Luke is a very dedicated personal trainer who is also very motivated in his own Training. He talks to Sundried about life in the fitness industry.
Tell us about your journey to fitness? Where did it all start?
For me it all started from my first sports day in primary school. I've always been able to run very well from a young age and so I started to play anything that meant I could be moving. I continued into high school and enjoyed rugby and football but it was always the running I enjoyed the most and so took part in a few sporting events at sport city for sprinting.
I joined a gym as soon as I was old enough. I used the gym for 3 years straight and then at 18 got a job in that same gym. I've worked in 3 different gyms over 10 years now and have never stopped apart from a few injuries to the knee and back. 2 and a half years into personal training and I couldn't be happier with my life.
What are your training goals now?
At the moment I'm training for size and bringing my body fat down to 8%.
Tell us one unusual fact we wouldn’t know about you:
I have 4 different categories for my socks. Home socks, gym socks, work socks and going out socks. Always being on the move I need to look after my feet!
What advice do you wish you'd been given when you first started out?
To concentrate on my technique and mindfulness of exercises in everything I do above all else.
Do you follow a specific nutrition plan? If so, what/when do you eat?
At the moment not really, I just concentrate on eating healthy and varied until I hit a wall I'll look at it. As long as I'm getting 200g protein a day then I don't really track anything else.
What do you do to keep your clients motivated? Do you have any top tips to keep motivated?
Doing everything I can to help them reach their short term and long term goals as this will keep them motivated. I always go above and beyond for my clients. This is what personal trainers are for.
Talk us through your training regime.
On Mondays I train legs and always start with squats as they need the most focus and energy in order to perform the reps perfectly and especially because I have had problems with my lower back.
On Tuesdays I do at least 30 minutes of cardio before moving onto training my core from top to bottom.
Wednesday is chest and back day. I'm currently happy with the size of my chest so I'm just training for strength. When it comes to back, I'm training for size just to even out with the front. My workout starts with a lot of compound lifts on both body parts, finishing with isolation in certain parts.
Thursday I'll hit legs again, usually using some different training methods like pyramid sets or pre/post exhaust, anything to keep adding size to my legs.
Friday is another cardio day and working the core again on all areas just using different exercises and different movement patterns.
Saturday I'll hit the chest and back again for strength on the chest and size on the back but again using different exercises and movement patterns. At the end I do a few shoulder exercises on the back and side but never really concentrate on front delts as they get hit in many exercises.
Sunday is my day off!
How do you keep your fitness knowledge up to date?
I read every day, whether that's a book or a blog or listen to a podcast. I'm always buying books related to my profession. I also make sure I do at least one course a year to develop myself and add an extra service to my clients.
What are your top 3 trainer tips?
- Always pay attention to your client in the session and to what they say.
- Be organised and have a routine you follow.
- Always be early for your client's session.
If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
If a meal then a roast dinner. One food would be chicken.
Why work with Sundried?
I like that the clothes are made from recycled products and I am a big fan of this and think this is the way the world is going now and should be so I'm happy to represent this brand. Also the clothes look very nice.and fit the body very well; you can tell it's quality.
Favourite fitness quote:
"You cannot fail unless you quit so don't quit." This helped me keep going a lot and hit me when I needed it the most.
