Strength Training Course Produces Excellent Results

Back In February we started an Advanced Strength Training Course with our expert PT Neeraj. It proved to be so popular that we ended up running two groups! The 8 week block finished a couple of weeks ago and we wanted to share some of fabulous results and feedback.

The course commenced with a test week to set a benchmark, followed by building stability to prevent injury and hypertrophy to begin the ‘Strength Building Phase’. This phase then included ‘Loading’ and ‘De-loading, ‘Power Training’ and the participants’ ability to combine the two, for what proved to be some phenomenal results!

Every single participant saw an improvement in their results and on average across the groups, upper and lower body strength both increased by 24% and power output by 6%. Power was tested using the Ski-Erg which is already a ‘sprint’ so a 6% change is massive! It’s also worth bearing in mind that the participants weren’t new to Strength Training at all, so the gains (pardon the pun) are outstanding.

There was a real sense of camaraderie within the two groups, so much so that having completed the original test week as a one-to-one, all chose to re-test as a group at the end! There’s nothing like group encouragement to help you succeed, with Neeraj helping support them every step of the way.

Everyone did remarkably well and all deserve recognition for their progress. To highlight just a few we saw participant Gemma lead the increase in Upper Body Strength, obtaining a significant 54% increase which was tested using the Barbell Chest Press exercise.

Gemma commented “I’ve really enjoyed the course and Neeraj has been absolutely great! The sessions have been fun, they’ve got me trying out loads of new stuff in the gym and building my confidence about using the equipment. I’ve got stronger and can see the difference in the weights I’m lifting which is really satisfying. And it’s been great working out within a small group – gives a feeling of camaraderie and makes the sessions really good fun.”

Carrying on the ‘girl power’ our very popular Instructor and member Ana (Friday mornings Body Attack!) knows even more now about how Strength Training can help her in the Studio, as well building more confidence to tackle more complex workouts in the gym. A 34% increase in lower body strength and 19% in upper body is incredible!

Moving onto the boys, we saw Neil (husband to our very popular Spin Instructor Louise!) achieving the biggest improvement in Lower Body Strength with a whopping 45% increase – wow! Neil said: “Neeraj’s support and attention to detail has been absolutely excellent.
Before this course I only really did Spin classes plus the odd Body Pump session and now I have the confidence to use all of the rest of the equipment in the gym, which is great.
Thanks again, it’s been excellent.”

Finally, a special mention also goes to Chris, who was already training at a very high level; you may remember him completing a treadmill marathon at the Club a few years ago! Chris saw increases of 39% in his lower body and 21% for upper body, which just shows how effective the course has been, even for those at near athlete status.

It’s great to see the participants continuing with their training and some have carried on with individual sessions with Neeraj. We are already looking ahead at running the next course so if this sounds like something you’d like to do, please register your interest by emailing [email protected] and we will send you further details. In the meantime, Neeraj also has some availability for new clients please do get in touch to discuss your goals with him.