Body Transformations Week – Day 5

August 5, 2011 By

After a long week of genuine client transformations, Dave Thomas Personal Trainer would like to round off this fantastic week with one of his most inspirational clients, Belen Gallego, in this short but sweet article.

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Today’s transformation is simply one of the best clients I’ve ever had and a true inspiration. Not only did she lose over 20kg over six months and reduced her body fat from 45% to 25%, she has became one of the strongest, fittest clients I’ve had.

I can’t describe how phenomenal Belen’s results have been… the photo says it all really as she jumps into her old trousers.

I thought I’d leave Belen to say a few words directly:


Belen has been away for a little while working in New York but I cannot wait to catch up with her and actually do a workout with her as a buddy rather than a client!

Filed Under: Blog, Testimonials, Transformations Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Body transformation week – day 4

August 4, 2011 By

Matt J
Start Weight 91kg
Current weight 86kg
Body fat loss in 4 weeks – 6%

dave thomas personal trainer

Matt has lost over 5kg of fat whilst adding lean mass in a month – not a bad start!

Today’s transformation is only half complete and this is the main reason I wanted to post it. All of us have seen incredible before and after pictures, usually a minimum of 12 weeks (unless they’re falsified and sadly this is very common in our unregulated industry; it will be interesting to see if the new ASA guidelines on false marketing actually make any difference to this) and we have them all over our site too. This is because for those looking to drop lots of weight you won’t look like a cover model in 4 weeks. This is incredibly important to remember because it’s very easy to compare yourself to transformations based on months, or years or which sometimes have no basis in reality.

Luckily due to being busier than we can sometimes accommodate and also due to our excellent, but little known, moral upbringings by trappist monks, we can post genuine, nevertheless impressive, stories of people who still have a long way to go, to help those of you just starting out through the occasionally difficult parts of fat loss. The fact is you will sometimes need to work hard, you will probably sometimes be a bit hungry, you may well find yourself having a blow out and then being consumed by guilt and you won’t drop 6 clothing sizes in 4 weeks. It’s always a lot easier knowing other people have already been through the same and are now well on the way to where they want to be.

Matt, featured, has been training with me for much less than 12 weeks. I don’t really get much chance to take on new clients these days but due to an emigration I was luckily enough to find a space to see him twice a week. We have been training for 4 weeks, learning to lift weights properly and aiming to drop body fat and build muscle prior to his wedding in September. In this time he has lost over 5kg of fat and added 2kg of lean mass (measured, cross referenced and verified via callipers and our medical grade Bio-Impedance unit)

Matt wanted his fat loss to be as quick as possible but also sustainable and safe which is why we only moved onto compound lifts after 2 weeks of tuition and preparatory strength and flexibility training.

He has been extremely compliant with his diet and takes a very small number of our lifestyle supplements to compliment his training; namely, L-Glutamine, Omega First (our high concentrate fish oil) and some zinc and magnesium to support his new found love of lifting heavy stuff.

He is already delighted with the changes and is receiving constant compliments from those around him. We know we still have a little way to go and we will continue training after his wedding until he reaches the body fat he desires (we’ll obviously be posting his later pics too) but for those just started out, losing 5kg in 4 weeks body fat?…that ain’t a bad way to get started.

The speed with which Dave is helping me to work towards my goals is impressive. His training technique is very educational, which is great because I understand why I’m doing things, rather than just taking orders. This will undoubtedly help me to carry on with things when the time comes to go it alone. I look forward to each work out and Dave makes sure that they are worth every penny; I can’t walk or talk properly at the end of them! To me it makes all the difference knowing I’m being trained in an authentic gym by an expert in his field, and the results speak for themselves.

