HSG 8-Week Photoshoot Transformation

On
by Henrietta Street Gym

HSG 8-Week Photoshoot Transformation

Get yourself in the best possible shape and record your transformation with a professional photoshoot with Simon Howard (SNHFOTO) at the premium space that is Henrietta Street Gym. Partake in an experience of a lifetime, gain confidence, achieve happiness and join the list of top fitness models and athletes who’ve utilised our space to capture un-paralleled images of their physique looking at its best.

Under the tutelage of leading body transformation coach Nic Edgerton, you will be guided with personalised training plans and nutrition plans for you to attain the body of your dreams. You may not have the knowledge, but if you have the desire, we will make you achieve. These plans and this journey will engage our community vibe as we’ll support you to transform your physique over an intense 8-week period. We will nurture you throughout and ensure that you stay consistent and achieve your goals. This is not aimed at Fitness Models, this transformation if for everyday people who lack the knowledge and motivation to achieve their goal of a dream physique. This journey will peak with a premium professional photoshoot at our amazing gym.

Your package will include.

  • Personalised Nutrition Plan with adaptations
  • Personalised Training Plan with adaptations
  • Unlimited on-line support Q&A
  • 3 weekly Facebook live chats per week where any questions you or the other competitors have are answered in detail.
  • A full photoshoot at Henrietta Street Gym (we usually charge a minimum of £200+vat for a half day non-exclusive shoot)
  • Images taken from leading fitness photographer Simon Howard (SNHFOTO) (Minimum charge of £250 per shoot)
  • The option of discounted Personal Training from Nic Edgerton if you’d like that extra push through your programme – sessions from £30 per hour exclusive for photoshoot clients.
  • Transformations will be judged by leading fitness model TBC. We also have one of the many leading fitness clothing and/or supplement brands who’ve used the gym donating huge prizes for the best transformation (not the best physique)

Cost

  • Henrietta Street Gym Elite Members: £297
  • Regular Members/ Online clients: £327

This shoot is open to non-members, you do not have to train at Henrietta Street Gym.

Please note enrolment does not include access to Henrietta Street Gym. Only persons with a gym membership can use the facilities for their training regime.

Last enrolment on this transformation is June 9th. Training programmes and nutrition plans sent across on WC June 10th, the 8-week transformation begins Monday 18th June, with the photoshoot taking place on Saturday August 11th from 10am till 6pm.

Sign Me Up

Signing up to this couldn’t be easier. Fill in the contact form attached and then proceed to the payment screen.

I have a few questions first?

We understand that this is a big commitment. Please email Nic on nictdedgerton@gmail.com and he can either return email or schedule a call. Once you’ve committed, your fee is non-refundable.

Henrietta Street Gym as a shoot location

Our Javelin Block built space with reanimated and recycled features and industrial look has proved popular as a shoot location. Birmingham based clothing company P&Co had a small shoot to promote a new range of hipster style clothing prior to our opening. It was the P&Co promotional shoot that caught the attention of leading fitness photographer Chris Bailey. Chris was due to work with top Men’s Fitness Model Ryan Terry who was due to compete at the Arnold Classic. He contacted us and arranged for a promotional video shoot. Ryan won the Arnold Classic – the video went viral, people in the fitness community where impressed with the space and we became inundated with requests for shoots. We regularly hold shoots at Henrietta Street Gym

Fitness Models Who’ve Shot At HSG

Ryan Terry, Obi Vincent, Sergi Constance, Michelle Brenan, Tom Coleman, Joey Swoll, Ross Dickerson

Brands/ Companies

Gym Shark, Apple, VQ Fit, P&Co, The Gadget Show, USN, Nocco,

 

Sign Me Up

Signing up to this couldn’t be easier. Fill in the contact form attached and then proceed to the payment screen.

I have a few questions first?

We understand that this is a big commitment. Please email Nic on nictdedgerton@gmail.com and he can either return email or schedule a call. Once you’ve committed, your fee is non-refundable.

About Simon Howard SNHFOTO

Simon is a leading fitness photographer who has shoot a scope of fitness models from virtually every leading fitness brand across the UK.

Website: http://www.snhfoto.com/

Nic Edgerton personal shoot with SNHFOTO

Nic’s Transformation client with shoot SNHFOTO

Sign Me Up

Signing up to this couldn’t be easier. Fill in the contact form attached and then proceed to the payment screen.

I have a few questions first?

We understand that this is a big commitment. Please email Nic on nictdedgerton@gmail.com and he can either return email or schedule a call. Once you’ve committed, your fee is non-refundable.

Transformations By Nic Edgerton

Ash in prep for a fitness show

Sagona looking for rapid weight loss. 24lbs in 8-weeks!

Kyri dropped 25lbs in 8 weeks

 

Nilufar 8-week show for the bikini masters (40+) category

Farooq in show preparation for ‘Men’s Physique’

Tracy’s Transformation

Sign Me Up

Signing up to this couldn’t be easier. Fill in the contact form attached and then proceed to the payment screen.

I have a few questions first?

We understand that this is a big commitment. Please email Nic on nictdedgerton@gmail.com and he can either return email or schedule a call. Once you’ve committed, your fee is non-refundable.

