 11, Day 2 of my 12 week Transformation

2011-10-18T12:45:00.009+01:00

The Final Push!

After a great trip to see the sights of New York, I return with just 2 weeks left of my 12 week transformation. In my last blog post I spoke about how I was finding the training and nutrition easy, but I’m challenging myself to eat super clean for the remainder of my 12 week transformation and I’m going to blog exactly what I eat and what I do for training every day for these last 14 days to keep myself honest.

Here is what I ate yesterday:

5.30am – Yalkult yogurt + 2 Brazil nuts and 4 almonds

6.30am – black coffee with no sugar

8.30am – porridge made with water and small squeeze of honey

10.00am –Micro whey protein shake straight after training

12.30pm – organic chicken breast with sweet potato, broccoli and carrots and half an avocado

3pm – black coffee with no sugar

4pm – 8 almonds and a cup of green tea

7.30pm – Fillet of baked cod with stir fried vegetables cooked in organic butter (broccoli, red pepper, asparagus, courgette)

8.30pm – green tea and slice of lemon

Training
As you may remember, the last 4 weeks of the Revolution 12 week transformation is where we enter the circuit phase of training. I’ve tailored my programme so I do 3 weight training days (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and two days of very high intensity cardio training (Tuesday and Thursday) of either 6 x 600m sprints or boxing.

Today was chest and back, and even though that is classically used for hypertrophy I created the circuit-style feel by increasing my rep range to 15 or over, and by super-setting every exercise.

Bench Press (4 x 20/15/15/15), superset with chin ups (4 x 15/12/10/8)

Incline bench press (4 x 20/15/15/15) superset with seated close row (4 x 20/15/15/15)

Db chest flys (4 x 20/15/15/15), superset with wide bent over row (4 x 20/15/15/15)

Dips (3 x 15), superset with close grip chin ups (3 x 15)

I was taken through my workout today by my business partner Giuseppe, and when I was unable to get to my 15 rep goal he made sure I did. Believe me, Giuseppe is not a man to be messed with!

Cheers,

Rob G

Week 9, Day 3 of my 12 Week Transformation

2011-10-05T19:59:00.004+01:00

Routine
I’ve been trying to work out why I haven’t blogged more over the last few weeks. Is it my inherent laziness? Or is it some other reason that is perhaps entirely reasonable?

And then I realised - and I want to say this in a way that doesn’t sound too arrogant - that the truth is, I’m finding the training and eating plans all very easy. I must clarify this by saying that it’s not that I’m not pushing myself every time I train, as I can honestly say that I’m training harder and harder. It’s just that I know exactly what is required in order to get results.

I have found that seeing my progress through my measurements is highly motivating, and once you have built a platform of success to build from it is really encouraging, which makes continuing to make the right nutritional choices and getting out of bed to train seem routine.

And routine is indeed the right word. Here is the routine I have at the moment in relation to food, and I hope you might find it of some use yourself. Obviously adapt it to suit you and your life. You can also read more about the Revolution 12 week transformation diet, in the words of my brother and business partner John, in our latest newsletter.

• On Sunday, I go shopping and buy the following: 7 Yakult yogurts, Brazil nuts and almonds, 2 chicken breasts, white fish, eggs, porridge, salad and plenty of vegetables.

• On Sunday night I cook a chicken breast, sweet potato and broccoli for the next day’s lunch.

• On Monday morning, when I wake up I have a Yakult yogurt, 2 Brazil nuts and 4 almonds (I start every day like this), and 2 hours later eat porridge with water and a squeeze of honey. 4 hours after that I have the chicken breast etc that I made the night before. For my evening meal, I will have oven baked white fish with green veg and try to avoid carbohydrate. If you do feel like you need some carbohydrate, have a small portion of brown rice.

• On Monday night, I will also prepare my lunch for Tuesday - cook one chicken breast, one portion of brown rice (75 grams approx) and put together a salad.

• On Tuesday, I have the Yakult etc then porridge etc (you see why I’m finding it so easy), then 4 hours after I’ve eaten the porridge I will have the chicken breast etc which I cooked the night before. And for my evening meal, I’ll have a 3 egg omelette with a side salad.

• On Wednesday, I buy my food out as I’m growing tired of making my food in the evening by now. So I’ll have the Yakult etc as usual first thing. Then later I treat myself to one slice of granary toast with 2 poached eggs and 2 rashers of well done bacon. At lunch, I go to my local cafe (the same one I had breakfast in) and have grilled chicken with a Greek salad and half a jacket potato. In the evening I get back to cooking again, and have a chicken stir fry with vegetables (you’ll need to go shopping on Wednesday to buy Thursday and Friday’s food).

• For Thursday, Friday and Saturday, just repeat Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I personally will have salmon on Thursday night instead cod, and feel free to mix up the vegetables as you see fit.

In reality, I’m a fairly boring person. I like my routine and I just find this so easy to stick to, and my results are quite honestly excellent. And my point is this. If you want to have loads of fun, then don’t read my blog and don’t follow the Revolution eating plans. If, however, you do want to transform your body and you do want to feel healthier than you have in years, then follow our advice because it works.

Don’t forget that Sunday is the day you can eat whatever you want, and I like to eat so much rubbish that come Monday morning I don’t want to see another piece of chocolate for at least.......... well at least another 6 days.

I was going to talk about my training now, but I fear I’ve lost people already so I’ll save that ‘til next time, which is just after I get back from New York. “New York?” I hear you say. Maybe I’m not as boring as I thought I was!

Cheers,

Rob G

Week 8, Day 1 of my 12 Week Transformation

2011-09-26T20:05:00.010+01:00

Goal Setting - The Revolution Way

I’m now at the half way point of my 12 week transformation, and my results so far are in. My weight when I started was 89.2kg, and now it is 85.2kg so that’s 4kg lost (or in old money, 9 pounds). My body fat started at 17.7% and is now down to 14%, and I’ve lost exactly 2 inches from my waist. I’m bang on target to hit my goal of under 10% body fat and feeling highly motivated to train and eat right.

This brings me nicely on to what I really wanted to talk about in this blog post. Since Revolution opened in 2005, our company has helped thousands of people transform their bodies and achieve their goals. But why do some people totally transform their bodies whilst other people, who have all the same access to dietary advice and training plans, cannot?

Firstly, you simply have to stop making excuses. It does sound a little harsh, but it’s true. “I’m really busy”, “I work crazy hours”, “I’ve got 3 young kids”, “I’ve got a bad back”, “I haven’t got time to cook”. Believe me, over the 10 years I’ve been a personal trainer, I’ve heard them all. And if I’m honest, I’ve said at least 2 of the above myself.

Secondly, I think the reason some people who have been unable to change their bodies physically has been due to their inability to control their emotions. There is nothing wrong with enjoying a beer or a chocolate bar, but the problem comes when we find ourselves having these things when we don’t really want them. I can say from personal experience that before I started my 12 week transformation, I found myself eating high sugar snacks every night. This is a classic example of our emotions taking over our logical thoughts. We know that what we are eating is bad for us, and we don’t even want the food we are putting into our bodies, yet we still eat it.

The answer lies in our ability to set goals in a way that provides us with clarity and purpose. When we set a goal which excites us and we know exactly what we want to achieve, we stop making excuses and more importantly we get the power of our emotions working for us rather than against us.

I could write pages and pages on how to set goals, but instead I’m going to give you a fast-track lesson on how to set goals the Revolution way.

1. Know exactly what you want to achieve and over what time frame. Remember that the more clarity you have, the more likely you are to achieve your goal.

2. Why do you want to achieve your goal? The ‘why’ is the emotional pull, so don’t underestimate its power. Be really honest with yourself.

3. Asses your progress by taking a waist measurement or weighing yourself every 3-4 weeks (or any other evaluation which is applicable to your goals).

4. Visualise what you want to achieve, and if you’re someone who is not good at visualisation, then simply find a picture of someone you want to look like and put it on your fridge.

I thought I'd finish this blog post with some 'before and after' photos of a couple of a Revolution clients, Sarah and Moshe, who achieved amazing results by following the Revolution system of goal setting, training and nutrition.

Cheers,

Rob
Revolution

Week 7, Day 1 of my 12 Week Transformation

2011-09-19T13:00:00.011+01:00

Food for the week

As I approach the half-way point of my 12 week transformation, I’d like to share some more nutritional advice. In fact what I thought I’d do today is show you a photo of exactly what I bought from the supermarket yesterday, and pick out a few selected items of the foods and explain their health benefits.

Eggs – contain 6 grams of protein each and contain all 9 essential amino acids.

Butter – naturally high in vitamin A, it also helps with the absorption of other vitamins, specifically D,E & K.

Pumpkin seeds – high in zinc (particularly important for male fertility) as well as loaded with protein.

Almonds – high in protein and quality monounsaturated fat, which helps to lower blood pressure.

Brazil nuts – contain the mineral Selenium which boosts the immune system and is vital for the production of testosterone.

Chicken – contains approximately 30 grams of protein per breast.

Blueberries – high in vitamin C and antioxidants.

Bananas – really high in potassium, which helps to regulate blood pressure.

Sweet potato – my own personal favourite vegetable. It’s as slow releasing in terms of energy as oats, and is packed full of fibre and vitamins.

Avocado – contains monounsaturated fats that help lower the cholesterol, and has high levels of fibre so you feel fuller for longer.

Broccoli – packed with vitamin C, which aids with iron absorption. Also high in fibre, which can help to reduce cholesterol.

The other foods in the photo are: natural yoghurt, Yakult, carrots, bok choy, peppers, porridge, tomatoes, brown rice, cod, cottage cheese, lemon, spinach and mushrooms.

I now feel totally in control of what I am eating and when. I will talk about the health benefits of some of the other foods in the photo later this week.

Cheers,

Rob
Revolution

Week 6, Day 3 of my 12 Week Transformation

2011-09-13T15:24:00.014+01:00

After a week’s holiday at Centre Parcs with the family, I’m now back and feeling great about the next stage of my 12 week transformation.

While I was away I didn’t put a single pound of weight on, which I have to say with plenty of temptation around wasn’t easy. I reminded myself of my goals and that’s how I was able to say no to the ice creams, beers and pancakes (apart from on Sunday of course!). That’s the thing I’ve said previously, will-power is not some magic formula blessed to a few. Anyone, and I mean anyone , can have incredible will-power and achieve amazing results if they have a goal which excites them and a clear plan of action.

Before I talk more about my next phase if training I’d like to show you a video of one of the exercises I recorded during the conditioning phase. It’s called a jockey row, and it’s a fantastic exercise to relieve tightness in the lower back and improve posture.

Second 4 weeks of training - hypertrophy (improved muscle tone)
The training phase changes at this point to give the body a new stimulus. This training phase is called hypertrophy, which means using resistance based exercises to increase the body’s lean muscle and also to increase muscular tone.

For women worried about ‘bulking up’ during this phase, there really isn’t any need as the building block of muscle is testosterone and 99% of women won’t produce enough testosterone to build significant muscle. You can read more about this in the article written by Rebecca Maslin in Revolution’s July newsletter.

By adding lean quality muscle to the body, the basal metabolic rate is increased. This is the rate at which you burn calories at rest. For every pound of muscle you have, you burn 16 calories at rest per hour. For every pound of fat you have, you only burn 2 calories at rest per hour.

What the above really means is that by lifting weights and eating right, you will inevitably reduce body fat whilst also shaping and sculpting the body. Although cardiovascular exercise should obviously be a key part of any training schedule, weight training should always play an important part too. And as I have already emphasised, this is for both men and women.

I can’t finish this post holiday blog without the mention of a few classic moments with my parents. As I explained in my last post, my parents follow their own set of nutritional rules, which aren’t entirely in line with the ones I am following during this 12 week transformation. The day after we arrived, I asked my Mum if she had brought any green tea bags. She replied with “no, but I can make you a latte if you like?” Another gem was when I told my dad I was off the beers, to which he replied “Alright. I’ll just pour you a whiskey then.”

Cheers,

Rob
Revolution

Week 4, Day 5 of my 12 Week Transformation

2011-09-02T09:57:00.003+01:00

As I come to the end of my first 4 weeks of training, I'm posting up a video that shows me performing a cross lunge. It's a great exercise when done properly to work the muscles of the glutes. When you get the glutes firing it can have the effect of easing lower back pain and also to tone those buttocks - and let's be honest, who wouldn't want that!

Yesterday, Giuseppe and I recorded 2 more exercises which I wanted to post up today, but I'm off on holiday to the exoctic location of Centre Parcs and my wife says we need to leave now! So I'll post those two videos when I return in 1 week.

I'm also faced with the challange of eating well whilst on holiday, which is made all the more difficult as I'm not only going on holiday with my wife and daughter, but also my parents. And my parents follow some of their own nutritional rules:

1) you can't go longer than 12 minutes without putting the kettle on

2) always clear your plate, as there are children starving in the world

3) a salad should always include bread, cheese and colslaw

4) an 'alcohol free day' means only have 1 bottle of wine (and maybe one or two beers)

5) and lastly, a full English breakfast is the best way to start the day!

I'll let you know how I get on.