Filed Under: Blog, Transformations Tagged With: , ,

Body Transformation Week – Day 1

August 1, 2011 By

JT (39), Finance

Personal Training Spitalfields

Lost 5 kg in 3 weeks

Date Age Weight Pectoral Suprailiac Umbilical Body Fat Waist
17/1/2011 39 90.3kg 20mm 42mm 34mm 30% - 3 inches
10/2/2011 39 85.2kg 16mm 34mm 26mm 25.6%

Right at the start of the year, JT became a client of Personal Trainer Dave Thomas. With a busy job in finance, a new arrival on the way (now a healthy 6 month old!) and one of the ‘big’ birthdays rapidly approaching he wanted to make some immediate changes to the way he looked and felt but also to find a way to maintain sustainable progress in the future. He is very interested in human psychology and the link between physical and mental health and this clearly helped his commitment to the programme as he easily removed sugar, alcohol and coffee from his diet for the first 3 weeks. It’s also why Dave ‘philosophy degree’ Thomas and JT can be found in-between sets of picking heavy stuff boring those around them with discussions about Jungian Psychology.

The programme itself was a variation of one of Personal Trainer Graeme Marsh’s old school favourites (note we didn’t say old school personal trainer) Vince Gironda’s 8×8 workout.

Vince Gironda was the original Iron guru. By all accounts he was brutally honest and intolerant, grumpy but insightful and in many ways truly revolutionary in his approach to bodybuilding. There is a famous and possibly apocryphal story about Arnold Schwarzenegger arriving in Vince’s Gym in North Hollywood. The story goes that when Arnold walked in he introduced himself to Vince by saying, “I am Arnold Schwarzennegger, Mr. Universe.” Vince promptly replied, “You look like a fat f*** to me.”

Vince’s 8 x 8 System is similar to many other high volume workouts like German Volume Training (10 x 10). You perform 8 sets of 8 reps with minimal rest and it’s used for the whole body. It is not designed for strength development; purely for aesthetic changes. The short rest intervals have a very intense cardiovascular effect, meaning more calories are burned and our endocrine system is primed to fat loss.

High volume workouts aren’t always the best approach for people who aren’t seasoned lifters; most people need to get stronger first, but in our experience the high volume approach, with our own ‘Foundry modifications’ to it, has actually proved a very efficient way to add muscle and lose fat for people who have dabbled in the gym previously by overloading the muscles via cumulative fatigue rather than load. (A real issue if you’re not that strong and recover too quickly)

“I still can’t straighten my arms – should I be concerned”
JT enjoys the benefits of 64 repetitions of rows

JT lost 5kg in 3 weeks by following particular dietary advice trialling the removal of some foods which appeared problematic to him (which is why we’ve highlighted how much the suprailiac and umbilical measurements of his abdomen dropped; backed up by a 3 inch circumference loss around the waist). He has been training now for 6 months and has continued to make excellent progress but his initial 3 week results are what we wanted to highlight today as an example of what can be achieved quickly and painlessly with a few dietary changes and getting a bit more familiar with the weights room.

“Having trained with other people before I can honestly say you’ve been worth every penny Dave. Your genuine enthusiasm and interest in my success is very motivational and whilst I dread the weekly ass kicking I always leave feeling like a new man. It’s been a fantastic experience. Many thanks”

JT – quite literally 94.5% the man he used to be

Tune in again tomorrow for another exciting client transformation story

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The Foundry’s Body Transformation Week

July 26, 2011 By
chantal;

Chantal lost over 10 kg in 12 weeks as well as breaking a new marathon PB.

“The first time I came to see The Foundry was for an overall assessment. I am a very active person but for a while I had a feeling that something was not right in terms of my posture and diet, which was having a negative impact on my training.  I was put on a strict diet which hasn’t been easy, but the results have been amazing and along the way I also shed a few unwanted kilos.”

“I feel so much better now and my friends and family have all commented on the positive change in me. We have also sorted out various aches and pains in my knees and ribs which were seriously affecting my marathon training;  last week I had the most amazing run of my life so thanks to my therapist Keith Littlewood and personal trainer Dave Thomas I have finally discovered what the fuss about exercise is all about!”

This weekend I was transferring client data onto my new Asus EEE Pad Transformer (making me the only Foundry Personal Trainer not to use an Ipad – check out our blog review later this week comparing technology gadgets for busy personal trainers) and I realised we have over 70 body transformation case studies to upload to the website.