Angelo Dundee Saved My Life

On
by Henrietta Street Gym

Angelo Dundee Saved My Life

by Neil Perkins

 

The voice of Angelo Dundee was in my head, my visual mind was playing the fight between Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy ‘Hitman’ Hearns and the inspirational speech that Angelo delivered between rounds

‘Your blowing it son, your blowing it’

I was sat crippled in pain on a hotel balcony in Cape Verde, my tired body was broken, my mind was all over the place and I was having a word with myself. The playing of this video in my head and it’s words inspired me so much that as I rose from my balcony chair like it was a stool, then I took two steps onto the balcony like I was taking centre ring and began to shadow box – that was before my back reminded me why I was sat there in pain reflecting on my life, I quickly sat back down.

Boxing changed my life, the lessons I have learnt and that I have utilised have transpired to other areas of my life. I may not be a black American who is oppressed and rose from the projects to Olympic gold and world glory, I may not be from an eastern-block country raised near communist Russia who sought a better life through the pugilistic art and I am not from the Accra in Ghana fighting through tournaments to one day become world champion – my story is very different, but equally true and real.

The analogy of my situation in relation to boxing enables me to rationalise and solve problems, to win a boxing contest is simple – you have to hit someone more or harder than they hit you, life and business can be a little bit more tricky? To think of life as a ‘fight’ or a boxing contest enables me to solve the problem, a good boxer will always beat a good fighter (strategy and skill over mindless aggression), but a good boxer will have to be able to grit down and fight at times.

 

The first year in business at Henrietta Street Gym had taken its toll on my body and mind. I’d had a tough year and in the last 6 months of it I’d lost my desire to fight, I wasn’t thinking strategically how to box, and I wasn’t in the contest -If a referee was in the ring he would have stopped the fight as I had no desire to be in there. I could whinge about the issues in business that I faced with staff, council, landlords, customers, work load and bills – but the reality is that is problem others have faced and others have solved. When you run a business, like in boxing you are in control of your own destiny – the ring is a lonely place. Yes, you might employ a trainer for advice (many people in business use coaches or are inspired by blogs, books, podcasts or google), you may use an S&C coach (specialist) and yes you’ll need staff (no comparison) but ultimately you live and die by how you apply strategy and how much fight you have in you – my strategy had gone and I had no desire to fight.

I recall contest or spars I have had when an opponent runs at me at one-hundred miles an hour swinging punches. The round would be a blur and my strategy and plan would go out of the window, I’d trade on emotion reactively swinging, at times feeling my legs buckle and a punch would catch me on the temple making my vision blur – this is what my first year in business was like. A holiday to Cape Verde was a welcome break and it was like the end of a bad round. As I boarded the plane to fly abroad it was like returning to my corner in between rounds. As I jelly-legged stumbled back to my stool, I was trying to analyse what had happened to me in the first round – it was all a blur and no sense could be made – I was just glad the bell had gone to save me.

 

From April to December I’d dropped from 118kg to 104kg, that however wasn’t something that should be celebrated, stress had taken its toll on my body. As my patterns and lifestyle changed by November I’d regressed to missing breakfast and starting the day with coffee, surviving off flapjacks and take out food, my days where unproductive and then a new escapism habit crept in – alcohol or drugs. What started as a few beers or a joint on a Saturday night escalated into either/or/both been consumed every night of the week. When you lose count of how many days consecutively you have smoked or drank, you know there is a problem. Staying up watching shit TV (Teen Mum was my favourite stoned, and Family Guy with alcohol) until 1pm and then getting up at 5.30am every day took its toll. The lack of ‘ying’ reserves (sleep and rest) led to me dosing up and ‘Yang’ every day – I was drinking 10-12 cups of coffee per day. My holiday was needed, but unlike a boxer returning to his corner for advice, no-one knew the depth of my problem, no-one could understand the loneliness of my predicament. This break just gave me breathing time.

My daughter inspires me and fills me with joy. On the third day of the holiday and after some head space I decided to set out on a beach walk with her. Fifty meters into the walk and surprise, surprise she is tired, the logical solution is her dads shoulders to piggy a ride. Our destination was the next resort, a mile and a half down the beach. A beautiful day and some time with the most special person in my life is what I should cherish? A further 50 meters and I aborted the walk, the two-year old had crippled my back, a beach walk was too much for my body and I was broken. I limped back to the hotel room with a disappointed two-year old in tow and went in search of ibuprofen. Neil Perkins, former two-time midland heavyweight champion and sparring partner to multiple world class heavyweights, the owner of Britain’s coolest gym, the man who has a ‘straightener’ with a man dubbed Britain’s hardest man was broken – how the mighty had fallen.

 

I returned to the hotel room with my daughter, took an ibuprofen and limped out onto the balcony alone. I sat with a notepad, a coloured pen and began to mind map. I started with the centre of the mind map and wrote the words

‘What makes me happy?’

The arms that spun of this mind map enabled me to make sense of this predicament I was in. I am sure many words others would resonate with family, friends, debt free and success. What I missed is the key word in that sentence.

‘ME’

I had forgot what it was to wake up feeling fresh, to share what I had learned, to make others achieve and to be a positive influence on those around me. I had less talent than many boxers I boxed with as an amateur, but my burning desire to achieve enabled me to out-perform them. I had a clear vision for Henrietta Street Gym when I launched – to make my gym the best in the UK, I’d forgot my strategy (tactics) and the ability to grit down and fight. Before I could put my plan back into place, I had to get the bounce back in my step. Henrietta Street Gym was never meant to be solely about cool decor and reanimated space – that is the shell. The soul is and always will be its staff and its members. This culture and that heart beat must resonate from the owner, the heart had stopped pumping and figures showed it. For my business to succeed, I needed to put an organic smile back on my face, get my mind clear and think strategically (box) and still grit down (fight) when I needed to.

