Client spotlight: Neil Shah
Amazing 10kg weight loss in 12 weeks and a new-found confidence in both training and nutrition
“The Fitness Lab team has already helped me make huge strides forward in a relatively short period of time! The atmosphere at the gym is very welcoming and friendly, from your first call onwards, with no feelings of judgement whatsoever. While I work with one PT, the whole team makes an effort to get to know you, making it feel like a community. Tom (my PT) is available week round for advice and has set up a programme for me outside the hour I spend with him in person, going above and beyond. Would highly recommend it for anyone looking to get started with a PT!”
TRAINER QUESTIONS
- What was Neil’s main goal?
As well as achieving a 10kg weight-loss in 12 weeks, he wanted to improve his strength and muscle definition and learn more about nutrition. It makes for a great journey when a client is this eager to learn and commit to the process!
- What issues did you and Neil address in the initial consultation?
After exploring sleeping habits, nutrition and stress levels, we agreed on several quick and easy strategies to make improvements across the board: meal prep each week to reduce the amount of grab and go food, increase daily water intake and prioritise early nights when work schedule allows.
- What were some of the key barriers to success – and how did you work around them?
As well as planning for success, it is key to plan for potential obstacles. Neil’s demanding job meant the occasional late night in the office, which undoubtedly threw a spanner in the works. Rather than panic at the sight of a higher scale weight or a missed training session, we always simply returned to the plan at the earliest possible time and continued as normal.
- Talk us through the focus point for Neil’s training plan
Neil had already lost some weight initially by attending group fitness classes. We discussed in detail the differences between his current training approach and focused resistance training. It has been demonstrated time and time again that the best approach to increasing strength, muscle tone and definition whilst simultaneously losing is to commit to a resistance training programme. So, we geared our sessions around learning fundamental movement patterns, prioritising technique before steadily increasing weights and technical difficulty.
The slow and steady approach is often neglected, with people chasing fancy exercises that they see on social media, when in reality nailing the basics is far more effective. Keeping it simple does not mean keeping it easy. Neil was challenged in each and every workout, which all progressed weekly as Neil’s strength and fitness improved. We kept it fun, too – it’s super important to make the process enjoyable, it helps enormously in a client’s adherence and motivation!
Every week, in addition to us meeting face-to-face, Neil completed two sessions at home. This hybrid style of coaching allows a continual loop of improvement and feedback between coach and client, it also allows clients the time to learn and develop on their own, which is key to keeping up training long term. Delivered through the My PT Hub app, the home workouts were designed specifically to build on the new movements learnt and to provide a structured, challenging full body workout.
- What nutrition and lifestyle support was given?
Contrary to popular belief, we don’t need to dive into “strict diet mode” to achieve weight loss. We made some subtle changes to the amount of protein he was consuming, whilst keeping overall calorie intake the same. High-protein diets have been shown to improve weight-loss and help with maintaining and building muscle. By keeping calories the same, we were able to avoid energy dips from a reduction in food.
We agreed on the 80/20 approach to Neil’s nutrition, where 80% of his calories would come from healthy wholefoods, giving him the freedom to use the remaining 20% freely. By tracking this all using the My Fitness Pal app, it enables both coach and client to review and make recommendations (if needed). Both honesty and trust is required for this to work – honesty from the client’s side, that they will report accurately, and trust in the coach that they will provide support and recommendations based on lifestyle and constraints.
- What have been Neil’s biggest achievements / challenges?
Thanks to his hard work and focus, Neil managed to lose an incredible 10kg across 10 weeks. This 1kg loss per week is testament to Neil’s commitment to consistent, structured training, as well as tracking his nutrition. This, combined with open communication between client and coach, proved to be the winning formula.
Not only did Neil lose an amazing 10kg, he also gained improved movement ability, strength, and new-found confidence around food and training. Interestingly, nothing significant has changed from when we set off. Food intake remains the same and the focus of training is still to get stronger in the basic movements, while keeping training fun and challenging.
ADDITIONAL POINTS
As with many aspects of health and fitness, there is no “one size fits all” approach. If you would like to find out about a tailored package designed to achieve your health and fitness goals, book in for a free consultation and find out how the team at Fitness Lab can help you.