Whilst this might sound like a bit of an oversight, it’s simply due to the fact we’re never short of new clients simply through word of mouth referral and reputation. Also the huge expansion of Foundry Studios Ltd over the last 18 months has not left much time for updating our website.  In this period we’ve opened The City of London’s first specialist health and fitness shop and through Foundry Events Services delivered corporate health talks to, amongst others, UBS, RBS, Innocent Drinks, Weil, Gotshal & Manges and – Whistles and…(breath)… organised sell out health and fitness events including our Barefoot Running Seminar with Barefoot Ted and our Heavy Weekend, of Strength Conditioning with leading athletes.

However whilst we wait for our new website to be finished it would be remiss of us not to highlight more of our clients’ and personal trainers’ outstanding successes.  So next week is Body Transformation Week on The Foundry Blog.  We’ll be posting a different outstanding fat loss and body transformation case-study every day with before and after pictures, body composition data and testimonials.

So check back here for daily inspiration from Monday.

Filed Under: Blog, Fitness, Transformations Tagged With: , ,

Book now to train with Evelyn Stevenson; Elite Mentor at The Foundry’s Heavy Weekend

July 10, 2011 By

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Eat Clean, Lift Heavy, Get Bigger II – Back with a vengeance

June 30, 2011 By

6 weeks ago we met VS who had achieved remarkable success with nothing but hard work, a good diet and a little help from his Personal Trainer Dave Thomas

In 6 weeks our mystery man had added 4kg of lean mass (and reduced his body fat by 2%).

We therefore wanted to check back in with VS at the 12 week stage to show you how he’s getting on.  The results are worth waiting for:

Personal Training London

Eat Clean, Lift Heavy, Get Even Better Results

VS is about to complete 2 cycles of his training programme which focusses on big compound lifting (squats, bench, deadlifts etc).  His lifts have improved by at least 80% across the board and he  is now 8kg heavier yet 4% leaner, as his photos demonstrate.  We have only used one supplement, USN’s truly exceptional Muscle Fuel Anabolic, an all-in-one protein shake which we have found so effective with clients looking to get bigger and stronger that we now retail it at The Foundry Shop

I have abs. ABS! Cool

VS – Now has to walk sideways into rooms

We need to stress again that there is no magic to our success stories. If you train hard, eat well and follow a well structured consistent programme you will achieve great results.  Add expert tuition, programming knowledge  and support from one of London’s best personal training teams and you have the perfect training scenario.

If you’re interested in learning how to lift properly and achieve the sort of performance and aesthetic results VS has then check out our exclusive ‘Heavy Weekend’ Strength & Conditioning Event

  • No other training event gives you the opportunity to train and learn from Elite Rugby Players, Olympic Lifters, Olympic Athletes and London’s Premier Strength Coaches: http://foundryheavyweekend.eventbrite.com
  • Train with Andy Titterrell, Leeds Captain and Former British Lion and England Player, Evelyn Stevenson, British Powerlifting Champ, Sian Toal English Fitness Model Champ and more.
  • Sponsored By USN, The Pure Package, Poncho No 8 and Cherry Active
  • Media and Business Partners include: The Times, FitPro, RugbyDump, PhysioUK
Filed Under: Blog, Fitness, Performance, Strength training, Testimonials, Transformations Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

USN and The Pure Package Sponsor The Foundry’s Heavy Weekend

June 21, 2011 By

Bootcamp

The Foundry is delighted to announce that USN, one of the leading global supplements companies, is the official supplements sponsor of our Heavy Weekend in Oxfordshire on Saturday 13 & Sunday 14 August 2011.  They will be supporting the concept of offering elite sports conditioning to the general population by providing free protein shakes and bars for all participants.

Also, The Pure Package, the London based gourmet diet food delivery company, as used by celebrities and athletes such as Hugh Jackman, Zinzan Brooke, Denise Van Outen. Lily Cole and Linford Christie, are our official “Pit Stop” Sponsor.  They have kindly offered to provide free healthy snacks for all our attendees.

We have sponsorship spots still available for a lunch sponsor and transport sponsor for this weekend so please contact us at dave@foundryfit.com if you would like to get involved or know more.

Finally, we will be announcing our exciting national media partners shortly so watch this space!!

To find out more about The Foundry’s Heavy Weekend, please see our recent blog post, contact Dave at dave@foundryfit.com or book online at http://foundryheavyweekend.eventbrite.com

Filed Under: Blog, Fitness, Performance, Rugby, Sport, Strength training Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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