 

My decondition was greater than it had ever been and I needed help. It was from that hotel balcony that I sent out two SOS texts, Paul Gough and Steve Foster responded. Both are glad that I didn’t tell them I was looking to box again – that would have been a long project. What they have done is started to rectify the damage I’d done to my body. I couldn’t believe how deconditioned I’d allowed myself to become and am still along way off the physical condition I was in 2007, but my mind feels sharper, fresher and more motivated than ever before. I never asked for a discounted rate and if I’d have realised the positive effect that they’d have had on my life they would have been value at £100 per session, I can not praise them both enough.

 

In 2018, I have so far not consumed more than two cups of caffeinated drink per day (I live on de-caff), I’ve not consumed one drop of alcohol, I’ve taken one cannabis capsule, I’ve trained consistently three days per week, I’ve ensured I eat breakfast very day and I’ve made and effort to drink more water. My mind has been clear, and this has had an organic effect on business, we are less than 50 members off capacity, week on week we enrich something that enhances our service, we are more focused on improving customer experience. My business debt has reduced significantly, and I am planning my life. I have booked a holiday to Turkey in July, this isn’t me coming back to the stool after a terrible round, this round I took at a canter. This is just a routine sit down, wipe of the towel, swill of the gumshield and bit of water before the next round. There is a long beach where I am stopping, I look forward to walking with my now 19kg daughter down the beach to the next resort, if she want to get on my shoulder that’s cool – thanks to Paul Gough and Steve Foster.

I don’t know if Angelo Dundee saved my life or my business. But Angelo, I hope you can hear me when I say to you, thanks for the inspirational words. – I’m back and fighting.

Learning to lose

On
by Henrietta Street Gym

Learning to lose

by Neil Perkins

 

‘If you carry on you won’t end up getting hurt, you’ll be permanently damaged’

I still hear the words of my old trainer Paul Gough ringing through my ears. It was after what turned out to be my last competitive sparring session with a seasoned pro. The blood flooding out of my broken nose masked the hole on my chin that an uppercut had caused by pushing my teeth through my lip. This enabled me to spar a further two rounds, although I was aware what had happened I didn’t inform my trainer in the hope I could rectify my disastrous start to the spar. The hole required six stitches and caused some very awkward meetings when describing how the wound had occurred, especially when you are looking to promote boxing as a safe sport.

 

I had daddy issues, step dad issues and some other issues. Like many angry young men when I found my way into a boxing gym, I found somewhere to channel my energy. My formative years made me experience frustration, rage and anger that still flows through me to this day. Some people find god, I found boxing.

 

In my newfound church, like with any religious sect there is always a leader – that is what Paul Gough was to me. He taught, nurtured and developed my talents – not only making me a better boxer, but a better person.

 

The journey I had gone on to this point was remarkable in itself, somewhat of transformation from the boy who wouldn’t go on school trips because he didn’t like been away from home or who wouldn’t have his TB jab because he didn’t like needles – somewhat of an issue as a doctor has you laid back on a chair whilst stitching your face back together. If you were to ask friends from school is I would ever box, they would be surprised at the outcome – 21 amateur fights, 18 wins, 1 international call up (which I never took), 2 midlands titles and a national finalist. Considering I had two shoulder surgeries that kept me out for a combined 18 months my amateur career wasn’t too bad? I couldn’t deadlift 200kg, I wasn’t explosive, athletic or had natural movement – my asset was my determination – I think Paul Gough did a pretty good job? The pro journey although short lived was memorable, in hindsight I was in the wrong weight division, but I enjoyed my short career. Chief sparring partner for Big John Mcdermott for his fight with Tyson Fury – a fight most of the boxing world thought he won was an insightful 68 rounds where I earnt every penny. The ‘angry’ Cuban Mike ‘the rebel’ Perez who held 5 world junior amateur titles and accrued an impressive 358 wins out of 372 contests was keen to show the members and staff of Fighting Fit City Gym that he could knock me out in a 6-round spar. He unloaded that many shots on me in the first five of scheduled six rounds that he was knackered, and I started to push him back and won the last round. Mike called me the hardest man he’d ever sparred, a compliment I’ll take to the grave. I had the pleasure of meeting a gentleman and a miss understood character who I share a trait of not learning when to shut my mouth – Big Tyson Fury, a man who to this day still makes a beeline for me and shakes my hand and offers to buy me a drink at every boxing event I have seen him at since, he also tries starting a fight with security as he’s telling them I’m coming to sit ringside with him! And then there was the plethora of top class sparring partners I met whilst sparing with David Haye preparing him for his world title win against Nikoli Valuev – that is a book in itself.

