TRIED & TESTED: Frame Personalised

Being a regular visitor to Frame Queens Park I was excited and curious when I saw the posts advertising their soon to arrive new Frame Personalised services… and even more excited when I heard it was going to be possible to focus on strength training, which I have been wanting to get into for ages… I signed up for my free trial straight away….

The free trial

I was allocated to Alice Rickard who is an energetic, fiercely athletic blonde who I quickly warmed to. As mentioned in my previous review of Frame, the trainers are one of the main things that I really love about this gym, they are consistently amazing, which gives you such security knowing you are going to have a thorough and fantastic workout, in a happy and encouraging environment whoever you train with. Anyway, I digress… but basically Alice met my expectations, and then some. We went through my medical history, goals, fitness background really carefully and I walked away at the end with no doubt that Alice had understood me and what I was hoping to achieve. I was then taken through a taster session so I could get an overview of what Frame Personalised would be all about. I attempted deadlifts for the first time and weighted squats… no, no, not with a couple of mere dumbells in my hands or a medicine ball….but with the big bar and big-looking weights either end! I was jumping on and off plyometric boxes (these are my nemeses) and was introduced to a curious machine in the corner called ‘the cage’ which seems to be able to do an endless number of exercises and clever options…. the PT room is well equipped, clean and with a rubber floor so weights can be dropped safely. I liked the way it is a room dedicated purely to PT, so you can switch off the outside world and spend this hour purely on you. Basically in a nutshell I was completely sold and purchased a pack of training sessions with Alice straight away.

5 sessions in…  

I love it! So far I have been getting new PB’s every week which is enormously motivating ( I am well aware that this will not continue endlessly….but I am enjoying it while it does) Every session is different and Alice always has a very clear session plan so there is no faffing about… which is good as I am an expert faffer! Every session without fail has flown by as I get so engaged in what we are working on in each set. I am learning to do Olympic lifting, also known as the ‘clean and jerk’ which is so much harder than it looks and a huge amount of technique involved, weighted squats with the bar across your shoulders and I have also been deadlifting and learning to do pull ups….my aim is to be able to do unassisted pull ups one day! One of the things that really surprised me though is the effect this is having on my body – things started to change so quickly, i can see my arms looking distinctly less bingo-wingy and my shoulders and back are slimming down and looking leaner, as is my whole body. If you think about the process of the ‘clean and jerk’ it is a whole body workout, from working your legs when squatting, your core while bringing the weights up, and your arms and shoulders in the final push! I have also noticed improvements since doing this in other areas of fitness –  I feel stronger doing chaturungas in yoga and I am stepping up my free-weights in the X-Train class I go to.

Alice has been great, she has given me advice and tips on my diet and always available for further questions I may have. She genuinely cares and enjoys seeing the progress in her clients too and has even been known to give me encouragement during the week to resist the temptation of cheese and keep strong on the nutrition front. Having said that though she is not at all judgemental and when I slip up she doesn’t reprimand me – just checks that I’m not doing it too often and within the realms of reason! It’s all about getting back on track and not hating yourself for the slip ups, we’re only human. Alice has continued to strengthen my opinion of Frame as a gym for people who want to workout hard, get results, but also be surrounded with and taught by trainers that are inspiring and reinforce a truly healthy body image which is something that we don’t always get exposed to in everyday life.

A little bit about strength training for ladies…

Ladies, this is a fact:  you won’t bulk up and become female versions of Arnie if you lift heavy weights (unless you are takings serious supplements and doing a very specific diet and training regime.) Incorporating weight training makes you lose weight and build lean muscle. When you have more muscle you also burn more calories naturally, even when you are not working out and your body will work more efficiently from top to bottom. If you need proof that weights won’t make you into a beef-cake, go have a look on instagram, it won’t take long to find many accounts of women doing weights and achieving and maintaining their own dream body (whether that be slender, slim, athletic, curvy) but the one thing they all have in common is, they are all strong and healthy. I do have to say though I don’t advise anyone to just go and start messing with the barbells and heavy weights at your gym without an instructor – you could do yourself (or even someone else) some major damage so please make sure you have advise and supervision from a trainer first.

My final thoughts….

I am someone that has struggled enormously to lose weight and seeing the effect that the individual attention you get from Frame Personalised has given really excites me. I really feel that my goals are possible if I can continue in this vein. Frame Personalised is geared to you, so you may not do the same exercises that I have described here, but whatever you do it will be chosen specifically to create the changes and achieve the goals that you are after. The first taster session of Frame Personalised is free, so you have nothing to lose and judging on the experience I am having I wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone and anyone.

How much? Taster session is free and then check out the Frame websites for all the different  package options

Find out more: http://www.moveyourframe.com/personal-training/