Cheers,

Rob

Revolution

Week 4, Day 4 of my 12 Week Transformation

2011-09-01T09:57:00.008+01:00

The Conditioning Phase of Training

So as I near the end of the first 4 weeks of my 12 week transformation, as promised I am going to review the training I've been doing. A couple of blog posts ago I broke down the 12 weeks of training into 3 different training phases. I'm going to start by explaining the first phase of training which is called conditioning.

Conditioning (core strength and flexibility) - what does it mean? And what are the benefits to me?

The majority of clients come to us when they haven't exercised regularly for a long time, or they have been exercising but are suffering from lower back pain, knee pain, shoulder pain, neck pain or any other similar condition, whether mild or worse. You don’t have to be Albert Einstein to work out that the last thing you need if you are someone who falls into one of the above categories is to push your body really hard and exacerbate the existing problem.

During the first 4 weeks of training, we design a conditioning exercise programme specific to your body’s needs. It could include squatting and lunge movements performed to fire on the glutes (posh word for buttocks) and hamstrings, and to take pressure off your back. It could include rotational movements to free up your thoracic spine to alleviate mid-back stiffness and possibly hip flexor stretches to immediately ease lower back pain.

What I have mentioned above is really just the start. The purpose of the conditioning phase is to get your body moving how it was designed to, and not only take away old injuries but also to prevent your body breaking down as the training intensity increases through the 12 weeks. The benefits then obviously become clear - if your body is moving pain-free and the correct muscles are working when required, then your chances of achieving your goal are greatly increased.

My business partner, Giuseppe, has been training me through my conditioning phase and he has given me a programme which has left me feeling great. My lower back niggle has gone, my glutes are firing on while I’m running, squatting and lunging and my posture has improved. Within the next couple of days, I will post some videos of some of the exercises that Giuseppe has had me doing during the conditioning phase. I’m now ready for my next phase of training!

I almost wrote a blog post without talking about nutrition at all, but in the end I just couldn’t resist it. During the first 4 weeks of training, some people think their bodies won’t change if they don’t flog themselves until they are sick. This is not true! What you eat is so important. I’ve lost half a stone in 3 weeks by eating clean natural foods for 6 days of the week, and 1 day a week of eating whatever I want. If you’re thinking it’s easier for me as I’m a trainer, well I’m sorry I’m not buying it.

Remember the rules:

1. Remind yourself of your goal and make sure achieving that goal is exciting to you

2. Plan, plan, plan your meals

3. Always read Rob’s blog

Cheers,
Rob
Revolution

Week 3, Day 7 of my 12 Week Transformation

2011-08-28T08:06:00.006+01:00

So the results of my first measurements are in, and I'm delighted with my progress so far. My starting weight was 88.9kg and my weight is now 85.7kg, which means I've lost just over 3kg - or in old money, half a stone.

I've lost 1 and a half inches from my waist and reduced my body fat from 17.7% down to 15.1%. It's also great to know that I've managed to lose weight but maintain and build muscle, as proven by my bicep measurement going up from 14 and 3 quarter inches to 15 inches and my chest measurement staying the same.

This has all happened in less than 3 weeks, and so I'm well on my way to my 12 week target of a weight of 82.7kg and body fat of under 10%.

Today was supposed to have been my cheat day where I get to eat whatever I want, but my wife and I were invited to a barbecue with friends yesterday and after about 30 seconds of resisting the crisps and dips on the table, I decided to switch my cheat day from Sunday to Saturday. I can safely say it was the right decision, as I wolfed down burgers, sausages and garlic bread. However, the crowning moment was when two 2 chocolate and cream desserts were brought out, and it's fair to say I didn't hold back. It can only be described as insanity on a plate.

When I first spoke about having a cheat day where you can eat whatever you want and still totally transform your body, it was all theory, but now my results prove that it works. Having said that, 6 days of having not much more than fish, chicken and veg can be tough so that's the time to keep your goal at the forefront of your mind. That's certainly what I'll be doing!

Week 3, Day 3 of my 12 week transformation

2011-08-24T21:29:00.004+01:00

Don't make a Moussaka out of a molehill!

I said that my next post was going to be on the training I'm undertaking during my 12 week transformation, but at the studio clients keep asking me about nutrition. so with that in mind I'm going to do one more nutrition post before writing about the training.

Today I ate the following;

6am - 2 brazil nuts, 2 almonds and a yakult yogurt drink

7am - americano with a dash of milk

8am - half a banana, before a fast 6k run with the nut case that is Tim Wise

10.20am - porridge made with water, squeeze of honey and chopped banana

12 noon - black coffee

2.20pm - grilled chicken breast from Albanian cafe (almost certainly not organic chicken), rice and salad

4.30pm - half a banana (for some reason I couldn't stop eating bananas today)

7.30pm - home-made lamb Moussaka, made by my wife's fair hand, with carrots and broccoli

9.30pm - 10 squares of Green & Blacks dark chocolate

The point I made with my headline is to reiterate the point I've made previously. I like eating good, wholesome food and I'm not prepared to give it up for anyone, but I am prepared to eat well 80% of the time. There are times when you will need to say 'no' and make sacrifices, but the results will be worth it!

I'm taking my measurements on Friday, so will give full results then but I know from weighing myself earlier today that I've lost approximately half a stone. And I'll be perfectly honest, it's a lot harder to lose weight and reduce body fat when you're starting from a relatively low base.

If you've read the blog and have a question or comment, please leave one and also if you have any healthy recipes then we'd love you to share.

Cheers

Rob
Revolution

Week 3, Day 1 of My 12 Week Transformation.

2011-08-22T21:32:00.006+01:00

I've spoken a lot about nutrition, so I wanted to take the chance to talk a little more about the training undertaken during Revolution's 12 week transformation programme:

First 4 weeks of training – conditioning (flexibility and core strength)
In the first 4 weeks of training, we focus on full body compound movements and flexibility training to enable the body to go through the required range of movement. We teach the body to squat, rotate, push, pull and twist. These movements have an immediate effect on changing the shape and composition of the body.

Second 4 weeks of training - hypertrophy (improved muscle tone)
The training phase changes at this point to give the body a new stimulus. This training phase is called hypertrophy, which means using resistance based exercises to increase the body’s lean muscle and also to increase muscular tone.

By adding lean quality muscle to the body, the basal metabolic rate is increased. This is the rate at which you burn calories at rest. For every pound of muscle you have, you burn 16 calories at rest per hour. For every pound of fat you have, you only burn 2 calories at rest per hour.

Third 4 weeks of training – circuit training
This training phase is where we ramp up the intensity, get the heart rate high and reduce rest periods. After 8 weeks of training, our clients will be ready for this and the body responds by burning fat fast! A lot of our clients are also put through boxing training at this stage, which not only allows them to take out life’s stresses with various punching and footwork drills, it’s also one of the most fun ways to get fit.

Today I was taken through a conditioning training session by my business partner Giuseppe, and it really was a fantastic session. Later this week I'm going to run through the exercises Giuseppe selected, and more importantly why he chose those particular exercises.

Cheers
Rob

Revolution in Men's Fitness Magazine

2011-08-18T15:26:00.008+01:00

Revolution appears in the Sports Supplements section of September's edition of Men's Fitness, on page 106.

Here is the text from the article:

Q. Are supplements ever a good alternative to a proper meal?

A. 'Supplements and meal-replacement products, such as protein shakes and bars, can be a quick, easy and convenient way to take on quality nutrition - especially around training - when you don't have time to cook or prepare a proper meal,' says Rob Grim, director of Revolution Personal Training Studios (revolution-pts.com). 'Many products are also designed to be easily absorbed and used by your body, rather than sitting in your stomach awaiting digestion. However, these products are meant only to supplement your daily diet. Whole foods should form the basis of what you eat for optimal health.'

Week 2, day 3 of my 12 week transformation

2011-08-17T21:24:00.006+01:00

I'm well into week 2 of my 12 week transformation and I'm feeling great. I've had several clients talk to me this week about conflicting information that they hear about nutrition.

Firstly, it's worth noting that adherence to a nutrition plan is the most important thing. My goal hasn't been to make my eating perfect, but to vastly improve upon how I was eating prior to starting my 12 week transformation. I once had a meeting with a well respected and highly qualified nutritionist, and she gave me food plans which included squeezing fresh pomegranate juice over salads and making vegetable juices and other incredibly healthy things. The problem is, I was never going to actually do any of what was in her plan - it made me think, if I'm a personal trainer and I'm not going to do it, then how is a busy working mum or a business person who works 15 -16 hour days going to implement what she was suggesting?!

So with that in mind, I would suggest that you keep it simple:

1. avoid biscuits, cakes, high calorie carbonated drinks, sweets etc

2. avoid white bread and white pasta

3. eat quality (complex) carbs such as brown rice and sweet potato

4. regularly eat fresh friut and vegetables, as well as beans and pulses

5. eat organic (where possible) lean quality proteins such as chicken and fish

6. include 'good fats' in your diet, such as avocados and nuts (a quick word on nuts - one portion is 2 brazil nuts or 4 hazelnuts, not 6 or 7 handfulls), sunflower seeds, natural yogurt etc

I mentioned on my last blog that with the Revolution 12 week transformation, on the 7th day each week we can eat whatever we want. I often hear trainers and nutritionalists say 'when you stop eating cakes and treats and drinking beer, after a while you won't want it anymore'. Well, I'm going to let you into a little secret here - they are bullshitters! No amount of green veg, salmon and postive thinking is going to stop me wanting to eat a caramel slice and drink a latte!

So, have whatever you really fancy on that 7th day. Just make sure that come day 1 of the next week, you are ready to get back to the healthy eating.

As I finish this blog on nutrition, I can hear my brother and business partner John saying three words: PLAN, PLAN, PLAN. To clarify what he means - on Sunday each week, write down and plan (and more importantly, go out and buy) the food you're going to eat over the next week!

Rob,
Revolution

Day 7 of my 12 week transformation

2011-08-14T21:39:00.003+01:00

So the end of my first week has come to a close, and I'm really happy with my progress so far. I have my meal and training plans in place and I'm looking forward to next week.

At Revolution we design our food plans so we eat strictly for 6 days, then on the 7th day you can eat whatever you want - we call this 7th day a 'cheat day'. Today I have certainly enjoyed myself - I've had beers, ice creams, chocolate Weetabix and a pork roast dinner (not in that order).

The reason we do this two-fold; firstly after eating so well for 6 days, by having a splurge you are telling your body that it doesn't need to store fat as you are not going to starve it, thus having a positive effect on your metabolism.

Secondly - and I can can say this from personal experience -psychologically when you have one day where you eat whatever you want, you're so much more likley to eat well for the rest of the week. In fact, what I do on my cheat day is to eat as much junk as possible so I don't even want any for the next 6 days!

Lastly, I got to finish my week with a boxing session at the famous Repton boxing club in London's East End. It was such a great experience, and I got to share the ring for a sparring session with Commenwealth gold medalist Ryan Pickard. I've attached a photo of myself (left) and my brother John.

Day 4 of my 12 week transformation

2011-08-11T21:34:00.002+01:00

Not my best day nutritionally, but certainly not a bad day. After a good chat with my brother John, who explained that often when we crave carbohydrate what we really need is good quality fats such as avocado and sunflower seeds, I'll be including them in my meal plans over the next couple of days. We also spoke about about the benefits of including coconut oil in my diet, which I'll be writing about in the next few days.

Here's what I ate today:

8am - porridge made with water and small squeeze of honey

9am - black coffee

12 noon - salmon with Greek salad and brown rice

2pm - English tea with protein bar

4pm - organic chicken breast with Greek salad and small portion of brown rice

8.30pm -1 chicken breast cooked in fajita spice mix with tomato, lettuce, avocado, natural yogurt and small handful of cheddar cheese

9.30pm - green tea with 8 squares of Green & Blacks dark chocolate

Just writing down what I have eaten today has made me realise that I've eaten too much volume of food. Particulary late in the day. Tomorrow I will do better!!

Day 3 of my 12 week transformation

2011-08-10T20:15:00.003+01:00

Well, today has been a really tough day. Alarm went off at 5.00am after finishing late last night. Felt a little bit rough and not sure if that's a bug I'm carrying or just a reaction from my body due to the change in diet and a little more exercise.

In terms of the food I ate today, I pretty much stuck to the plan apart from a couple of rashers of bacon with my poached eggs. Today's nutrition I think is a good example of how to eat if you haven't had time to prepare your food the night before. Clients always tell me how busy they are - but guess what, I'm busy too! I have 2 businesses to run, a 1 hour commute and a 2-year-old daughter who has enough energy to exhaust both me and my wife. The point I'm trying to make is this - if you say you're too busy to eat properly, it's just an excuse.

Here's what I've eaten today:

5.25am - 2 walnuts, 4 hazelnuts, 2 almonds and yakult yogurt drink (35ml)

6.15am - black coffee, no sugar

9.30am - Micro whey protein shake straight after some boxing pad training with my brother John

10.30am - 1 slice of brown toast with 3 poached eggs, 2 rashers of crispy of bacon and mushrooms and a green tea

1.30pm - 180 grams of sliced chicken breast with 3 bean mixed salad (bought from M&S).