 

My loss to Danny Hughes in Prizefighter was hard to take, the calibre of opponents who had detonated on my chin had never done that to me and the sensational knockout viewed by 6 million viewers was bad enough, but ‘Knockouts of 2009’ placing it at number three in knockouts of the year ensured it was re-run continually over the festive period for those that missed it. My desire for a return in 2011 ended in with a terrible spar to a novice amateur who pinged me from pillar to post, in 2012, I needed one last go. This time I threw myself into the deep end at open sparring at Eroll Johnson’s pro gym, no coach and self-trained I thought I’d see if I could exercise my demons. There I met Fraizer Clarke who on the first spar I got the better of. I’d like to think it was the nurturing I gave him, but the GB super heavyweight improved every time I made the trip over to Burton to ‘move around’ with him – he went from been the student to the master. Initially when I contacted Paul Gough after 3 months of secret training, he was impressed. As the plan for the plan of attack of five fights with the end goal of a British Cruiserweight title now in possession of Shane Mcphibin who I’d beat as an amateur and employed as a sparring partner as a pro. The reality was plane to see when I progressively moved up in levels that I would struggle to cope with that level of operator. My desire to win would ultimately be my downfall. Upon finishing the stitching, I asked the Doctor how long before I could spar again? I already had a date planned for my comeback.

 

My talk with Paul Gough was hard to take. Paul had seen me evolve, my setbacks and my triumphs. The inevitability for every boxer is that they will one day lose and if you stay at the gambling table too long, you’ll lose all of your winnings. Some losses your can bounce back from, they make you stronger and galvanise you, but the ultimate decision must be taken with a risk to reward ratio – in reality, I could have ended up damaged. Losing is something everyone fears, the moments of reflection at the end of a defeat is only bad in your mind – boxing teaches you to rely on you, yourself and I and the fear of ‘what might be’ is worse than the reality. Even with a hole in my face, I took solace in my attempted comeback of 2012, the journey was remarkable in itself. By facing your fears and tackling your demons head on you realise that nothing is as big as its reputation and you chop down any tree one swing at a time. By learning when to step away from the sport, you are not cowering away, you are simply looking for another tree to chop down or going back with a bigger axe, that is one of the lessons in life that the sweet science of boxing has given me.

The love of coaching

On
by Henrietta Street Gym

The love of coaching

By Neil Perkins

I am entering the final few days of preparation for three boxers who I have been diligently getting ready for their upcoming white collar boxing contest’s. This trio have become like surrogate children for the last 10 weeks as I have had thoughts about them, their training and their contest every day. My role is somewhat unique when preparing white collar boxers for a contest. I am the promoter and the trainer – somewhat of a conflict? For those who surround me, I never like to match ‘my boxers’ in what is perceived as an ‘easy bout’ and instead prefer to corner the underdog – it makes the victories far better.

This trio is somewhat diverse – I have the oldest average age of any team on the show. ‘The Badger’ Richard Willets from nine to five runs the courts in the city centre has been dubbed the badger by his opponent, testament to his vicious attacks. ‘The badger’, suits him down to the ground – he is happy in his own company, doesn’t suffer fools and can be a little cantankerous. At 49 he is one-year shy of 50, but not the oldest in the ‘2-Time Team’. Punter Southall’s Andrew Constantinou plans pensions as a day job and at 51, he should really know better? He should be planning his own retirement, but instead is battling on in a bout that is set to be cracker against the 8-bout (the most of any participant) veteran Matt ‘The Warhorse’ Davies. Hannah Wood works for the Arena Birmingham (former Barclaycard and NIA) and this shy character is the last person you’d ever envisage boxing, her knitting backstage prior to her first contest is testament to her unsuitability to the most brutal of sports.

I have to pinch myself at what I do for a living sometimes. Training and promoting events where people knowingly sign up for three rounds of combat in-front of a baying crowd in a gladiatorial arena. If the truth be told, I am fortunate (and a little surprised) that such successful and intelligent people sign up and follow me on these foolish quests and more importantly trust my judgement to guide them through this process. I am honoured to work with all three – they are inspirational for their own reasons. These three combatants are not first timers – they are all returning to the ring having boxed prior.

 

Andy and Badger share similar stories of joining the gym as an alternative way to get fit and progressing through beginners intro sparring ad then deciding to take the plunge to box on a show – Hannah I witnessed her transformation a lot more closely. Now if Hannah’s story was that of the caterpillar that went into a cocoon and came out a beautiful butterfly, the journey hasn’t been quite so simple. The caterpillar went into the cocoon, came out, stomped back in slamming the door behind her, cried for 30 minutes and came out again before repeating the process several times – we now have a butterfly that occasionally has panic attacks and threatens to stop flapping his wings and fall to the ground – she is a challenging client.

 

Hannah’s first session at then Fighting Fit City Gym still lives in my memory. There was some confusion as my Front of House had booked her in for an intro session with me – something that shouldn’t have happened and something I wasn’t aware of. I carried on and delivered the session. For those of you who have ever met ‘Bad Hannah’ the confusion caused her some upset – her face said it all. Hannah is not one that hides her emotions well and as I have come to know her, the lack of structure and order must have sent her mind into overload? A good recovery and the joy of punching recovered the session and by the end, she was hooked. The desire for self-improvement and challenge with her is huge, she secretly relishes challenges and her best asset is that she hates losing – no stone will be left unturned and she is a meticulous perfectionist. In her next contest she has her biggest task to date, and big by the fact that the opponent will be four KG heavier and five inches taller. This is a big physical obstacle to overcome. For her first contest against a shorter marauding opponent, I nicknamed Hannah’s fighting style as ‘the rabbit’ – she would run into the acres of space her superior footwork would give her before firing long-range counters, against this taller opponent her natural fleet feet and footwork will not win her the contest – she needs to fly into the eye of the storm. A polar opposite to the tools that have served her so well in her short pugilist career.

