People’s Stories

“I came to Ross with a painful body. I had excruciating hip, shoulder and back pain. Because of the pain, I had given up exercise and put on 2 stone. I was a broken woman. Unhappy, lethargic and I began to think ‘this is my life!’

After seeing a specialist who suspected arthritis (I didn’t), and waiting for an MRI scan (NHS-long wait), I was introduced to Ross by a friend. He has completely transformed my life. Through the right exercises and stretches I am now pain free, fit and healthy. Ross is the complete package. He advises you on food, sleep patterns, breathing and de-stressing. Ross goes beyond the hour of training and supports you every step of the way, mentally and physically. He keeps training interesting, challenging and fun.

I have lost 2 dress sizes, feel healthier and fitter. I’m a more positive and confident person, and enjoying every minute of my life. Now this is my life!

Thank you Ross.”

“My shoulder had been bugging me for some time. It was getting progressively worse the more I was pulling on and I constantly found myself backing out of moves in case I made it worse. I’d had some physio and a sports masseuse had a good go at it a few times, but it was becoming increasingly frustrating to feel little improvement. Not just dealing with the pain, but that feeling of having to hold back and losing my current climbing level.

I worked with Ross to sort out my shoulder and free me up to climb harder again. It took a few months to really start being strong enough to take on the higher grades I had in mind, but incredibly I noticed improvements in my shoulder by the end of the first month, less pain and feeling way more solid! The added bonus was my achy back, which I had thought was just the way it is, was way less achy too! The best thing is I’m now pushing through harder climbing moves without worrying about my shoulder anymore.

Ross’ climbing experience meant he understood what I wanted to do and could focus my exercises fitting it all in with my climbing indoors and trips most effectively. Knowing I could only really train at home with minimal kit and having never really been fond of the gym because it’s boring I was blown away at how much variety and more enjoyable training can be. It’s amazing to know just how much I can do with just my swiss ball from rehabbing my shoulder all the way to tough core exercises.

I like being able to focus on climbing hard and knowing that I’m looking after my shoulders plus getting more solid all round at the same time feels great. Training with aps has given me loads of ways to do that. Thanks for all your help and all you’ve taught me!”

“I had got to a point in my life where something had to change, my lifestyle was terrible – I was extremely unfit and hated the person I was looking at in the mirror. I looked at photographs of myself and could hardly believe it was me. I knew I had to do something about it, something significant! I had thought about Personal Training, I needed someone to motivate me, but the thought of working out at a gym in front of other people terrified me, my confidence was at an all time low. I came across the aps website and was immediately intrigued, they had their own private studio and their passion about not just health and fitness, but lifestyle shone through.

On my first meeting with Matt, he made Personal Training sound not so terrifying, in fact it sounded quite fun! He explained how I could achieve the goals I wanted, he was extremely informative and I straight away felt completely at ease, his openness and true passion for health and fitness made me realise I could put my trust in him 110%.

Matt develops challenging routines that are fun and varied using weights, cardio circuits, boxing and many other great routines that I never could of imagined myself doing. The sessions vary week on week depending on your overall goal. We don’t just focus on exercise, he has helped me transition into a complete lifestyle change focusing on my diet, getting enough sleep and managing stress. His constant motivation, encouragement (and patience) has been a god send!

Over the last year, my body shape has changed and fitness has improved beyond recognition! I have become a healthier, fitter, happier person and what is more, I have my confidence and self-belief back, which I cannot thank Matt enough for!

What can I say? Matt has well and truly transformed my life! I would highly recommend him to anyone. You will not be disappointed!”

I’d reached a frustrating plateau in my climbing around f6b in bouldering, partly due to injuries and picking up worse ones, and partly due to not climbing or training smart. I wanted to improve but I felt stuck, and unsure of how to move forward.

My time climbing was characterised by sore shoulders and a recurrent shoulder impingement type niggle.  This meant weeks off climbing at times and certain moves I would totally avoid due to pain, like deep lock-offs on rock-overs or gaston moves. This was the first upper-body intensive sport I had ever done, and my body was suffering.

In retrospect, I really wasn’t training well at all. I would shy away from the woody both from fear of injury and a lack of confidence. I hoped I could improve just by climbing but I was afraid to do certain moves for fear of aggravating my shoulders, & although I was doing some strength training and mobility exercises at home to try and keep my body in balance, I was still getting injured all the time.