2.00pm - large handful of blueberries, a banana and a cup of English tea with a dash of milk

5.45pm - oven baked fillet of salmon with Greek salad (lettuce, cucumber, tomato, red onion, olives, feta cheese and avocado) with brown rice

Lastly, a good tip is to stick to your eating plan but at the time you need to listen to your body. I had quite a large portion of brown rice with my evenng meal tonight as I felt that I needed the extra quality carbohydrate.

Cheers,
Rob
Revolution

Day 2 of my 12 week transformation

2011-08-09T20:56:00.005+01:00

Today's workout was a full body kettlebell workout designed to build lean muscle and burn fat. Kettlebells are also great for conditioning the body by strengthening the often neglected muscles of the posterior, such as glutes, hamstrings and lower back. Kettlebells are also one of the most effective ways to improve core strength.

warm up - 5 mins on treadmill followed by dynamic stretching

2 handed kettlebell swing, 4 x15 - 32kg
Press ups (super set with above), 4 x 12 - n/a
Single arm kb clean + press, 4 x 10 - 24kg
Single arm kb snatch, 4 x 10 - 20kg
Double kb clean + press + hand walk and press ups, 4 x 6 - 20kg
Rower (270m as fast as possible with 1 min recovery) - my times recorded were 50.3 and 52.4 (level 7)

Cool down - light cycle with full body stretch

My nutrition was as follows:

7.30am - 4 hazelnuts, 2 almonds + 2 walnuts

8.30am - Black coffee, no sugar

9.30am - Porridge made with water and a small squeeze of honey

12 noon - 1 large banana + green tea

3.00pm - Micro Whey protein shake straight after training

4.30pm - 1 and a half organic chicken breast with sweet potato, carrots and broccoli

6.00pm - Cup of English tea with milk, no sugar

8.30pm - 4 egg omlette with salad of yellow peppers, spring onion, beetroot, tomato and avocado

Reflecting on my day's eating, I'm really happy with how it's gone, although one adjustment I'm going to make is to add some egg whites into my morning porridge to increase my protein intake. This will help to maintain muscle and aid recovery from training hard.

12 week transformation

2011-08-08T22:08:00.006+01:00

Today I started my very own 12 week transformation. As the Director of Revoluiton, my company has helped so many people transform their bodies in12 weeks. I've now decided that it's time to take my own personal physique to the next level.

At 17% body fat, most people might feel happy with that but I work in an environment where all of the trainers who work at Revolution have body fat at 10% or below. So although my goal is for myself, I'd be lying if I said part of my motivation to improve my body wasn't to show the youngsters how it's done.

I've used Revolution's tried and tested formula to set my goal:

Specifically - I want to get my body fat down to between 7% and 10%, and I want to have a body as good as anyone on the cover of any fitness magazine. In fact, I want to be on the cover of a fitness magazine.

My goal excites me - It's so important that your goal excites you. That is where motivation comes from. At this point, goal setting can become slighty contradictory. I've written before about makimg a goal realistic, although if you set yourself a lame goal then you're never going to make the nutritional and lifestyle changes necessary. That's why I've really challanged myself. I've played pro football, I've fought at the York Hall in a boxing match and I've run a marathon, so why shouldn't I achieve this?

Visualise - I've used the front cover of Men's Fitness to help with my visualisation, and I'm targeting a physique as good as the guy in September's edition (incidently, I've written an article in that edition on page 106).

I'll be posting training videos and loads of helpful tips on how to transform your body in 12 weeks.

Here is what I've eaten today:

5.45am - 4 Hazelnuts, 2 Almonds, 2 Walnuts with a 35ml Yakult yogurt drink

10.00 - Micro Whey protein shake (straight after training)

11.15 - Porridge with water and small amount of honey

14.00 - 1 organic chicken breast, sweet potato, carrotts and brocolli

17.00 - a quarter of organic chicken breast with very small portion of veg from above

19.30 - Fillett of cod with stir fried green veg

Rob Grim, Director and personal trainer of Revolution

Kettlebells and their benefits

2011-07-13T14:52:00.001+01:00

Kettlebells

What Are They?
Kettlebells are one of the most dynamic training tools going. Used by the Russian military among others, the kettlebell trains your body by fully loading and unloading your muscles with the use of controlled momentum focusing on your posterior chain and core muscles, as well as your proprioception. In other words they develop explosive power, cardio vascular fitness, balance and muscle tone in all of the right places. A combination of these elements being trained at the same time with each movement makes for a very effective and efficient way to work out.

So if you’re looking to get a ripped, toned, athletic physique then you should be incorporating kettlebells into your training regime!

Strengthening and Toning
Kettlebell exercises such as swings, snatches and dynamic cleans are explosive moves that allow you to recruit more fast twitch muscle fibres. These are the parts of the muscle responsible for strength and tone as well as speed and power.

Kettlebells in Sport
Think of the crossover to almost every sport out there. If you're playing a game which requires sprint speed alongside fast changes in direction (like football or rugby) then kettlebells are fantastic. Kettlebells are also ideal in training for tennis or swimming, which both require power through range and agility.

Just a Fashion Craze?
I'm not saying you should forsake all other training methods and solely train with kettlebells. But kettlebells are an amazing training tool that can be used by anyone to help them achieve almost any fitness goal. Fads come and go but I'm pleased to say that kettlebells have already stood the test of time and are here to stay!

For more information about training with kettlebells or if you want to get started now, speak to me or your trainer.

Regards,

Giuseppe

Are You In The Breakfast Club?

2011-07-10T13:42:00.000+01:00

Sitting on the 8:05 train from London Euston - first class of course - it got me thinking about breakfast.

‘Breakfast is the most important meal of the day' - fact or myth?

Well, as I was standing in the queue to order a nice morning cup of green tea, the guy in front was ordering a large coffee, a breakfast muffin, muesli with yoghurt and fruit and a bottle of orange juice. Not bad? Well a new statistic has just come out with the information that a bottle of fruit juice contains so much natural sugar that it can't be used as one of your '5 a day' - really?! (sarcastic) For those who are not aware, fruit juice contains natural sugar called fructose. So whilst 1 can of coke contains 10 tea spoons of sugar, a glass of orange juice contains around 8. Not the greatest way to start the day.

Two more topics to hit on before I leave you alone a sit back and watch a film.

1. Breakfast skippers. Don't do it!! We all live busy old lives but this is the biggest sin. Just think, your body has been at rest for roughly 8 hours over night (I wish!) and now it needs nutrients. If not fed, you will not only slow your metabolism but your body will say ‘ok then, I'll hold onto last nights’ meal as fat store!’

2. Breakfast cereal. Short rant: Special K contains roughly 17g sugar per 100g. And now they have added berries and chocolate to that!

All this is just a guide. Enjoy your breakfast, the odd juice or bowl of cereal won't kill you. It's like most things, have things in moderation.

Instead of cereal, why not try a cheeky bowl of porridge, or a couple of poached eggs and 1 bit of brown toast. Both slow release that will keep you fuller for longer!

That's me done, I can now enjoy my ham and cheese croissant. It is my day off, after all!!!

Will Cloke

If you liked this article and want to know any other information please get in touch or come and see us at Revolution

The Revolution team

Talking About A Revolution

2011-06-30T08:47:00.017+01:00

Rob, John and Giuseppe in the Islington Gazette, 21 July 2005

A few days ago on 24th June we celebrated our sixth birthday and I thought it would be a great idea to share our story so far.

Giuseppe, John and I set up the business on 24th June 2005. We were young, incredibly enthusiastic and rather naive. Some have said stupid. We agreed a 5 year lease (seriously, 5 years?! what were we thinking!) at the Business Design Centre, and were armed with our start up funds. This included money scraped together from close friends and family, as well as personal loans since the banks thought that lending money to Revolution was too much of a risk. Bearing in mind that this was back in 2005, when banks were giving homeless people loans to buy a house.

None of us knew the first thing about running a business, but we knew that we didn’t want to work for a large gym chain anymore. We wanted to show clients that by setting goals, giving nutritional advice, taking measurements, assessing progress, and perhaps most importantly having fun, we could help anyone achieve what they wanted to physically.

The early days were exceptionally tough and the three of us worked 16-17 hour days regularly. John had boundless energy and Giuseppe had an unbreakable belief that we would succeed. I was just rather nervous and pensive, although after a while I realised that people mistook this for a savvy business brain.

It was tough getting clients through the door initially, as we hadn’t formulated any kind of marketing plan. So when people did try our free introductory offer, we had to be on top of our game. It wasn’t easy to convince people that they needed what we were offering when there was no-one else in the studio training. However, we did manage to convince people to train with us due to our real passion and desire to help them transform their bodies. This is part of the culture that is still at the core of Revolution today.

In those early days, we even heard on the grapevine that certain companies within the Business Design Centre were taking bets on how long it would be before we went bust. Fortunately, other businesses and people within the BDC gave us a chance.

Paul Morris, one of the five brothers who own the BDC, started training with us a few weeks after we opened. Paul is a fun guy and liked to take the mickey out of us, and I think it surprised and pleased him that we gave him just as much banter back. In some ways this set the tone for how things were to go forward at Revolution.

We made it to our first Christmas and invited all 12 of our clients to a party at the local pub in Camden passage. After a few drinks too many, one of my clients (an Irish girl who will remain nameless) started shadow boxing in the face of one of John’s clients, who it’s fair to say was no shrinking violet. After a bit of laughing and joking, they suddenly got serious and started swapping punches for real! We had to pull them apart and apologise to the pub manager who was understandably unimpressed.

In early 2007 we took on our first trainer, Peter ‘the cowboy’ Sullivan. Peter had built a personal website that included photos of him striking poses in cowboy outfits and other bizarre costumes, as well as some of his homespun philosophy. One piece of gold dust read “unless we have the right teacher in life we will forever crawl within the boundaries delimited by our own ignorance”. In May 2007, Peter hit the headlines in a big way. After chatting up a young lady who worked in a unit opposite Revolution, we asked her out on a date on his behalf. We emailed her a link to his website and said “before you decide if you want to go on a date with me, check out my website”. To cut a long story short, this website went global and within 24 hours Pete was being made fun of from Dubai to Australia to New York. His website received 100,000 hits and he found himself on page 3 of the Evening Standard, in centre page of Saturday’s Mail and featured in many other national publications.

Pete left us to become a world star and in November 2007 Aaron Brandon-Tyrrell replaced him. Aaron has a degree in Sports Science and played rugby for Scotland in the Under 19s Rugby World Cup, so obviously he came with a great reputation. He became a huge hit with the clients at Revolution due to his high standard of training and more importantly his willingness to get involved in the studio’s banter. After one night’s drinking with John, Giuseppe and me, Aaron missed the last train back to Essex, so proceeded to run the 12 miles home at 3am in the morning. This kind of legendry performance set the bench mark for all other trainers to follow.

Sometime towards the end of 2007 we stumbled across a way of advertising that was to prove successful beyond our expectations. Marc Morris, the son of Paul, lost an incredible 5 stone in 12 weeks and we felt we had to share this story with as many people as possible. After calling the local Angel magazine, they agreed to run a feature and for the first time our phone rang off the hook.

Our marketing plan then became very clear and simple – to help people transform their bodies in 12 weeks and advertise their results everywhere within a 1 mile radius of our studio. We displayed a succession of 12 week transformations on the huge billboard outside the Business Design Centre and we continued to increase our client base rapidly. One of our first 12 week transformation 'before and after' posters was of Jon Archer who lost 3 stone:

With the increase in clients came an obvious need to increase our number of trainers. In the summer of 2008 we brought on Will Cloke and Neil McGuigan, or as they are otherwise affectionately known “Bevis and Butthead”. Neil and Will continued the theme of helping clients achieve outstanding results whilst having fun, and they are an integral part of the success Revolution enjoys today as well as our plans for the future.

With a great team developing, in 2009 we doubled our working space by knocking through to the unit next door, and then our goal became to gain more clients and add more trainers. We found two top class trainers in Bex Maslin and Tim Wise. Bex and Tim both work an incredible amount of hours, and Bex I believe has become the best female personal trainer in London. At this point John, Giuseppe and I had the business we’d always dreamed of - happy clients achieving fantastic results in a studio with a buzzing atmosphere.

We continued to help more and more clients transform their bodies in 12 weeks and strived to improve our methods to do it better. Our personal training team was improved further when two cool customers joined our team - Ryan Pickard and Ollie Vandenburg. Ryan is one of the country’s top amateur boxers and has represented Great Britain on 48 occasions, winning a Junior Commonwealth gold medal and a Senior bronze medal at the European Championships. And Ollie is an absolute natural when it comes to personal training, and some of the results he has guided his clients to are truly exceptional. Here is a before and after picture of Ollie's client Sarah, who lost an incredible 5 stone whilst training with Ollie:

The team has been completed with the arrival of Alex Giannini, Anya Russell and Jay Copley, and the skill and enthusiasm that these guys have brought to the studio has been far more than we could have hoped for. Their story at Revolution is just starting, but they undoubtedly have the ability to achieve many great things.

The future at Revolution is bright. We regularly deliver over 400 hours of personal training per week, and are in plans to open our second site within the next 12 months. We’ve also set up a white collar boxing company in partnership with Tim Wise.