 

The Badger v The Pelican is a contrasting bout and a great clash, but for my fighter the plan is similar. Richard Willets has arms like a T-rex, where as his opponent stands several inches taller and has long arms that through raking shots – the badger needs to get close and get nasty. On the way in he risks been hit with punishing shots and at 20 years older than his opponent he is giving away every natural asset.

 

With Badger and Hannah, I have two boxers that the general consensus would consider my boxers the underdog – that is how I like. Andy v Matt Davies is a real 50/50 fight, in this contest I have the advantage of working with a boxer who has superior height and reach – these assets are great to use on Olympic scoring. There is a reason why Matt Davies is dubbed ‘The Warhorse’ in his ninth contest he is incredibly fit, technically sound and has the guile to fight it out with anyone – we don’t anticipate this will be easy.

 

All three have diligently prepared, they have taken onboard coaching and made necessary adjustments to their boxing – and most importantly executed them in sparring. They have been a pleasure to work with and it has been good to watch them evolve. I look to establish my business and work ‘on’ rather than ‘in’ my business, but the lure of training someone for fight night will always be a rollercoaster that I will always want to get on – I am addicted to the fight.

 

I am nervous for them as I am excited, I know what these bouts mean to all three of them. They have brought me much joy and productive time preparing them for their contests. To watch them evolve and prepare has been a huge pleasure, if they execute what I know they are capable of doing then I am confident that they can do themselves proud, all three re-ignited my love of coaching. Team 2-Time coaching for the last time……until the next time.

Boxing, my meditation

On
by Henrietta Street Gym

Boxing, my meditation

By Neil Perkins

Nothing compares to boxing. I am sure other combat sports such as MMA and Muay Thai give the combatants the same inner peace? I am not talking about the boxing workout of bag work, skipping and fitness drills, I am talking about sparring, fighting and combat. Recently as part of my self-development I have been listening to pod-casts and reading books, this is a desire to become a better version of myself. My downfall is sometimes I am so obsessed with getting ‘there’ that I fail to take stock of my achievements and also don’t necessarily ‘plan my route’ to success as I charge forward….or sometimes I forget where I’d actually like to be – my mind is always ‘busy’.

Combat offers me peace, it is the one place in the world I feel completely at ease. As an early teen I was petrified of violence, in my early 20’s I was fronting some of the most troublesome nightspots and by my mid 20’s I was trading punches with the most destructive punching boxers on the planet – a somewhat cataclysmic transformation. In my experiences, I have found that combat no-longer causes me fear, rather it gives me definitive focus.

 

Back to my current self-development and looking at the tools of successful people and there is one thing I am struggling to comprehend – a clear mind. I am aware that my goals would be more defined, my route would be better, and I would become more successful if my mind was clearer and less ‘busy’. Meditation is commonly used. The ability to ‘zone out’ and think about nothing is a powerful tool, and I like many other people really struggle to switch my ‘monkey mind’ off. I realise that during my early years at Fighting Fit (2008/2009) I was less stressed than I became from 2010-2016. My decision making inevitably became better with business acumen, but my clarity, stress and direction was better early on, recently I have understood why.

 

In 2008/09 I was boxing professionally, whilst running a new business. Admittedly, I was a little naïve to the depth of the task in-front of me, but I could switch off from it – how I ask myself? I had no choice but to. My dual career saw me regularly sparring with some of the most dangerous men in the world. Many people who run businesses or have stressful careers struggle to switch off from their work and the mountains of tasks they have to perform? When your driving to London to spar a world champion you have no other option but to concentrate about what you are about to do and during the 6,9, 12 or 48 minutes of combat time, one mistake could get you seriously hurt. Equally, ‘shit or bust’ and relying on your ‘monkey mind’ wouldn’t enable you to survive with a novice amateur boxer, yet alone a world champion. The only thing you can concentrate on is what is in-front of you – you need a definitive focus. After the event of sparring and competition my mind had been cleared – a bit like when you clean your house or desk from top to bottom – it is incredibly rewarding and refreshing. No other training has ever replicated this sense of escapism and release – it gave me inner peace. Even now, when I ‘work out’ business, work, debt and family are never far from my mind. Working out alone doesn’t do it for me and I am struggling to get full clarity even when I meditate.

 

When I do manage to have moments of clarity my objectives and targets are simplified. Switching off your mind gives it clarity – this is something boxing always enabled me to do – boxing was my meditation. I realise that for me that boxing is something I can’t do forever, although I am always willing to help out recreational boxers with sparring – providing I am not likely to get damaged. Switching your mind off from the stresses of the world and escapism is a very rewarding experience. That moment of ‘clearing your desk’ of all the clutter in your head gives you a new stating point and a fresh perspective on things. This perspective makes decision making easier. If ever you want to ultimate switch off, take up a combat sport and progress to sparring. Initially your mind will be cloudy and adrenaline filled throughout combat experience, but as you learn to relax it will give you a clarity of mind that you can not explain – make boxing your meditation. You are always welcome in my church.

Part of history

On
by Henrietta Street Gym

Part of history

by Neil Perkins

 

I have become very deep in thought about the direction of my life recently. I think with the acceptance of my official retirement from boxing, my physical condition reducing (although I am back on the comeback) fatherhood, a stressful few years with the launch of a business and approaching 40 I have thought about my ‘direction’ a lot more – Some would call it a mid-life crisis.

 

What would I describe myself as and more importantly what would others describe me. Well for those of you who know me would probably have one of the following three come to mind?

