We love to see our members working hard to achieve their fitness goals. So we sat down to chat with Bristol gym members, Tara and Ken, who, despite a busy lifestyle, have committed to a dedicated fitness plan and a healthier future.

"At the beginning of our Journey, Tara and I were in our late 40’s and both have very busy work and home life. We were in our own very comfortable eating and drinking routine and we did not make the time for a balanced healthy or active lifestyle. We would snack at night on lovely chocolate biscuits, a drink or two or get that takeaway while watching a good film or TV series.

Both Tara and I fully acknowledged we were not fit at all, both carrying a good few extra pounds and having both had health concerns; I was taking four blood pressure and one cholesterol tablet daily from a previous medical problem and Tara had problems with her knee due an accident. So, in life and work we were not as fit as we could be and wanted to prevent other long‐term medical problems in our later years."

Commiting To Fitness

In February 2019, Tara and Ken joined our brand new fitness club at Village Gym Bristol. 

"We made a pledge to ourselves for a sustainable positive change in our lifestyle – noting this would not be a quick fix, like a diet but a `lifestyle change’ in our habits. This commitment would be financial (our own hard‐earned money) and our precious time."

Fitness Goals

Tara and Ken's fitness goals were focussed on preventing medical issues that can often come as a result of a sedentary lifestyle or poor diet.  They saw their new fitness quest as a chance to spend quality time together, whilst working towards a fitter future.

"This had to be a fun journey and something we can sustain. Although we expect to lose weight we have not set ourselves a target as we understand our muscle weight will increase and water in take so just going for reduced weight loss is not sensible or an achievable target."

Personal Training Support

Our new members committed to attending Village Gym three times a week, and enlisted Personal Trainer, Harry to help them stay on track.

"Harry gave us practical goals such as calorie intake and we began recording all our food in a free App called `My Fitness Pal.’ He also then gave us both activity programmes outside of our PT Sessions which suited our individual goals.

Having a good rapport and trust with your Personal Trainer is key for us. Harry knows some very personal information about us and understands exactly what each of us is trying to
achieve. His challenge has been to motivate us during our training sessions, so he's made them fun, whilst pushing us safely out of our comfort zones with challenges he knows we can achieve"

"We have both had Gym Memberships before with other local fitness clubs, but what we both like about the Village Gym is the atmosphere and the acceptance by everyone, staff and members." 

"The Village Gym staff are all positive and welcome you on arrival and while in the gym it has a great atmosphere. Tara has now started going to fitness classes and currently loving `Body Jam’. What she enjoys is its fun and you don’t feel like you are doing a hard work out. I love motivational music, so I have bought some Bluetooth headphones and I have my own Gym playlist which motivates me to maintain my energy while at the gym."

Savvy Nutrition

"One of my personal targets is to increase my Protein intake so I bought `My Protein’ shake powder to support my fat turning to muscle, this is included in my calorie intake. I have vanilla flavour (but my top tip is to add a couple of raspberries for a bit of flavour. You can also buy protein bars as well.

Tara soon discovered Gin with Diet Lemonade has less calories than a glass of wine. With our Personal Trainers guidance, we've really changed our thinking around what we eat."

What Challenges Did You Face During Your Fitness Journey?

Busy lives and work, work trips away meant we were limited for time to regularly commit. So we made sure to plan the time in for training around our other commitments.

People at work or family eating rubbish and drinking around us. It can be tempting when you see others eating around you, but with Harry's support, we stuck to our healthy eating plan.

Going to the cinema and not having the large popcorn we were used to was tough. But our fitness journey was all about a lifestyle change, not a diet. So once we changed our eating habits, we didn't miss our old ways.

Summer drinkies in the sunshine! We all love a refreshing alcoholic drink or two, though we simply switched to more sensible options.  

Our Personal Training Results

It’s now the beginning of our sixth month into our separate fitness journeys, and have achieved the following...

• % Fat Free Mass reduced by 4%
• Total Body Water (needed for liver and kidney functions) increase of 3%
• Visceral Fat (fat about your organs) Level reduced by 3
• Body Fat Mass reduced by 7kg
• Body Mass Index (weight x height) reduced by 3 points
• We have both lost 9kg (or in simple terms 1st 5lbs)
• From a medical point of view, I have stopped taking 2 blood pressure and my cholesterol tablets daily, while my blood pressure remaining low. My progress is fully supported by my Doctor.

"We are happier as we can have a more active life. This is not just in our physical energy in our bodies but also in our minds, as we feel more motivated to do more, like going out. Mentally we feel our minds are more active, so this has also a positive affect at work and supporting our families.

We'll continue on our own paths to becoming healthier attending Village Gym 3 times a week, track and record our sensible choices of food and drink intake and have Personal Training sessions once every 2 weeks. It's important to have fun. We have named the stairs you go up to the gym 'Harrys Hill’ as we know we're in for a tough but rewarding workout!

We wanted to share our story to motivate others, as if we can get more active and eat healthier... anyone can."