Revolution’s success has been built on clients achieving amazing results with 12 week transformations whilst having a lot of banter and fun. Just as importantly, we have happy and talented trainers. Our challenge is to continue to grow whilst maintaining the principles that make us unique.

Our latest 12 week transformation

2011-06-15T13:27:00.001+01:00

Well done to Dan Larcey who achieved this amazing transformation in just 12 weeks.

Mexican eggs - a high protein breakfast.

2011-05-10T16:48:00.003+01:00

Mexican Eggs! A really simple and tasty high protein Breakfast that would benefit those aiming to gain muscle mass or as an alternative to eggs on toast. Egg protein is considered to be of the purest forms available, and there's limited amounts of processed carbohydrates in this meal to maintain a steady blood-sugar level.

Ingredients:
3-4 Free Range/Organic Eggs
Semi-Skimmed/Whole Milk
2 Wholemeal Tortilla's
Fajita Seasoning
Salsa (if you wish)

Basic Directions:
Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth.
Add a small amount of milk and whisk the two together.
Pre-heat an oven to 200 degrees Celcius or use a microwave to heat the tortillas to make them pliable. Pop in the tortillas.
Heat a frying pan and use a small knob of butter (not margarine) to grease the pan.
Add the eggs and gently stir in the fajita seasoning to your taste and cook until your preferred consistency.
Remove the Tortilla's and spread the salsa. Add the cooked eggs and roll the tortilla into a tube.

Enjoy!

Aaron 'keano' Brandon Tyrrell

Sarah's amazing transformation

2011-04-15T20:34:00.002+01:00

Although Sarah's complete transformation took longer than the 12 weeks that we normally work with it is still truely remarkable. Sarah lost 5 stone and 10 inches off her waist! Well done to Sarah and trainer Ollie!

Amazing 12 Week transformations!

2011-02-10T18:25:00.003Z

Congratulations to lucy and Les for their amazing 12 week transformations. Also big well done to their trainers Will and Tim

Motivation Made Easy

2011-02-07T19:07:00.001Z

I have been a personal trainer for 10 years, and in that time I have lost count of the number of people who have said that they either lack motivation to train or that they felt very motivated over the first month or two of training, before gradually feeling their interest slip.

I’ve also met and spoken to many people who have moved from one big chain gym to another, tried pilates or power plate sessions or continually switched the personal trainer that they use – all in the vain hope that this time things will be different. They hope that this new gym or this new exercise class will change their body and that they will be more motivated than ever. Very rarely does this prove to be true.

In fact, motivation is much easier to achieve than most of us have been led to believe. Staying motivated is not some magical formula, but rather a simple process to follow.

The key to becoming motivated and staying motivated is as follows:

1. Your goal must really excite you
And I mean really excite you. Which is why it’s best to try to avoid setting goals such as to ‘tone up’ or ‘get fitter’. It can be very hard to get excited about something as non-descript and lame as that. Your goal could be to attract a new partner, to keep a current partner interested or it could be to look good in your favourite item of clothing or to run a marathon. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what your goal is – it just matters that you are excited about achieving your goal.

2. Know exactly what you want
When setting your fitness goals, this is no time to be vague. The more you can be descriptive and use emotional and powerful words, the more motivated you will become. Be totally specific. Don’t say ‘I want to lose a bit of weight’, say exactly how much weight you want to lose and over what time frame. The combination of setting a goal which excites you and knowing exactly what you want to achieve will not only motivate you to train but it will also help you to make the right nutritional and lifestyle choices, such as saying no to that packet of crisps, chocolate biscuits or glass of wine.

When setting your goal, avoid using the word ‘but’. This is generally the word which gets used just as excuses are made.

3. Visualise yourself achieving your goal and how good it feels
This can be done by simply taking a quiet moment and imagining yourself looking the way you want to look and how your friends and family are responding to the new you. If you’re someone who doesn’t find visualisation easy to do, then you can use a couple of simple techniques:

a) I had a client who owned a very expensive pair of jeans that she could no longer fit into. She would bring the jeans with her to every personal training session, and I would measure how close she was to fitting into them again. Before her 12 weeks of training had finished, she was able to wear her jeans again and the visualisation process that she had used was one of the main reasons that she achieved her goal.

b) Most of us are familiar with the feeling of looking at ourselves on holiday in a pair of swimming trunks or a bikini where we are not happy with how we look. When one of my clients said that his goal was to have a six-pack and look great on the beach on holiday, I asked him to look through some holiday brochures and find a picture of somebody who was ripped and looked just how he wanted to look. My client then superimposed an image of his head onto the photo, and stuck the picture onto his fridge. Over the following few months he trained harder than ever to reach his goal and when his summer holiday came he was in the best shape of his life. When he returned from his holiday, he showed me a photo of himself on the beach and his physique was just as good as guy from the brochure.

If these three simple steps are followed, then motivation is guaranteed and it’s also much easier for a good personal trainer to write the correct training programs and nutritional plans for you. Much more importantly, you’ll actually follow the training plans that are written for you. In fact, getting up in the morning to train or eating healthy nutritious food will seem really easy.

Finally, it is important to assess your progress as you go and to really enjoy yourself on your way to achieving your goal. When you are highly motivated, it is surprising how much fun training can be.

Good luck.

Rob G

All you need to know about Revolution in 500 words

2011-01-17T17:27:00.002Z

Revolution was set up in May 2005 by brothers Rob and John Grim and their friend Giuseppe Di Credico. Over the past 5 and half years the company has grown from 3 personal trainers through to the 11 who work there today.

“We wanted to create an environment which was totally different to a standard gym because so many people that we knew had had a very negative experience with standard gyms. Revolution’s culture is a friendly and supportive one, which allows many different types of people with very different goals to train in the same place and consistently achieve great results.

We have built our reputation on 12 week transformations and have guided thousands of people to achieve outstanding results within this timeframe. We write training plans which are tailored to each individual client’s needs, and also take an in-depth look at what and when they eat and provide personalised food plans for them to follow. Each training session is always conducted with the expertise and guidance of a fully qualified personal trainer.

Our clients are highly motivated due to the simple goal setting that we go through with them before they start training. We ask each client to write down what they want to achieve and most importantly why they want to achieve that goal. A weekly training schedule is then planned and measurements are taken to evaluate progress. Along with the nutritional support mentioned above, this is the Revolution formula to success.

We break down our 12 week transformation into three 4 week training phases. Different training phases are used to keep the body guessing and to create a new stimulus.

First 4 weeks of training – conditioning (flexibility and core strength)
In the first 4 weeks of training, we focus on full body compound movements and flexibility training to enable the body to go through the required range of movement. We teach the body to squat, rotate, push, pull and twist. These movements have an immediate effect on changing the shape and composition of the body.

Second 4 weeks of training - hypertrophy (improved muscle tone)
The training phase changes at this point to give the body a new stimulus. This training phase is called hypertrophy, which means using resistance based exercises to increase the body’s lean muscle and also to increase muscular tone.

By adding lean quality muscle to the body, the basal metabolic rate is increased. This is the rate at which you burn calories at rest. For every pound of muscle you have, you burn 16 calories at rest per hour. For every pound of fat you have, you only burn 2 calories at rest per hour.

Third 4 weeks of training – circuit training
This training phase is where we ramp up the intensity, get the heart rate high and reduce rest periods. After 8 weeks of training, our clients will be ready for this and the body responds by burning fat fast! A lot of our clients are also put through boxing training at this stage, which not only allows them to take out life’s stresses with various punching and footwork drills, it’s also one of the most fun ways to get fit.”

2010-11-10T12:22:00.002Z

Our new poster boy is trainer Will with his amazing 12 week transformation. An inspiration to all his clients. Congratulations!

Moshe interview about how he lost 3 stone in 12 weeks!

2010-10-09T11:36:00.002+01:00

Revolution's new poster boy is Moshe

2010-10-07T18:23:00.003+01:00

Revolution has just unvieled our new poster boy across London's billboards. We would all like to say a huge well done to Moshe and underneath his before and after is his testimonial .

12 weeks ago I weighed 100kg and at a height of 5"7 that's a heavy! My everyday suits no longer fitted me, size 42 waist and expanding... I was in trouble and had no idea of how to lose or control my weight?

I am now 80kg and size 34 waist and seeing the reaction of people who knew me before is priceless.

Revolution has genuinely changed my life. I now understand what to eat and when to eat. The nutritional advice combined with the tailored exercise programme has given me the results I wanted in a very short period of time. I am grateful to the team for giving me the tools to succeed.

For me revolution combines knowledge, motivational support and a personal approach to fitness, offering genuine care and a true desire to achieve results.

If you listen to what they say you will go a long way. I would recommend revolution to anyone who needs help in knowing how to lose weight and how to get fit for life.

Thanks

Moshe

Weeks 3 and 4 of your 12 week Transformation

2010-10-01T15:59:00.003+01:00

Weeks 3 and 4 of your 12 week Transformation

You’re in the second half of your initial conditioning phase, your skill level will be improving and your trainer will be pushing you and challenging you more in each session. This, combined with the nutritional changes, will result in your body starting to change dramatically and your cardiovascular fitness improving steadily.

If you’ve implemented the nutritional suggestions from your trainer then you’ll notice that your taste buds are starting to change. You’ll no longer be craving as many fatty and high sugar foods, because your blood sugar levels will be regulated due to the fact you’ll be eating small meals every 3 hours, and because of the lean quality protein and slow release carbohydrate.

This is an example of a typical Revolution eating plan incorporating quality protein and carbohydrate, as well as fruit and vegetables.

7am- Handful of blueberries and one banana

9am- Porridge (75g), sunflower seeds and small amount of honey

12pm- Brown rice (75g) with green salad and chicken breast

3.30pm – Apple with cottage cheese

6.30pm- Baked salmon with brightly coloured stir fried vegetables

As a further note, it’s really important that you continue to write down everything that you eat and drink on your food diary.

As a recent article by Steve Mitchell, from MSNBC, states “A comprehensive study was carried out by Kaiser’s Centre for Health Research in Portland. It found that people who kept daily food diaries lost at least twice as much weight as those who didn’t keep a tally of their meals.
“Nearly 1,700 Kaiser Permanente study participants agreed to exercise and adopt a healthy diet, but those who took the extra step of keeping track of what they consumed got something of a booster charge in their weight loss.
“Overall, two-thirds of the study subjects lost nine pounds or more during the six-month study. But those who kept a food diary every day of the week dropped up to 20 pounds, more than twice as much as those who didn't record their every bite.”
Enough said really!

Revolution's new trainer Alex

2010-10-01T15:54:00.000+01:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QEngjv3pEs&feature=youtu.be&a

1st 2 weeks of your 12 week transformation

2010-09-28T18:43:00.004+01:00

Your 1st 2 weeks
Ok so now your training has started and you’re probably wondering what’s in store? In your 1st 2 personal training sessions your trainer is taking you on what we simply call a conditioning program.

We focus on full body compound movements and flexibility training to enable your body to go through the required range of movement. We teach your body to squat, rotate, push, pull and twist. These movements have an immediate effect on changing the shape and composition of your body.

If like so many people you have trained in a big chain health club for years without getting results then you’re probably wondering why? Well the reason you didn’t get results was because you used fixed resistance machines which don’t train your body as it was designed to move. Think about it like this..... You sit down in the car, tube or bus on your way to work then sit at your desk for approximately 10 hours. You then hit the gym and sit and cycle for 10 minutes and then proceed to go from one fixed shiny machine to another and you guessed it, sit down at all of them. When you look at it like this then it’s probably no surprise that you haven’t achieved your goals before.

Over your 1st week you’ll also be filling out your food diary to track everything you eat and drink over 7 days. This gives your trainer valuable information on what changes need to be made to your diet. This is vital whether your goal is to lose weight, gain muscle or simply to increase energy levels.

Once the 1st week has ended you’ll sit down with your trainer and he’ll make initial suggestions on what changes need to be made to your diet. These changes will always relate back to your goals and will be made incorporating your particular lifestyle demands.

By the end of your 2nd week if you’ve followed the training program and nutrition plan then you’ll already be seeing your body change. This feels incredibly exciting and your confidence will be growing daily. One last word at this stage is to get your partner, family members and friends on board with your 12 week transformation challenge. They can help you in so many ways, by cooking you healthier foods or by encouraging you to go to the gym when your motivation is not at its highest. Remember when you go on your 12 week transformation journey you’re not meant to do it all on your own. You never know you might inspire them to achieve their fitness goals too!

Will's 12 weeks transformation

12 week transformation

2010-09-27T17:16:00.002+01:00

Revolution’s 12 Week Transformation

A lot of people have asked why Revolution has had so much success with so many clients achieving amazing 12 week transformations. So we thought we’d show you exactly how we do it.

Your 12 Week Goal

It all starts with a 12 week goal - you telling us what you want to achieve and your trainer explaining how you’re going to get there. Why 12 weeks? We decided on 12 weeks because it’s a tangible timeframe to achieve life changing results, but not so far away that you’re going to lose focus.

We follow our own unique system of goal setting which has been developed over many years of goal setting, training clients and studying books by the best self help gurus such as Tony Robbins.