 

Lunatic, inappropriate or David Hayes sparring partner.

 

I am guilty of all those thoughts as it is my actions that have triggered these responses. In the last two years my cortisol levels reached new highs, but now my business is paying bills and out of the financial storm and I have had a little reflect before progressing on – I am entitled to that? This gasp of air after been submerged for two years allowed me to sit and take stock of my achievement’s and direction I am going. This reflection of where I have been, allows me to concentrate on where I am going and more importantly what I would like to do more of.

 

What do I do for a job? I am a business owner (Henrietta Street Gym), I am events organiser (Fighting Fit Events) and I am a boxing coach – all three are Neil Perkins and my passion runs through the veins of all three. Henrietta Street Gym had less of a direction that Fighting Fit City Gym did, and it ceased to become me, this is something I am rectifying and re-discovering. I understand the Javelin Block intervention for a cool space, but white towels handed out on reception and metal canteen water bottles to appeal to the influx of hipsters in the JQ should never have been my focus, yet unfortunately this was a direction I briefly moved towards. No matter how many tattoos you have on your hands, how much gin you sip or how much coffee you drink, a gym isn’t a place to look cool – it’s a place to work. This ethos is something that is back flowing through our veins and a culture I am going to nurture. I will focus on what I am good at, the fact that we are in a Javelin Block gym that looks the nuts will be a great benefit. I’m worried about getting our training on point, the rest will take care of itself.

 

This reflection has allowed me some time to think how I evolve my brands. I have the reality and not feeling morbid that one day I will leave this planet. I realise I am in a service industry and my goal is to positively affect as many people as I come into contact with, not to wow them with my reclaimed wood floor, lights form an Indian cargo ship or a recycled lift shaft – my job is to make them fitter, stronger, healthier and more confident than ever before.

 

The White Collar Boxing shows have always given me some of my fondest memories and I would like to think that of the 348 contest’s we’ve scheduled and the 400+ people who’ve completed this journey under our guidance have had a positive experience? Not just for the memorable night they have been a part of, but the self-challenge of the journey, the camaraderie of the fight camp and the ultimate sense of achievement. I would like to think that everyone who has completed this under our guidance rates it in the top 100 memories of their life.

 

I think that in continuing to run these events I will continue to be part of some epic nights (and I am not just talking about the after show party) where people can push themselves above and beyond their capability. These boxers aren’t boxing for world titles and there are so many memories I can take from the 35 shows we’ve run. These events will continue to enrich the Fighting Fit Events Brand, Henrietta Street Gym’s unique vibe and Neil Perkins boxing coaches achievements. I have never trained a boxer for a show that has disappointed me, some have under-performed, some didn’t follow instruction and yes some got beat – but I will share five of my favourite memories for cornering a boxer on a show.

 

Tim Hufton L v Dan Ricardo March’11 on Blood on the Canvas

After an impressive first victory I was happy to train Tim for a bout that many people in the gym thought he was out of his depth with? An expertly executed game plan saw him up at the end of the second round and protecting a lead. He listened to instruction to the letter and I think we were the only two people in the venue who thought he was capable of outboxing Ricardo? Tim had suffered in the build up with a virus and lack of energy ultimately led to his undoing as he couldn’t hold on to his lead in an enthralling last minute of a contest which saw Ricardo turn the tables and go gung ho. Ricardo can box and fight a bit – he also makes a pretty good website.

Julia Sturgess W v Julie Haycock November’13 on Ring Kings

The first lady of Fighting Fit and it was Julie v Julia in our first all-female bout. The actuary was calculated in her approach and ‘Tigger’ Julie Haycock with her BJJ background was the more natural fighter. Julia, like many of my clients wasn’t given an option about boxing – she was told she was doing it. I anticipated a high guard coming at her and not only did Julia adjust her feet well to marauding attacks, the body work was a master stroke that accrued points for a great victory.

Matt Davies W v Ben Mortimer December ’14 on High Voltage

I had the pleasure of preparing Stave Con’s MD ‘The War Horse’ for his rubber match with Mortimer. I didn’t feel a technical approach would work and instead opted to go blow for blow with Mortimer and out hustle the younger man. I was convinced that his opponent would tire and re-enforced the anticipation throughout fight camp. Going into the last round a point down didn’t concern me – I knew this is when his opponent would fade in a high paced contest – a high pace that we’d forced. When it comes to attrition and the desire to win – no one beats the war horse, we just had to bring his opponent down to that style of boxing.

Jenny Thompson W v Natalie Jonson March’17 on Broad Street Brawl

The most educated debut I have seen from any combat athlete – amateur or pro. As a writer on BBC radio 4’s The Archers, Jenny wasn’t your average pugilist. As a coach/ boxer relationship she never questioned instruction or reason, occasionally she moaned that something was ‘dumb’. On fight week, she had a focus that I have never seen from a novice boxer and on fight night warming her up I genuinely felt sorry for her opponent. I’ve seen this before, but also seen it fail when the bell goes. A ram-rod jab was prevalent throughout her contest as she controlled the contest off an educated lead hand.