When I went to see Ross, we looked deeper into my injuries and tested my whole body to discover patterns of weakness and strength. The initial phases were about building solid foundations. The exercises were fun and for the most part could be done at home or down the wall with minimal kit.

We also delved into nutrition, sleep and recovery; I considered myself to be pretty healthy but it was exciting to see how I could still make many simple improvements with minimal to no trade-offs to optimise these areas and support my climbing from more angles.

Knowing that my foundations were strong and I was taking care of myself meant we then focused on ramping up my climbing and training. I could finally train well, we added a tonne of strength, like going from 0 pull ups to doing 4 solid, and as a result, during a recent bouldering trip to Switzerland, I ticked my first and second f7A plus a handful of 6Cs, the hardest grade boulders I’ve ever sent so far.

Now, my shoulders are in the greatest condition they’ve ever been, the neck stiffness and a cranky hip pain I had have all but disappeared, and I’m eyeing up my next projects in the 7s.

Not only will off the rock training help you rehab injuries or recurrent niggles plus help you climb harder and feel stronger, but it also teaches you lessons and skills to build individualised self-care habits that you can apply for the rest of your life.

“I’ve suffered with back problems and pains for 15 years, and I’d started to believe that this was going to be my lot. 6 months ago it got a lot worse. I was in huge amounts of pain and could barely get out of bed or rollover let alone do any of the things that I really love like climbing, yoga and walking. On top of that I was really struggling with all the practical hands on side I needed to do to finish my acupuncture degree. After seeing a chiropractor, I was diagnosed with a suspected L4/5 disc bulge and came to Ross for some coaching.

From the beginning Ross was positive about the improvements that could be made to my pain levels and general strength, even when I definitely wasn’t! From the very start my rehab exercises were tailored towards my injury and my goals of getting through all the practical clinic parts needed to finish my degree and get back to climbing pain free and stronger than before. What was really great was that the rehab exercises didn’t take up nearly as much time as I’d thought they would, that I could do it all at home, and all I needed was a swiss ball, a foam roller and a few bands! The exercises felt practical, relevant and pain free, giving me the motivation I needed.

Beyond the rehab exercises, Ross’s holistic approach made me reassess and improve other aspects too, like food, sleep and rest, which really made a difference. I am vegan and had been for a year when I started training with Ross. As it turned out I wasn’t getting enough of the things I needed which inevitably was hindering my recovery. Together we made some tweaks; like simple, practical ways of introducing more protein and ways of getting key nutrients I was likely lacking. Within weeks I felt the benefits, I was healing physically faster, and could handle more challenging training as we introduced harder movements and strength training. I was also surprised at the improvement in my emotional state which really helped me with the recovery.

In just a few months with Ross’ help and guidance I have overcome not only my acute injury but also feel stronger and completely pain free for the first time in over 15 years!!! Not to mention I completed my studies and am back climbing now stronger than ever!”

“I started training with Ross in June 2009 with the goal of running 5km for Cancer Research in 25 minutes in July. The best time I had achieved was 31 minutes. I began training with Ross once a week where we focussed on increasing my fitness, core and importantly for me, motivation. The personal plan he developed was fun, varied, challenging and delivered results in a short time. That isn’t to say I didn’t find it hard but.

I beat my personal goal and ran the 5km race in 23.32 mins, and finished in the top 12 places, which I felt, was an amazing achievement. I couldn’t have done this without Ross’ help and detailed training plans. For me, I have really embraced regular exercise, and enjoy the weekly sessions. A lot of exercises/plans he recommends can be done at home/outside etc. rather than in a gym which can fit in with a busy lifestyle.

Now I have achieved my first goal I am planning a 10km in October which we are working towards together. The improvement in my core, fitness, confidence and self belief has grown so much, that I will continue to have sessions regularly to enhance the personal challenges I set. The biggest plus is his enthusiasm and passion which really rubs off on me – I would say my lifestyle has certainly improved since being one of Ross’ clients.”

“I can touch my toes! That hasn’t been possible for years and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Training with Ross has left me fitter than I have ever been, more flexible than I ever imagined and so mentally and physically strong that my performance in every area of my life has improved. I can sit on the floor and play with my kids for hours with no pain, something I either avoided previously or put up with. Can’t ask for more than that.”

“aps coaching has been an exceptionally positive experience for me.

