What was your lifestyle/motivation like prior to joining the gym?
A: I’m Shelly, a fulltime working Mum to son Dennis. I was asked to get in touch with Paul via another gym member – a friend of ours who assured me this would be another piece of the puzzle to help with Dennis’s training. I didn’t think I’d have the time, but after lots of persuasion I rang Paul, and the rest we is history.
Dennis is a shotput and discus thrower, training towards European Qualifications – and hopefully the Para Olympics one day, if I have anything to do with it! We felt that he was missing out on that extra bit of strength training. Although he was training with his local club twice a week, and his technical throwing coach once a week, there wasn’t much opportunity of any strength training, which we felt he needed.
Once we were introduced to Paul and the sessions booked, we knew straight away this was definitely another part of the jigsaw. We already though Dennis displayed great motivation, but since joining The Edge it has increased by 100%. It’s definitely our second home.
Our lifestyle was already improving before joining The Edge, but once again this is now 100% better. He has been shown how to improve his lifestyle, his food choices and meal preperation.
Paul doesn’t just help with his training ,but also recovery after competitions. I was gently encouraged to try training at Edge EPT, so I bit the bullet and joined in. I was a member of another gym before this, but felt like I wasn’t being pushed to my full potential.
I started off with high motivation as a hockey and netball player, but this has improved immensely since joining, and my fitness and strength levels have increased. My food optimising has changed for the better too.
What were your initial goals when you first joined the Edge and have you achieved them?
A: When Dennis first started training at Edge EPT, but to help with Dennis’s biggest challenges – confidence and mentally preparing himself on a daily basis. I was hopeful we could work together on this, and I was right.
Dennis has not only become more confident in everyday life, but he now communicates with everybody in the gym, and his ability to undertake new weekly challenges from Paul has been amazing, where previously he struggled with this.
He has now achieved goals that we knew where in the pipeline, but just out of reach at the time of joining. He is not just physically fitter, but mentally more healthy and more determined and prepared than ever.
As for myself, once signing up I wanted to get myself back in the game – fitter and stronger after an accident and knee surgery a few years previously. I’d always worried that training could do more damage, but with the expertise of Paul and his team there’s no chance of that. For this, I am forever grateful. I have exceeded what I thought I was capable of, and have definitely become fitter and stronger.
A: For Dennis, I think seeing his potential and what he is able to achieve with the right people behind him. Someone once said to me, “It’s like a jigsaw puzzle and all the pieces slot in.” This is very true.
Also, the enjoyment we both get from exercising, attending the classes and meeting the other gym members – they are the best training partners we could both wish for.