Richard ‘The Badger’ Willets L v Brindley March’17 on Broad Street Brawl

Giving away 20 years is a big ask for anyone! This task is even harder when your opponent captained the rugby team and has a steely intensity. The battleplan was drawn up and the objective was to step right away from the right hand and drive his opponent backwards. On the opening bell Brindley pushed Badger back with the jab and volleyed concussive shots of his jaw. You can talk about white collar boxing with big ‘over-size’ gloves been safe – but this was venomous and brutal. The onslaught didn’t stop there, I had the towel in my hand throughout and contemplated throwing it in to stop the contest. I did genuinely see something that gave me hope and a bit of kidology in the corner between rounds seemed to resonate ‘You’ve got him Rich, he has punched himself out. Step right and drive him back’ The second round was a much slower pace and towards the end Badger had started to execute the game plan and Brindley was slowing. Eight points down going into the last and it was something that only certain boxers respond to –  the headbut onto the headguard and lots of obscenities – Badger came out like a man possessed. Brindley to his credit resisted folding with the turn of momentum and fired back when he needed to neutralise the scoring attacks and ran for the large part of the last session to win by one point before collapsing at the final bell.

The Kettlebell Swing – A love hate relationship

On
by Henrietta Street Gym

The Kettlebell Swing – A love hate relationship
by Neil Perkins

 

Kettlebell training is an emotive subject with fitness professionals. It has the Marmite effect of ‘you either love it or hate it’. I am very much bipolar when it comes to my relationship with the kettlebell. In my hands or under my tutelage on a one-to-one basis, I love this training tool. The issue arrives when other people utilise it and don’t understand it design and implementation into a training regime.

 

In the correct hands Kettlebells are a fantastic tool that for correcting postural issues, engaging the posterior chain and providing a full body power endurance workout. In the wrong hand they are likely to make the highlight reels and When Exercise Goes Bad and CrossFit Fails. They will also bolster the profitability of the local chiropractors.
I’ve recently scheduled a training workshop with my own training team and one of my things to rectify in 2018 is ‘bad swinging’. The kettlebell swing is the primary move that Personal Trainers, S&C coaches and Bootcamp instructors chose to use (you’ll understand that PT’s, S&C and BC’s coaches are not the same!) This movement should see your hips hinge forward (from the hips not the knees bending) as your posterior chain activates to drive the kettlebell up. The kettlebell should hang at your crotch and an uncomfortable closeness to your genitalia and when descending the momentum of the bell should drive under your crotch and bounce of your backside – the kettlebell ‘tapping your ass’ should be your cue to engage your glutes to thrust the hips forward in an almost sexual motion. I have heard all sorts of teaching points for teaching kettlebell swings that include

‘tapping that ass’

‘Squeeze a walnut between your ass checks’

‘Thrust the hips forward’

‘Like your trying to bang your last inch in’

 

Even with such graphic and sexual descriptions, people still don’t get it. Either the population have not experienced the same ‘horizontal activities’ that I have? Or they are very poor at it?

 

NLP teaches you the art of coaching and communication with visual, audio and kinaesthetic learners and how to cater for them, but with the kettlebell swing for some reason you get the fourth type pf learner – the learner that doesn’t want to learn.

 

Why Swing?
The kettlebell swing is the primary exercise for engaging the glutes and the posterior chain. When it comes to group exercise it can be added and implemented into fitness classes such as bootcamps and providing it is performed correctly it is a safe exercise and requires far less technical input and equipment than say the deadlift or even the squat (90% of gym goers think they are firing their glutes when they squat and deadlift, but in reality they’re not)
Most people in sedentary jobs really could benefit with engaging some posterior chain and getting their glutes firing a little more. For the everyman stronger glutes will improve your posture, reduce risk of injury and help you perform day to day tasks like walking upstairs, standing, walking and sitting. For the sports people, your gluets are you power base – you will not become strong and powerful with week glutes.

 

The kettlebell is used a pre-cursor to Olympic weightlifting and I think this is where part of the problem with the end user comes from. I have always trained, not worked out. Training is for the definition of an end goal, people who ‘work out’ will ‘work out’ to sweat. I used to integrate Olympic weightlifting into my training regime – why? Olympic lifts are great for developing explosive power, as a boxer this transfers well. Lifts are also incredibly mentally taxing – you must think about technique, movement and patterns of muscle firing. For those of you who have ever learnt to box, you will see the frustration of learning the mechanics of punching correctly – this is how you enhance power. You don’t learn to throw the perfect right hand with effort and muscle alone – you need to learn the mechanics that go into the movement – then you develop power. Olympic lifts and boxing are very similar and the mechanics of co-ordinating your whole body to throw a punch is the same as learning to co-ordinate your whole body to move a weight. The kettlebell swing is a pre-cursor to Olympic lifts and to perform correctly, safely and beneficially you must think about your positioning and movement, you can’t do it on effort alone – we’ll you can, but you’ll spend a fortune at the chiropractors.

 

The ‘Form Nazi’s’ will argue this, but you can perform a shoulder press, press up or box jump with bad form and not risk injury. If you perform a kettlebell swing badly, you will inevitably see some tightness in the back at best – you’ll slip a disk at worst (the form Nazi’s will agree). You need to engage your mind and think about your form every time you swing a kettlebell. You need to think about hinging form the hips, driving your heels into the floor, and thrusting your hips forward. You also need to think about your start and end position. In group exercise situation when I have a group to take care of I have been guilty of this, but if your back hurts you shouldn’t lower the weight – you should stop and learn to swing correctly and think about you teaching points.

 

I could reel of a list of examples of bad kettlebell form, I’d like to say that I have never seen it in my own classes or my own gym but that would not be the truth. We are in the top 10% with our effectiveness and safety for using this tool, one of my latest targets is to make our delivery of this exercise a 100% effectiveness record and get people using the ultimate training tool to its maximum potential.