Our 12 week goal is set using our system called SERVE. This is a reminder to us and to you that Revolution and your trainer are here to serve you at all times! We are there with you all the way on this fun, challenging and potentially life changing journey. So what does SERVE mean?

S is for specific. We make sure that your goal is as specific as possible. For example, we won’t let you just say ‘I want to get a bit fitter’ or ‘I want to lose weight’. We make sure you know exactly how much weight you’ll lose or exactly what time you’ll run that 10 km run in. Once a goal is written, something very powerful happens. It’s no longer vague - you now have purpose.

E is for emotion. It’s been said that emotion is 24 times stronger than logic. The best way to think about this is ‘why’. Why do you want to lose weight or achieve whatever it is that you want? You must keep asking yourself why until you arrive at the truth. The importance of this cannot be underestimated. It’s attaching emotion to your goal, which will get you out of bed in the morning to go for that run or make that better nutritional choice.

R is for realistic. Ok, so I don’t want to dampen your fire here, but sometimes people can be slightly over ambitious. If it’s been 20 years since you were last at the weight that you’ve set as your 12 week goal, then maybe we need to set something a bit more achievable. It’s really important that you set yourself up for success!

V is for visualise. We advise that when you get a quiet moment before you go to bed, you visualise how you want to look and think about how you want to feel. Visualise how your friends and work colleagues will respond to the new you. At the start of your 12 week transformation we’ll take your photo. This reality check of where your body is truly at can be incredibly motivating. We’ll also take a photo at the end of your 12 weeks to see the amazing transformation!

E is for evaluate. It’s really important that we evaluate your progress. One of the best personal trainers of all time, Paul Chek, once said ‘if you’re not assessing you’re guessing’. We take whichever measurements are necessary to for you and your goals. We will measure you every 4 weeks so that you and your trainer both know exactly how you’re progressing.

Rob Grim
Director
Revolution PTS

September 2010 Newsletter

2010-09-23T13:03:00.004+01:00

Revolution would like to take this opportunity to update you on what's been going on through the month of August.

Giuseppe’s 1st Triathlon
August saw Giuseppe take part in his first triathlon which was the London Triathlon and was held round London’s Docklands. It had to be said that the cold waters of the Thames were no match for the Italian stallion, despite the fact that just a few months before he couldn’t swim at all! He completed a 400m swim, 10km bike and 2.5km run in 57 min. This placed him an impressive 37th out of a field of 97 competitors. Well done Giuseppe we are all very proud of you!
If any of you are interested in racing in a triathlon then let us know and we will let you know of any up and coming events and advise you on what training to do.

Simple Advice To Aid The Loss of Body Fat
In addition to the previous blog, that discussed three simple methods of reducing body fat by following certain principles, this short discussion aims to clarify some misconceptions about nutrition that has often been fuelled by the UK and US food marketing companies.

Breaking the Misconceptions!

Reliable research has shown that a major cause of obesity and weight gain over the last half-century is due to an increase in high-sugar and highly processed foods on the market, and not high-fat foods alone. High fat foods do add additional calories to the diet, but it is the highly processed foods that can cause the most damage.

'An increase in the level of Glucose availability in the blood has been shown to allow the liver to increase fatty acid formation.'

So called 'low-fat' foods including yoghurts, cereals and snacks are often loaded with sugar, or even worse, sweeteners, in order to make them taste better.

When the body absorbs sugar into the body, Insulin is released into the bloodstream in order to store the sugar as 'energy' in the cells.

However, an Insulin Spike doesn't allow the body to stay in a 'fat-burning' state, meaning that it won't use the stored fat molecules as energy as effectively.If anything, research has shown that a high level of Insulin present in the blood actually INCREASES fat storage.

'The conversion of fatty acids into Triglycerides within the fat cells is rapidly enhanced by Insulin'.

In order to increase your fat-burning potential, you must try to maintain a level blood sugar level for as long as possible, and thus prevent large amounts of insulin being released.Simple-Carbohydrates (such as white rice, pasta, bread etc) will increase your insulin levels, and take you out of your 'fat-burning state'.

This is why our toning and weight-loss diets are high in protein, with some complex carbohydrates and fats, yet low in simple and easily absorbed carbohydrate.

Method behind the madness

The US and UK nutritional guidelines have been influenced in the past by inaccurate research, often performed by the food marketing companies themselves. Coincidence....?!?!

Other Key Factors for Weight Gain:
Carbohydrate dominant diet causing regular high insulin levels

- Elevated levels of hunger and cravings through nutrient deficient diet
- Hormonal disruption of oestrogen, Adrenaline or growth hormone
- Effects of stress on the hormonal system

These shall be addressed at a later stage.

Aaron Brandon-Tyrrell - Revolution Senior Trainer

Client of The Month
The Revolution client of the month is Tom Kelly. In just 9 weeks since starting his training with us he has lost an impressive 13.3kg in weight and 4.75” from his waist. This is despite the considerable discomfort and pain he has often experienced from chronic osteoarthritis affecting both of his knees. Be sure to keep an eye open for anyone screaming between Becton and Angel, pedalling like a man possessed, there is even a possibility that Tom could represent Great Britain in next year’s tour de France. Congratulations on your results so far Tom.

Revolution Christmas Party
I know you might have just packed away this year’s Speedo’s, mankini’s and bikini’s but we’ve just booked this year’s Christmas party. It will be on the 3rd December and will be in the function room of the Slug and Lettuce. Neil ‘the flower pot’ McGuigan will be propping up the bar from 4.30pm. It would be great to see you all there so try and save a date in your diary for the party of the year!

Keep in Touch
Just to let you know that as well as Facebook, we’re also set up on Twitter. So to get involved in the daily studio results and banter, follow us: www.twitter.com/revolutionpts

Best regards,

Rob and The REVOLUTION team

Tel: 0207 288 6121
Email: info@revolution-pts.com
Web: http://www.revolution-pts.com/

Simple advice to aid the loss of body fat.

2010-09-02T20:04:00.014+01:00

In addition to the previous blog, that discussed three simple methods of reducing body fat by following certain principles, this short discussion aims to clarify some misconceptions about nutrition that has often been fuelled by the UK and US food marketing companies.

Breaking the Misconceptions!
Reliable research has shown that a major cause of obesity and weight gain over the last half-century is due to an increase in high-sugar and highly processed foods on the market, and not high-fat foods alone. High fat foods do add additional calories to the diet, but it is the highly processed foods that can cause the most damage.

'An increase in the level of Glucose availability in the blood has been shown to allow the liver to increase fatty acid formation.'

So called 'low-fat' foods including yoghurts, cereals and snacks are often loaded with sugar, or even worse, sweeteners, in order to make them taste better.
When the body absorbs sugar into the body, Insulin is released into the bloodstream in order to store the sugar as 'energy' in the cells.
However, an Insulin Spike doesn't allow the body to stay in a 'fat-burning' state, meaning that it won't use the stored fat molecules as energy as effectively.

If anything, research has shown that a high level of Insulin present in the blood actually INCREASES fat storage.

'The conversion of fatty acids into Triglycerides within the fat cells is rapidly enhanced by Insulin'.
In order to increase your fat-burning potential, you must try to maintain a level blood sugar level for as long as possible, and thus prevent large amounts of insulin being released.
Simple-Carbohydrates (such as white rice, pasta, bread etc) will increase your insulin levels, and take you out of your 'fat-burning state'.

This is why our toning and weight-loss diets are high in protein, with some complex carbohydrates and fats, yet low in simple and easily absorbed carbohydrate.

Method behind the madness.

The US and UK nutritional guidelines have been influenced in the past by inaccurate research, often performed by the food marketing companies themselves. Coincidence....?!?!

Other Key Factors for Weight Gain:

Carbohydrate dominant diet causing regular high insulin levels
Elevated levels of hunger and cravingsthrough nutrient deficient diet
Hormonal disruption of oestrogen, Adrenaline or growth hormone
Effects of stress on the hormonal system

These shall be addressed at a later stage.

Aaron Brandon-Tyrrell.

Revolution Senior Trainer.

3 top weight loss tips

2010-08-23T17:44:00.002+01:00

1. Plan your meals
Most of us know that we should eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as fish, chicken and quality slow release carbohydrate. So, why don’t we? I believe that it is because we don’t plan adequately. On a Saturday or Sunday, sit down and plan what you’re going to eat over the following week, both at home and at work. Then you can go to the supermarket and buy everything that you need for the week. Most of us know the feeling of not planning and then reaching for the phone to dial for a pizza. Using this planning strategy prevents that from happening.

2. Portion size
Control how much you eat at each meal by reducing the amount food that you put on your plate. It has been reported that portion sizes are now 5 times bigger than they were 30 years ago. After we eat a meal, it takes 20 minutes for the brain to tell the body that we are satisfied and don’t need to eat any more food. Also, when we eat foods that are high in vitamins and minerals, our bodies stop telling us that we’re hungry as we have all the nutrients we need to function properly.

3. Write down everything you eat and drink
At Revolution we’ve had hundreds of clients achieve significant weight loss, and one the reasons for this is that we encourage our clients to record everything they eat and drink, including the time and place they ate.

A recent article by Steve Mitchell, from MSNBC, states ‘A comprehensive study was carried out by Kaiser’s Centre for Health Research in Portland. It found that people who kept daily food diaries lost at least twice as much weight as those who didn’t keep a tally of their meals.

‘Nearly 1,700 Kaiser Permanente study participants agreed to exercise and adopt a healthy diet, but those who took the extra step of keeping track of what they consumed got something of a booster charge in their weight loss.

‘Overall, two-thirds of the study subjects lost nine pounds or more during the six-month study. But those who kept a food diary every day of the week dropped up to 20 pounds, more than twice as much as those who didn't record their every bit.' Enough said really.

Free feedback from a Revolution weight loss expert!
If you would like some advice on how you could improve your diet to help you lose weight, record everything that you eat and drink in a week, email it to us at info@revolution-pts.com and we will give you some feedback.

Newsletter August 2010

2010-08-18T14:00:00.005+01:00

Revolution would like to take this opportunity to update you on what's been going on through the month of July.

Revolution’s own Venice Beach!
July saw Revolution take our gym outside for the 1st time. We trained clients on the forecourt of the Business Design Centre, underneath our 48 sheet before and after poster. After being slightly apprehensive at first, our clients really enjoyed the new experience of training outside and a few were even spotted giving bicep posses (Noel Darcy). We had loads of interest from the general public and I would like to personally thank all Revolution trainers and clients who helped make the day a resounding success.

(7:15am Friday 30th July 2010)

Click on the link to watch some brief footage of the day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XymDWKh-1kc

Will’s Before and After
Revolution senior trainer Will Cloke achieved this amazing transformation in the 12 weeks prior to his wedding to the lovely Bronnie. I feel that it’s really important that the trainers live and breathe what we do and can put themselves in position where they are an inspiration to their clients. From looking at the photo below that is certainly what Will has achieved. Well done Will, Bronnie is a very lucky woman!

Client of The Month
Client of the month is Professor Andrew Taylor. Since he started training here he has lost just under a stone and a half in weight and 10% body fat. However the real result is that Andrew changed his whole lifestyle and is feeling better in his forties than he did in his thirties. If you happen to see some flash bloke with a crisply shaven head, tanned and muscular sporting a pair of Rayban sunglasses, and sipping vintage 58 year old wine then it’s definitely the Professor. And ladies to top this off, he’s doing this whilst cruising around on his very own yacht.

Quiz Night
Revolution is running our own quiz night on Friday 13th August in the function room of the Slug and Lettuce and we’re kicking off the evening at 7pm and would love to see as many clients join us as possible. The quiz master is none other than the amazing Conrad Beauj’lais! To check out the amazing Conrad please, please check out this link. You will not be disappointed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIsg08cY5lk&feature=channel

Keep in Touch
Just to let you know that as well as Facebook, we’re also set up on Twitter. So to get involved in the daily studio results and banter, follow us: www.twitter.com/revolutionpts

Best regards,

Rob and The REVOLUTION team

Tel: 0207 288 6121
Email: info@revolution-pts.com
Web: http://www.revolution-pts.com/

News Letter July 2010

2010-07-16T15:10:00.007+01:00

Revolution would like to take this opportunity to update you on what's been going on through the month of June.

Another Amazing 12 Week Transformation
Last month we showed you Andrew’s amazing transformation and this time we bring you Moshe. The consistency of results our clients achieve is exceptional but the formula to achieve them is simple.

The reason our clients have achieved such outstanding results is because of the structure we give them, as well as remembering to keep it simple:

a 12 week goal detailing what you want to achieve and most importantly why you want to achieve it (the 'why' is so important because it taps into the emotional reason for you wanting to achieve your goal).
a weekly goal which details the training that needs to be done each day of the week to reach your desired outcome.

a daily goal of nutrition. Follow a simple nutritional plan that includes plenty of lean protein such as chicken, fish, beef and eggs. It should also include quality complex carbohydrates such as brown rice and a wide variety of colourful vegatables, fruit and legumes.

The training is equally as simple:

First 4 weeks is conditioning - making sure muscles are flexible and strong enough to go through the required ranges of movement.
Second 4 weeks - increase metabolism with full body movements such as lunges, squats, woodchops and press ups as well as other full body resistance movements.
Third 4 weeks - circuit style training to blast away unwanted fat! High rep weights and short bursts of high intensity cardio.