I’ve been a keen skier for decades, but with a niggly lower back and a sore shoulder holding me back not to mention a couple of ACL surgeries from my past, I was starting to feel my fun on the slopes was getting cut short.

Recommended by my chiropractor my aim was to get stronger so I could keep skiing with confidence, move and swim more freely, plus hopefully get my shoulder and back feeling a bit better

I began with the aps plus coaching package and within 6 months I was moving better than in decades previously, feeling looser in my neck and shoulders and continuing to get ever stronger lifting weights I wouldn’t have dreamt of picking up.

The ski season was great, I felt strong and enjoyed the extra stamina even, though tentatively, going off piste in heavy snow. Lugging skis around has become so much easier and I’ve got rid of my big clunky knee support and now wear just my foam Velcro strapping!

Developing my confidence with strength training, lifting weights, eating better and trusting my knees has been a big part of the process.

After the initial 6 months of progress, with Ross’ suggestion, I transitioned to the distance coaching option with less contact time. I was nervous at first but it’s worked really well. I have more flexibility, am saving money, still feel fully supported and continuing to get great results.

Ross has been patient, listened and addressed all my concerns, and always been cheerful and positive. His focus has been to teach me a range of movements that exercise my whole body from stretching to lifting weights. He tailored an exercise program that is practical to my life and suits me that we continually update and adapt together always started where I feel comfortable and progressing from there. On top of exercise we’ve looked at practical ways I can eat better and include more rest too. I’ve learnt a lot about how to adapt workouts at different times and what to do about pains and niggles if and when they crop up.

The coaching embodies an all-round approach to being healthy, moving better and improving physical fitness. I’m looking forward to getting on the slopes again even stronger and feeling better.

I couldn’t be happier with my coaching sessions, home workouts and even other homework I get!”

“The last year has seen how I train change significantly, even though I have had Personal Trainers before. He has introduced some corrective training for posture and joint problems – as I’ve been suffering from arthritis since my mid-30’s and use exercise to avoid it getting worse. I’ve trained with Ross for a year now – the sessions are interesting and he still surprises me with new exercises that challenge me rather than just heavier weights.

I’m amazed with the results; my hip joints have been less painful this winter, I’m more relaxed and even found I can sleep better. The arthritis pain used to make me unconsciously avoid putting stress on some joints by taking more stain on one side. So in a series of small changes, via stretches, breaking full exercises into smaller movements and just making me aware of the situations we have begun to change these imbalances – over the period it has been an amazing difference to my mobility and pain levels.

Ross is very adaptable and will alter the session if I have a day where movement is more difficult, but will also push me on a good day -which luckily there have been many more of.”

“Walking into a gym and training with yet another Personal Trainer was my idea of hell but given my personal circumstances it was a must. Having had hip surgery immediately turned previous trainers off working with me, which had quite an impact on my self confidence and outlook on training as a whole.

From day 1 I knew working with Matt was going to be different. I straight away felt completely at ease in his presence, his openness and honestly let me know I could put my trust in him 100%. Working with me was no easy task and although I put my trust in Matt I allowed my perceived limits restrict my progress. Matt’s patience and encouragement allow me to push past my perceived limits and achieve results I never thought I would get. Within 6 months of working with Matt my balance, flexibility, and hip pain had improved immensely along with managing to lose weight.

Matt is clearly passionate about fitness and it shows through the energy and enthusiasm he brings to every session. His professionalism, extensive knowledge and enthusiastic commitment in my opinion makes Matt a credit to his profession. He provides the perfect scenario’s for success and sets foundations for a new healthier lifestyle. His is personable and has a lot of integrity. Having worked with other personal trainers I can say for certain that Matt is one of the best”

“Climbers, check out apsfitness! Well anyone really who does high-impact sport and values being able to train and push for your goals, they can help.

I came to Ross 6 weeks before a climbing trip to Kalymnos, with a shoulder that hurt and pinched when I lifted my arm above 30 degrees, often called a shoulder impingement and was ready to give up on climbing at all during the trip. Thanks to Ross’s positive attitude, holistic approach and a movement training programme designed specifically for me, I was climbing again within 5 weeks, had an epic trip, and was able to push my onsight grade. He analyses your movement, finds the source of injuries and creates a programme that focusses on weaknesses to align and strengthen the whole body, to solve the injury and make it less likely to reoccur. Even if you’re not currently injured, pay him a visit before an imbalance turns into an injury, I’ve never climbed so strong!”