We also remember to evaluate your progress. At Revolution, measurements are taken at the start of your training then every 4 weeks thereafter. Times on the rower are recorded as are weights lifted.Last but not least, we remember to have fun! Moshe did all the above and transformed his body in 12 weeks. Below is the account of his training and transformation in his own words.

Moshe’s Story
“12 weeks ago I weighed 100kg and at a height of 5"7 that's a heavy! My everyday suits no longer fitted me, size 42 waist and expanding... I was in trouble and had no idea of how to lose or control my weight?

I am now 80kg and size 34 waist and seeing the reaction of people who knew me before is priceless.

Revolution has genuinely changed my life. I now understand what to eat and when to eat. The nutritional advice combined with the tailored exercise programme has given me the results I wanted in a very short period of time. I am grateful to the team for giving me the tools to succeed.

For me revolution combines knowledge, motivational support and a personal approach to fitness, offering genuine care and a true desire to achieve results.

If you listen to what they say you will go a long way. I would recommend revolution to anyone who needs help in knowing how to lose weight and how to get fit for life.

Thanks
Moshe”

If you’re interested in transforming your body in 12 weeks like Moshe then please contact us via the details below. We offer an initial consultation totally free of charge so you get to try our service completely without obligation.

Simon Judd
Well done to Simon for completing the Dartford Olympic Triathlon in 2 hours 29mins (which is not only under the 2 hour 30min mile stone, but it is also his personal best!). This involves a 1500m swim (25mins), a 40km bike ride (1 hour 10min) and a 10km run (51min).

What About The Trainers?
Revolution would like to say a big congratulations to Tim Wise for winning his Professional MMA fight against a previously unbeaten opponent. We’d also like to thank the clients who came all the way to Southend to support him.

If you’re interested in boxing coaching and conditioning reply to this email or call now on 0207 288 6121.

Keep in Touch
Just to let you know that as well as Facebook, we’re also set up on Twitter. So to get involved in the daily studio results and banter, follow us: www.twitter.com/revolutionpts

Best regards,

The REVOLUTION team

Tel: 0207 288 6121
Email: info@revolution-pts.com
Web: http://www.revolution-pts.com/

News Letter June 2010

2010-07-16T14:59:00.004+01:00

Revolution would like to take this opportunity to update you on what's been going on through the month of May.

Amazing 12 Week Transformation
As many of you know Revolution has built a lot of our success on guiding people towards transforming their body’s in just 12 weeks. In previous Newsletter’s we’ve spoken about how to set goals, how to eat and how to train so this time I thought I’d let Andrew do the talking with his photo and testimonial.

‘So picture this: I was 18 stone, obese, depressed, smoking 60 cigarettes a day and drinking up to 2 bottles of red wine a night. All brought on by the stress of my job. I hated myself for this over-indulgence, but hadn’t been able to do anything about it. I thought I needed to either change my job to something less stressful, or change myself to see if being fitter and healthier would help me to cope with stress any easier.

I had seen the posters in Islington for Revolution, and decided that I either do something about it now or die at a very early age due to over-indulgence – so I decided to do something about it. The poster promised incredible results in a short space of time, and as I am an impatient guy, that definitely suited me.

I have to say, it was the turning point in my life that I never expected. The consultation went into such depth that they looked at all aspects of my life, to see where the focus of my training should be and how to tailor it to my needs. I went from being a fat, shy, unconfident 42-year-old bloke, covered up in the gym with lots of layers of training gear, to 12 weeks later being in a vest, shorts and with the biggest smile on my face. And looking fantastic!! I am now able to look at myself when I get out of the shower! I cannot recommend Revolution enough for being able to turn a life around. With a little effort and commitment on your side, believe me they will do the rest!!

Revolution have been amazing in helping me through the dark days and giving me that extra push when I was a little bit lazy. I have really enjoyed the comradeship during my training, and also at the studio all the trainers know your name and make you feel very welcome. You have people from all walks of life training there, and at different stages of their training, so there is always someone to look at for inspiration to help you achieve your goals. Many thanks guys for all your help, especially Aidan, who helped me achieve every single one of my goals in record time!!!!’

Racy Ladies
Gail Brindley + Roz Martin
Gail and Roz both ran the ‘Bupa’ 10km run and completed it with just 5 seconds separating them. They ran 56 min and 17 seconds and 56 min and 22 seconds respectively. They both ran personal bests, well done Ladies!

Alicia Poh
Well done to Alicia who ran the ‘Beat the Banana’ 5k run in her personal best time of 25 min and 41 seconds.

If you’re interested in transforming your body in 12 weeks like Andrew then please contact us via the details below. We offer an initial consultation totally free of charge so you get to try our service completely without obligation.

Keep in Touch
Just to let you know that as well as Facebook, we’re also set up on Twitter. So to get involved in the daily studio results and banter, follow us: www.twitter.com/revolutionpts

Best regards,

The REVOLUTION team

Tel: 0207 288 6121
Email: info@revolution-pts.com
Web: http://www.revolution-pts.com/

Newsletter May 2010

2010-05-20T16:55:00.005+01:00

Revolution would like to take this opportunity to update you on what's been going on through the month of April.

Marathon Madness!

Gail Brindley
April saw Revolution’s head girl take part in her first marathon. She ran the Virgin London Marathon in 4 hours and 56 minutes, which was particularly pleasing since her goal was to go under 5 hours. Not only did Gail run the marathon in a great time, but she also raised over £2,000 for the children’s charity Corum. Well done Gail, we are all proud of you!

Aaron and Michelle
Not only is Aaron Revolution’s most senior trainer, he is also our campest trainer. So perhaps it was rather fitting that he took part in the first ever Brighton marathon. He ran with his ‘girlfriend’ Michelle (left in the photo in case you were wondering) and they completed it in 4 hours and 5 minutes, which put them in the top 25% of the field. Well done to this unbelievably cute couple. All together now... 'ahhhhhhh!'

Client Results
Rhodri Davies
Achieved his 12 week goal by dropping 8kg in weight and reducing his body fat by 5%. Well done hot Rhod, you now truly are ready to wear Speedo’s on holiday, and we look forward to seeing the photos in due course.

Sree Kumar
Has hit his 12 week goal with 2 weeks to spare. He has lost 10kg in weight and an impressive 5 and a half inches from around his waist. Well done Kumar, you’re a hero to all the trainers!

Tse Goa
Has made a flying start to his 12 week goal by dropping 4 and a half kilos in just 2 weeks. Tse has been training to Christmas songs to achieve these outstanding results, proving that every day at Revolution really is like Christmas!

The Power of Goals!

It all starts with a 12 week goal - you telling us what you want to achieve, and your trainer explaining how you’re going to get there. Why 12 weeks? We decided on 12 weeks because it’s a tangible timeframe to achieve life changing results, but not so far away that you’re going to lose focus.

We follow our own unique system of goal setting which has been developed over many years of goal setting, training clients and studying books by the best self help gurus such as Tony Robbins.

Our 12 week goal is set using our system called SERVE. This is a reminder to us and to you that Revolution and your trainer are here to serve you at all times! We are there with you all the way on this fun, challenging and potentially life changing journey. So what does SERVE mean?

S is for specific. We make sure that your goal is as specific as possible. For example, we won’t let you just say ‘I want to get a bit fitter’ or ‘I want to lose weight’. We make sure you know exactly how much weight you’ll lose or exactly what time you’ll run that 10 km run in. Once a goal is written, something very powerful happens. It’s no longer vague - you now have purpose.

E is for emotion. It’s been said that emotion is 24 times stronger than logic. The best way to think about this is ‘why’. Why do you want to lose weight or achieve whatever it is that you want? You must keep asking yourself why until you arrive at the truth. The importance of this cannot be underestimated. It’s attaching emotion to your goal, which will get you out of bed in the morning to go for that run or make that better nutritional choice.

R is for realistic. Ok, so I don’t want to dampen your fire here, but sometimes people can be slightly over ambitious. If it’s been 20 years since you were last at the weight that you’ve set as your 12 week goal, then maybe we need to set something a bit more achievable. It’s really important that you set yourself up for success!

V is for visualise. We advise that when you get a quiet moment before you go to bed, you visualise how you want to look and think about how you want to feel. Visualise how your friends and work colleagues will respond to the new you. At the start of your 12 week transformation we’ll take your photo. This reality check of where your body is truly at can be incredibly motivating. We’ll also take a photo at the end of your 12 weeks to see the amazing transformation!

E is for evaluate. It’s really important that we evaluate your progress. One of the best personal trainers of all time, Paul Chek, once said ‘if you’re not assessing you’re guessing’. We take whichever measurements are necessary to for you and your goals. We will measure you every 4 weeks so that you and your trainer both know exactly how you’re progressing.

If you’re interested to explore the above...
We would like to offer everyone who receives this newsletter a free goal setting session with a Revolution personal trainer. To book simply call on the number below.

Keep in Touch
Just to let you know that as well as Facebook, we’re also set up on Twitter. So to get involved in the daily studio results and banter, follow us: www.twitter.com/revolutionpts

Exercise of the month April 10

2010-04-14T14:47:00.003+01:00

News Letter - April 2010

2010-04-09T18:06:00.002+01:00

Revolution would like to take this opportunity to update you on what's been going on through the month of March.

12 week transformations

Chris Watson
There doesn't seem to be a month that goes by without a mention to one of the Watsons. Well, as you can see from the photo below, we need make no apology. Over the past 12 weeks, Chris has lost over 10 kilos and x inches from his waist. Burberry have now said that they are going to remove his son from their advertising campaign and replace him with Chris.

Jo Neighbour
Jo has lost an amazing 7.2kg since the start of the year, and x inches from her hips and waist. Jo has proved, with her sense of vibrancy and fun, that losing weight and getting fit doesn't have to be dull and boring. In fact, for Jo it's been quite the opposite.

Gail Brindley
Gail warmed up for this year's London marathon by completing the Fleet half marathon in a fantastic 2 hours and 13 minutes. For those of you who know Gail 'bomber' Brindley and wish to sponsor her, she is running for Corus Charity and you can do that through this link: www.justgiving.com/Gail-Brindley

The Secret to REVOLUTION’s Success
We focus on core strength and flexibility training to enable your body to go through the required range of movement. We teach your body to squat, rotate, push, pull and twist. These movements have an immediate effect on changing the shape and composition of your body.

If like so many people you have trained in a big chain health club for years without getting results then you’re probably wondering why? Well the reason you didn’t get results was because you used fixed resistance machines which don’t train your body as it was designed to move. Think about it like this..... You sit down in the car, tube or bus on your way to work then sit at your desk for approximately 10 hours. You then hit the gym and sit and cycle for 10 minutes and then proceed to go from one fixed shiny machine to another and you guessed it, sit down at all of them. When you look at it like this then it’s probably no surprise that you haven’t achieved your goals before.

Remember 'The body is designed to move' (Mr A. Ndoca)

Keep in Touch
Just to let you know that as well as Facebook we’re also set up on Twitter. So to get involved in the daily studio results and banter become a follower on the following link:
or facebook us!

Best regards,

The REVOLUTION team

Tel: 0207 288 6121
Email: info@revolution-pts.com
Web: http://www.revolution-pts.com/

2010-03-18T10:50:00.002Z

Revolution would like to take this opportunity to update you on what’s been going on through the month of February.

Revolution’s 12 week transformation contenders
In last month’s newsletter we set down the challenge for people to join our 12 week transformation challenge, and so far the response has been outstanding. Below is a selection of those who’ve made a great start.

Mick Hill
Has lost an amazing 8kg since the start of the year, and he is in great shape to take on the London Marathon in April. As part of his preparation, he ran the Tunbridge Wells half marathon in an impressive 1 hour and 57 minutes.

Andy Luxford
Has lost 8kg (over a stone) in the past 8 weeks!

Annie Hawker
We have been given special permission to mention that Annie is 60 years young, and she has lost 3 inches from her waist this year. Her fitness continues to improve and she is now committed to running a half marathon in May.

Nicky and Rhodri
Have trained with Becks and Neil over the past 6 weeks, and have lost 3.5% body fat and half a stone respectively. They are now challenging for Revolution’s 'most desirable couple' title.

Fill out those food diaries!
The results that the guys above have achieved are exceptional, and one the main reasons that they achieved those results is because they wrote down everything they ate and drank.
As a recent article by Steve Mitchell, from MSNBC, states ‘A comprehensive study was carried out by Kaiser’s Centre for Health Research in Portland. It found that people who kept daily food diaries lost at least twice as much weight as those who didn’t keep a tally of their meals.

‘Nearly 1,700 Kaiser Permanente study participants agreed to exercise and adopt a healthy diet, but those who took the extra step of keeping track of what they consumed got something of a booster charge in their weight loss.

‘Overall, two-thirds of the study subjects lost nine pounds or more during the six-month study. But those who kept a food diary every day of the week dropped up to 20 pounds, more than twice as much as those who didn't record their every bit.' Enough said really!

Physiotherapy
I’m delighted to let you know that Revolution is now offering physiotherapy on site. As part of our expansion into the new suite, we have teamed up with Chris Myers of Angel Physiotherapy. Chris and his partners have a wealth of experience and their expertise covers the following:

-Back and neck pain
-Sports injuries
-Knee and shoulder pain
-Post surgical rehabilitation
-Post fracture rehabilitation

The cost of the first session/initial assessment is £50 and follow up treatments are £40. The initial assessment lasts for 45 mins and the a follow treatment lasts 30 mins.

Angel Physiotherapy are registered with all healthcare insurers - AXA-PPP, Norwich Union, Pru Health, BUPA - if patients want to use their insurance.

Chris is starting off with Tuesday and Thursday morning clinics between 7am and 1pm, so if you would like to book then call on 020 7482 3875 or email chris@complete-physio.co.uk

Best regards,

The REVOLUTION team

Tel: 0207 288 6121
Email: info@revolution-pts.com
Web: www.revolution-pts.com

Newsletter February 2010

2010-02-12T15:15:00.007Z

Revolution would like to take this opportunity to update you on what’s been going on through the month of January.

Revolution’s tough guy!
The thought of going to Wolverhampton would fill most people with dread, but not Revolution personal trainer Aaron, who decided to take part in this year’s Tough Guy Challenge at South Penton Farm.
Thousands of challengers started the endurance race, with hundreds dropping out along the way due to exhaustion or injury - broken bones, dislocations, and over 600 cases of hypothermia. The course takes racers through 21 obstacles - through mud, freezing water, across ropes and burning terrain.
Not only did Aaron complete the course but he finished in an impressive 2 hours and 20 minutes and placed 1200 out of a field of over 5000 participants.

Client Results January 2010

Joanne Neighbour
Has lost 4.5kg in 3 weeks (which equates to over half a stone!) and has now been set at a 2:1 favourite as our next poster girl.

Chris and Liz Watson
Have trained with Will and Neil respectively and have lost a combined 10kg since January 2010. They are now officially REVOLUTION’s Posh and Becks!

Michelle Stansel
Has lost 4kg and an amazing 7% body fat in the last 12 weeks.

Revolution 12 Week Transformation Challenge
Revolution has decided to run a 12 week transformation challenge over the first half of this year. And we would love for you to get involved. There are 2 ways to take part:

1. If you are a current client, or have trained with us previously and would like to come back, you are entitled to free half an hour session with a Revolution personal trainer to set your goals, take your measurements and plan your 12 week schedule. To claim your free 30 minute goal setting session, either talk to your trainer or call Rob on the number below.

2. For those who are unable to train on site at Revolution, you can still get involved via correspondence. This will include a goal setting session, personalised training programs and food plans. You will also be allocated a personal trainer who will be available for any training advice throughout your 12 weeks, over the phone and by email. For further details please call Rob on the number below.

Benedict and Phil achieved the above amazing 12 week transformations – what can you achieve?!

Best regards,

The REVOLUTION team

Tel: 0207 288 6121
Email: info@revolution-pts.com
Web: http://www.revolution-pts.com/

Newsletter: January 2010

2010-01-11T15:47:00.007Z

Revolution Personal Training Studios would like to take this opportunity to wish all our clients a happy and healthy new year, and also to reflect upon the amazing achievements of our clients during 2009.

A selection of some of the 12 week transformations from 2009

Benedict’s 12 week transformation

Simone's 12 week transformation

Anthony lost 20kg in 12 weeks

Paul lost 20kg in 12 weeks

Phil lost 2.5 stone in 12 weeks

If you’re one of the many people who have set a new years resolution and are keen to achieve results similar to the guys above, then follow the Revolution system to guide you:

1) Set a 12 week goal
2) Be really honest about why you want to achieve your desired outcome
3) Plan your training schedule
4) Keep a food diary
5) Evaluate your progress by taking measurements at the start of your training and every 4 weeks thereafter

Revolution Fancy dress
This year was a resounding success with the final amount raised for the Sue Ryder cancer charity being over £1500. We would like to thank all clients for their donations and also a special mention to Aaron who organised the day. As you can see from the photo, some brilliant costumes were worn and a great day was had by all. My two personal favourites were Neil, who came as a camp elf, and Erik who came as an Umpa Lumpa from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory .

Best regards,

The REVOLUTION team

Tel: 0207 288 6121
Email: info@revolution-pts.com
Web: http://www.revolution-pts.com/

Newsletter November 2009

2009-12-14T14:53:00.004Z

Revolution Personal Training Studios would like to take this opportunity to update you on what’s been going on over the month of November 2009.

Clients Stepping Up To The Plate in November

Carol Manswell
Revolution would like to say well done to Carol who has lost an amazing 11.5kg and 5.5 inches off of her waist in under 8 weeks. We’re really looking forward to seeing her reach her 12 week goal!

Andrew Hillery
After training and following Revolution’s simple but tasty nutrition plan Andrew lost 5kg in 5 weeks.

Felicity Gorman
In under 8 weeks Felicity has lost 5kg and 5.3 inches off of the waist.

Revolution Sport
Well done to John Director and Personal Trainer who won his last boxing match on the 4th November 2009 at Hayes in Middlesex.

If you’re interested in a course of boxing coaching then contact us via the information below.

The Adrian Francis 1RM Bench Press Challenge
The bench press challenge is going great so far with 30 people posting fantastic weights! Here’s are the leaders for the men and women:

Men

1) Armin Forsner - 117kg
2) Paul Andrew - 112kg
3) Brett Wood - 110kg

Women

1) Annie Howie - 52kg

2) Seema Salam - 47.5kg

3) Jacqui Shelley - 40kg

Christmas Gift Voucher
Still looking for that perfect Christmas gift? Why not buy a Revolution Personal Training Voucher for a friend or family member to delicately let them know that it’s time to get in shape! Remember nothing says ‘I love you’ like a gesture of kindness crossed with a kick up the behind.
If you're interested in buying a gift voucher email Rob on the contact details below.

Best regards,

The REVOLUTION team

Newsletter - October 2009

2009-11-10T17:30:00.005Z

Clients Stepping Up To The Plate in October

Steve Vullo

A massive congratulations to Steve who fought in his first white collar boxing match. The bout was staged at the Grosvenor Hotel and there were 850 people in attendance. The event raised £50,000 for the Bobby Moore Foundation. Read his testimonial below.

Alicia Poh

Came back to us after having her first child and after just 8 weeks of training ran a 10km event in 59 mins and 34 seconds and has also dropped her body fat by 4.5%.

Ana Vanessa

Four weeks into her 12 week transformation goal, Ana lost 7kg and lost 3 inches off her waist and is feeling fitter than she has for many years.

Faye O’Reilly

Has just completed her 12 week goal and lost an amazing 10 kilos! She also now fits in to her favourite dress she hasn’t worn for years. Her husband Ian is a very happy man!

The Adrian Francis 1RM Bench Press Challenge

The latest challenge is here and it’s the first strength competition of the year. This challenge comes with only one requirement, after you lift your best bench press weight, you have to stand up and like Sly Stallone from the first Rocky movie and shout ‘Adriannnnnnnn’. The leaders so far are as follows:

Men

1) Paul Andrew 107kg

2) Adrian Francis 95kg

3) Bally 85kg

Women

1) Annie Howie 49.5kg

2) Jacqui Shelly 40 kg

3) Ana Vanessa 35 kg

Christmas Gift Voucher

Revolution is here to make your Christmas shopping easier! We have recently had some gift vouchers produced so that you can buy your friends and loved ones the perfect Christmas gift - personal training sessions. What could possibly be better than giving your partner a gift that says "it’s about time you got yourself in shape"?! If you're interested in buying a gift voucher, call or email Rob on 020 7288 6121 or info@revolution-pts.com

Steve Vullo testimonial

2009-11-02T20:48:00.009Z

Below is an account from one of Revolution's clients, Steve Vullo (in red above), about his journey from never having boxed to boxing in front of 850 people in just 12 weeks!

"In June of this year I agreed to take part in my first white collar boxing event. When saying yes, I had no idea what was going to be involved.

"As it was, I boxed at the Grosvenor Hotel in front of 850 people at a black tie do. It was a charity event and the contestants were drawn from the legal world of solicitors, barristers and their clerks. Over £50,000 was raised for the Bobby Moore Foundation.

"I only had to fight three 1½ minute rounds; how hard could it be? I thought I was fairly fit but nevertheless decided to go to the Revolution gym in Angel to properly prepare. I am glad I did.
I would not have lasted 20 seconds if I had not. In fact I did not last that long in my first session with John Grim on the heavy punch bag.

"During the 12 weeks that followed I was taken through some of the hardest training I have ever done, all carefully designed not just to get me fit, but the right type of fit for boxing. I had never boxed before and they taught me that too, carefully pushing me further and further.

"In the last 4 weeks it took over my whole life and everyone at Revolution helped me out and supported my efforts, even down to choosing my ring name, ‘Steve The Steam Train Vullo’ (which has to be said in a long slurring southern state U.S. accent) and my entrance music.

"On the night, John Grim volunteered to be my corner man and without him preparing me mentally the night would have been very different indeed.

"My opponent was 6’3”, I am half Sicilian and the other half is less than 3 feet but everything came together on the night and I am now basking in the glory of having put on a really good show and fighting hard all the way through the three rounds.

"The fight was on October 9th but every day I see colleagues in court who rush up to talk about the night. If I had jogged a bit in the park as I originally planned to do, I would have been in big trouble. As it was, my decision to go to Revolution left me as prepared as I could possibly have been and it showed. I am massively grateful to all of them, but especially John Grim who saw me through not just the lion share of the training but the fight itself.

"It has without doubt been one of the most interesting and rewarding things I have ever done. If anyone is unsure whether to give it a go, I would say do it but get professional training behind you to get the most out of it. I did".

Stephen Vullo is 42 years old and a barrister at the Chambers of William Clegg QC at 2 Bedford Row in London. He had never boxed before.

Revolution Personal Training Studios in action!

2009-10-23T09:16:00.002+01:00

News Letter

2009-10-09T15:06:00.007+01:00

Revolution Personal Training Studios would like to take this opportunity to update you on what’s been going on over the month of September.

Clients Stepping Up To The Plate in September

Will Storr
An amazing transformation from Will Storr. He stuck religiously to the food plans, training regimes and due to that as you can see achieved an incredibly cut look in just 12 weeks!

Mark Ravenhill
Over the last 12 weeks has lost half a stone, reduced his body fat by 5% and is fitter and healthier than he has been in years! Mark is one of Britain’s most famous play writes and his latest play is called ‘Nation’ and is at the National theatre and is showing from the middle of November.

Paula Khan
Has been a client with revolution for over 3 years and proved that whatever stage of training your at you can reset your goals at any time. Over the last 12 weeks has dropped half a stone and is now determined to keep it off!

Annie Howie
No that isn’t our trainer Erik going for a Sunday morning run it’s Annie raising money for the ‘Gorilla Organisation ’. She ran 7km through London in under 1 hour.

Ben Cranham
Taking Revolution’s nutritional advice a bit too literally, Ben Cranham ran a half marathon dressed as a banana. Does this have any relevance to his goals? Probably not but it’s still a great (if not slightly bizarre) achievement.

The Paul Morris 250m Rower Challenge
The 250m Rower challenge has now finished with Paul Andrew and Jacqui Shelly winning the men’s and women’s competition respectively. It was one of the best challenges so far with over 60 clients taking part. A special mention to Paul Morris who after a slow start came back to post a time of 46.1 secs. A fantastic effort taking into consideration that Paul is 58 years of age!

The top 5 places are as follows;
Men

1) Paul Andrew - 41.0 sec
2) Brett Alegre - 41.0 sec
3) The Stig - 41.6 sec
4) Matt Brown - 41.7 sec
5) Armin Forstner - 42.0 sec

Women
1) Jacqui Shelly - 48.3 secs

2) Emily van Eyssen - 49.8 secs

3) Annie Howie - 51.9 secs

4) Sarah Moorjani - 53.8 secs

5) Rebecca Rawlinson - 54.4 secs

Refer a Friend!
If you refer a friend, family member or work colleague who purchases a block of 6 or 12 personal training sessions, then we would like to reward you with a complimentary personal training session.

Best regards,

The REVOLUTION team

Tel: 020 7288 6121
Web: http://www.revolution-pts.com/

August 09 Clients Results

2009-09-07T14:53:00.009+01:00

Revolution Personal Training Studios would like to take this opportunity to update you on what’s been going on over the month of August. As you can see from below, there are some outstanding 12 week transformations. Whether you are a current or past client, if you would like to set a 12 week goal then now is the perfect time as we have approximately 12 weeks until Xmas!

As an incentive to get you started, if you reply by Friday 11th September then you get a free half hour goal setting session with one of the directors. You can email us directly by clicking this link info@revolution-pts.com . All you have to email is your name, contact and we’ll get back to you within 48 hours.

Clients Stepping Up To The Plate in August
Paul Winter
An amazing transformation from Paul, our next poster boy. He has already been asked by Littlewoods to model for their next brochure!

Phil Smith
Has lost 10 kilos and reduced his body fat by 10 %!

Faye O’Reilly
Lost 6 kilos over the last 6 weeks and has now honed her boxing skills so she can beat her husband up with ease!

Emily van Eyssen
In the 6th week of her 12 week transformation Emily has already shed an amazing 6 kilos!

The Paul Morris 250m Rower Challenge
We’re now entering the last month of our rower challenge, and we have in Paul Andrew the new men’s leader. Englishman Paul has taken the lead from Australian Brett. It’s like the ashes all over again! Can Brett reclaim top place or will the Stig come through to win?

In the women’s competition, Emily has closed ground on Jacqui; however, can she take top spot by the end of September?

The top 5 places are as follows;
Men

1) Paul Andrew - 41.0 sec

2) Brett Alegre - 41.4 sec

3) The Stig - 41.6 sec

4) Armin Forstner - 42.0 sec
5) Simon Judd - 42.2 sec

Women

1) Jacqui Shelly - 49.0 secs
2) Emily van Eyssen - 49.8 secs
3) Annie Howie - 51.9 secs

4) Sarah Moorjani - 53.8 secs
5) Rebecca Rowsell - 54.4 secs

Refer a Friend!
If you refer a friend, family member or work colleague who purchases a block of 6 or 12 personal training sessions, then we would like to reward you with a complimentary personal training session.

Best regards,

The REVOLUTION team

Tel: 020 7288 6121
Web: www.revolution-pts.com

Fat loss tip

2009-08-24T12:14:00.007+01:00

Nutrition is obviously really key when it comes to fat loss. One thing Colin was able to take on board to achieve this great 12 week transformation was that after he'd eaten his dinner he wouldn't eat anything else (he would always eat by 6.30pm).

Colin Before and after his 12 weeks of training at Revlution

The key is to understand that each meal should give you enough energy to go about your daily activities and until you need to eat again. How much energy do you need to go to sleep at night?

Also by not eating 3 hours before you go to bed, you will sleep much better as the body is not working hard to digest food. This is paramount to general health as well as fat loss and muscle gain.

Good luck,

Rob

August 09 exercise of the month

2009-08-18T13:11:00.002+01:00

Results in July 2009

2009-08-07T12:25:00.006+01:00

Revolution Personal Training Studios would like to take this opportunity to update you on what’s been going on over the month of July.

Clients Stepping Up To The Plate in July
Ronald Cheap

Who achieved this amazing transformation in under 8 weeks, gaining 1 ½ inches on his biceps, gaining ½ a stone of muscle and reducing his body fat by 5%!

Lawrence Gunn

Lost 8 kilos, stopped smoking and dropped 7% body fat!

Ben Cranham
Gained over an inch on his bicep, lost 6 % body fat and 6 and half kilos in 8 weeks.

Philip Morris
Lost 8 kilos in just over 12 weeks and managed to fit into his suit for his son’s wedding looking very svelte.

Ed Bullard
Lost 9 kilos in 12 weeks and has transformed his whole lifestyle (he now eats chicken bhuna instead of lamb bhuna).

The Paul Morris 250m Rower Challenge
This month saw the start of our latest challenge. Over 50 clients have taken up the challenge with the only disappointment being the Morris brothers. They are bringing up the rear and are in the last two places.

The top 5 places are as follows;
Men

1) Brett Alegre 41.4 secs
2) The Stig 41.6 secs
3) Armin Forstner 42.0 secs
4) Juddy 42.2 secs
5) Steve Watson 43.6 secs

Women

1) Jacqui Shelly - 49.0 secs

2) Emily van Eyssen - 50.3 secs
3) Annie Howie - 51.9 secs

4) Sarah Moorjani - 53.8 secs

5) Rebecca Rawlinson - 54.4 secs

There has been a lot of conjecture about the identity of the Stig and all that we are at liberty to say is that he is definitely not one of the trainers!

The Revolution is expanding!
We are delighted to say that we have just agreed terms to take on the unit next door. This will double the space available and will be a great way to improve our service even further. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our clients and trainers for helping us achieve this expansion. This has been particularly pleasing given the economic climate over the last year and a half.

Client Results June 2009

2009-07-03T16:16:00.003+01:00

Clients Stepping Up To The Plate in June 09

Saddiq Khan
Achieved this amazing transformation in just over 9 weeks:

Craig Smith
Lost 5 and half kilos and 3% body fat in just 4 weeks.

Will Stor
Gained an inch on his bicep and improved his overall physique in under 4 weeks.

Ben Cranham
Has gained an inch on his bicep and has reduced his body fat by over 3%.

Ronald Cheape
Gained ½ a stone of muscle and reduced his body fat by over 4% in 4 weeks.

Russell Child
Ran the Southend half marathon in 1hr 42mins.

Jamie Bishop 1km Run
This month saw the end of our latest challenge with the top 3 places as follows:

Men
1. Jamie Bishop – 3 mins and 9 sec
2. Ben Peace – 3 mins and 9 sec
3. Paul Lack – 3 mins and 11 sec

Women
1. Jacqui Shelly – 3 mins and 44 sec
2. Andrea McNeil – 3 mins and 44 sec
3. Gail Brindley – 4 mins

Exercise of the Month June 2009

2009-06-11T09:56:00.002+01:00

Client results for May 2009

2009-06-08T17:24:00.002+01:00

Another great month for Revolution and our clients!

Arlene Alegre

Lost 4 and a half kilos, 5% body fat and 3 and a half inches off the waist in under 7 weeks

Annie Howie

Lost 5kg and 5 inches off the waist in 12 weeks

Colin Perrin

Achieved his latest 12 week goal by gaining over an inch on his bicep and 5kg of muscle in total.

Derek Baldwin

Made a fast start to his 12 week weight loss goal by dropping 4 and a half kilos in just 3 weeks.

Brian Welton

Achieved his 12 week goal by losing 5 and a half kilos and 4 and a half inches off his waist.

Congratulations to all these guys who achieved such outstanding results. In the next few weeks we have a couple of guys who are about to finish their before and afters, and I can say that some of the transformations are incredible!

Congratulations John!

2009-06-01T11:44:00.010+01:00

Here are a couple of pictures that were taken at John's latest amateur boxing match. He fought at the Alexandra Palace on Saturday 23rd May 2009 against James Gardiner from Benny's ABC, and won with a unanimous points decision.

John fought at light heavy weight and weighed in at 80.8kg on the day. This was John's best performance and win to date.

Rob's 2009 London Marathon

2009-05-04T19:17:00.005+01:00

I had been told by friends and clients that running the London Marathon would be an amazing experience, and it proved to be so.

I felt great through the half way stage and was given a massive lift seeing my family at around mile 15, then all of a sudden with the temperature rising and my body aching I hit the wall at mile 20. However all the months of preparation and training paid off when I finished my first marathon in a time of 4 hours, 0 mins and 52 seconds.

Most importantly, thanks to the generosity of clients, friends and family, I raised approximately £3,500 for Hove YMCA . This money will be helping young people who are either homeless or from broken homes to get back into jobs and apprenticeships.

New addition to the team

2009-04-10T18:27:00.004+01:00

Revolution is delighted to have Susan Brown join us as our newest personal trainer! From Philadelphia in the USA, she truly is an all-action American.

She has an incredibly impressive background of coaching hockey and lacrosse, as well as a degree in sports science. She took her personal training qualification here in London with Premier. Her first week has finished with her signing 3 clients who are sure to benefit from her amazing range of knowledge and energy.

We've been looking for a high quality female personal trainer for some time, and in Susan I'm confident we've found just that!

Client Results For March 2009

2009-04-03T17:44:00.006+01:00

Clients Who Have Reached Their 12 Week Goals

Andy Ndoca - Lost 5kg and reduced his body fat by 6%.

Simone Barker - "The lightest I've been in over 5 years!" has lost 12kg. She'll be on the bill boards outside the Business Design Centre over the bank holiday weekend.

Paul Winter - Lost an incredible 17kg! Potentially a poster boy!

Tim Curtis - Lost 8kg and completed the Bath 10k run in 54 mins.

Other Results

Russell Child - Completed the Natwest Tower Stair Run in 7 mins (42 flights of stairs)

Irfan Alam - For the last 3 years Irfan has suffered from extreme pain in his achillies tendon, making it hard to walk or even stand. His original 12 week goal was to be able to run 10 metres for the bus. In under 4 weeks Irfan can already run totally pain free! He has also added 1 inch to his bicep and lost 1 1/2 inches from his waist.

Emily Van Eyssen - Has lost 3 1/2 inches from her waist.

Ashley Williamson - Has lost 4kg as she works towards her 12 week wedding goal.

Fiona Metzstein - Has overcome a hip - knee - foot issue and has lost an amazing 5 inches from her waist.

Jenny Ash - Has lost 1/2 a stone in 3 weeks. Just 1/2 a stone to go to reach her 12 week goal.

John Colville - Has lost over a stone. Check out the amazing transtormation below.

New Poster Boy - Interview

2009-03-27T15:42:00.006Z

Click below to watch a short interview with Anthony, about his life changing journey where he lost an amazing 20kg in 12 weeks of training at Revolution Personal Training Studios. Also look out for his poster on the billboards outside the Business Design Centre, coming soon!

Well done Anthony!!!

Edison 'Pantera' Miranda

2009-03-19T12:43:00.004Z

Here's a clip of the world No3 light heavy weight boxer on the pads with his coach at Revolution Personal Training Studios before his fight vs Joey Vegas at York Hall Friday 20th March 09.

Results

2009-03-18T13:59:00.004Z

Revolution Personal Training Studios is delighted to say that last week was our busiest week ever!

Why is this? The simple answer is results. Our clients consistently achieve outstanding results and therefore keep coming back as well as referring their friends.

The reason our clients have achieved such outstanding results is because of the structure we give them, as well as remembering to keep it simple:

a 12 week goal detailing what you want to achieve and most importantly why you want to achieve it (the 'why' is so important because it taps into the emotional reason for you wanting to achieve your goal).

a weekly goal which details the training that needs to be done each day of the week to reach your desired outcome.

a daily goal of nutrition. Follow a simple nutritional plan that includes plenty of lean protein such as chicken, fish, beef and eggs. It should also include quality complex carbohydrates such as brown rice and a wide variety of colourful vegatables, fruit and legumes.

The training is equally as simple:

First 4 weeks is conditioning - making sure muscles are flexible and strong enough to go through the required ranges of movement.

Second 4 weeks - increase metabolism with full body movements such as lunges, squats, woodchops and press ups as well as other full body resistance movements.

Third 4 weeks - circuit style training to blast away unwanted fat! High rep weights and short bursts of high intensity cardio.

John's final pads before fight

2009-03-13T15:13:00.000Z

John's long-awaited ABA bout is taking place tonight, and the camp's feeling confident. He's looking in superb shape and is looking cool, calm and very dangerous. This clip is of his final padwork with Rob at the beginning of the week. Have a look for yourself. Awesome.

Client results for February 2009

2009-02-27T16:34:00.007Z

Gabby Novembre - lost 5kg in body weight, 3.5 inches off the waist and 3 inches off the hips over 12 weeks.

Rebecca Ferguson - lost 4kg in body weight and 2 inches off the waist in 12 weeks.

Ian Dodd - lost 5% body fat in 6 weeks.

The month was dominated by runners...

10km Run
Ian O'Reilly: 49 mins (5 mins quicker than previous best)
Faye O'Reilly: 57 mins
Tim Davis: 54 mins (8 mins quicker than previous best)

Half Marathon
Rebecca Flaherty: 2 hours 5 mins (2 mins quicker than previous best)
Ben Peace: 1 hour and 48 mins (10 mins quicker than previous best)
Rob Grim (trainer): 1 hour and 41 mins (ok, I'm not a client but I couldn't help but mention it!)

Well done to everybody, and I must add that there are many people who achieved great things this month who haven't been mentioned.

Discuss Your Results

2009-02-13T10:13:00.003Z

Team Revolution thought that it would be great for clients to post their results and talk about their experiences.

Kyte 500m Rower Challenge

2009-02-12T15:03:00.003Z

Here's the top 3 men's and female's rower times:

Men Time Woman Time
1) Matthew Brown 1:29.4 Jacqui Shelley 1:45.8
2) Jamie Luxford 1:30.3 Sarah Lowry 1:51.9
3) Bastien Fitoussi 1:30.6 Simone Barker 1:55.0

The rower's resistance is set on level 7.

Congratulations to Matthew for being the first client to break the 1:30.0 mark!

What Have You Been Eating This Week?

2009-01-30T13:24:00.006Z

We thought that it would be a great idea for clients to post their recipes and food diaries for the week and talk about their findings.

Add a comment and get involved in some nutritional banter!!!

John's Debut Fight

2009-01-30T13:20:00.005Z

Check out this link. The fight was in April 2007 at the Hilton in Brighton. John won 'Best Boxer' and was presented an award by Alan Minter!

The Amazing Pete Suttle

2009-01-29T15:18:00.004Z

Check out this unbelievable set of strength by Peter Suttle: Look at this little monkey go!

John's first pads of the year!!

2009-01-29T15:09:00.006Z

Check out the link of John's first bit of boxing training of 2009

John's also doing a 'Boxer's Diary' of his 12 week build up to his next fight. If you're interested check out the link:
http://www.theboxersdiary.blogspot.com