 

Think about your swings and get swinging.

Diet dilemmas, which way to go?

On
by Henrietta Street Gym

Diet dilemmas, which way to go?

by Neil Perkins

I start this blog with a statement that is controversial.

‘I am better qualified and more experienced to discuss nutrition than any member of my team’

Despite my somewhat portly appearance, I have attended four courses on nutrition and I am accredited with two bodies (albeit joke organisations) then next statement will cause less controversy.

‘I am the least conditioned (and fattest) member of my team’

Nutrition has been described as the icing on the cake when it comes to clients achieving their goals, but this isn’t really true – it is the cake. The training is the icing.

For achieving fat loss, the science of quality nutrition is the key to sustainable fat loss. Gyms and Personal Trainers (myself and my gym included) like to avoid the topic of nutrition. It is like the Catholic church discussing paedophile priests – it is better off avoided and brushed over.

Nutrition is such an emotive and controversial subject and I have been unable to control multiple professional athletes I have worked with and their nutrition strategies, to tackle it with a newcomer to the gym is a much bigger task. The issue with the modern world is the various sources of information available to you and the contradiction of these sources. Couple this with our ‘I want it now’ attitude of the world, there is a big problem to tackle.

Despite the science of Cain Leathem, Charles Poloquin, John Buckland and the NAR – I learnt more about nutrition watching ‘Secret Eaters’ than I ever did from any of these persons – it is an insight to people.

I am evaluating my own journey and it isn’t just decline and decondition that have seen my body fat slide into the early 20’s from 8% in 2007 – it is the habits I’ve formed over the past 10 years. With the nature of the industry I work in, I am more thoughtful than most about the food that goes into my body. I have attended three of my four courses since 2010. During this period despite my knowledge increasing, my decondition has increased.

In the ‘nutrition tackling’ problem, this very often is a side effect of emotional, cultural, habitual and lifestyle factors – no one eats a bag of sprouts when they are stressed. From a lifestyle perspective, pretty much any nutritionist of note recommends quality food preparation and the counter argument to this is that ‘I don’t have time to prepare food’ – this is an excuse that I have made and many “successful” city centre professionals have given me.

As this puzzle unravels I am going to share a secret with you, recently I undertook some business coaching – this was the best money and time I have spent. I was given lots of reading and Tim Ferris was one of the extracts I was given to read.  Ferris wrote the ‘Four Hour working week’. Ferris also wrote ‘Tools of Titans’ –  A breakdown of 100’s of successful people, he observed similarities and differences in all of them and their tools of success. The people interviewed included successful business people and sports starts.  For those of you who have read the book, there are some interesting finds in relation to nutrition to exercise, lifestyle and nutrition with the ‘Titans’ he interviewed.

  • Less than 50% of them had breakfast
  • Everyone of them made ‘me’ time and formed some kind of meditation ritual
  • Everyone of them ate whole foods conscientiously and fuelled their body well (yes even if they did miss breakfast)
  • All of them value their body as their ‘machine and ensured they exercised

I think the above four points make you aware of the importance of making time to why you should make time to prepare and eat whole foods. Every year we have the fresh draft ascend on the gym who have joined either one of the big law firms, accountancy firms or recruitment firms. With their freshly picked Ted Baker suit off the ‘two for £150 rack’ they strut in full of self-importance asking do we offer a corporate rate as they list the name of their employer with pride. For those that start their journey, when nutrition is mentioned in relation to training results, they give you the answer that ‘with their busy schedule that they don’t have time to prepare food’. Eating better foods will not only make you perform better in the gym, it will make you perform better in life and work – it is not that you don’t have time to prepare and conscientiously think about what fuel you put into your body – you can’t afford not to if you want to succeed in the gym and in life.

We are identifying our goal driven culture at Henrietta Street Gym and striving to make our members improve. October 2018 see’s the launch of our members area on the website, we are finally tacking and talking about nutrition with our members – for our success and theirs, we can’t afford not to.

Sorry if an exercise pumped man who has read too many books has made you sit up and reflect on you actions and lifestyle. You clearly don’t have time to prepare food and make better choices – it would interfere with your time browsing social media and reading blogs written by a man who’s chastises you and who is half your intelligence.

More to come, if you aren’t too busy preparing food, I hope you have time to read. This will be life changing…….

How hard to push yourself – The 3,000 revs rule

On
by Henrietta Street Gym

How hard to push yourself – The 3,000 revs rule

by Neil Perkins

For exercising regularly, managing my time a little better and controlling my lifestyle I am in a much more positive place. With them words echoing in your ears my next statement is little strange – I HATE BUDGET GYM WANKERS.

Recently I faced my reality and decided to start training again and employed the excellent services of two of HSG’s finest. Steve Foster is passionate about training, is a great communicator and would ensure I reach my goals. Paul Gough is one of the country’s finest boxing coaches and has coached an array of top level combat athletes. These two men were chosen to take me out of the gloom of my deconditioned state.

 

My end goal was ambiguous, and I suppose like many first-time gym goers I had a similar goal – I wanted to feel a bit fitter and lose a bit of weight. That is a standard response to most people when you ask them the goals for training. And I suppose they are ‘safe’ goals. I am not deluded and thankfully I haven’t told Paul Gough that I want to box professionally again, and I haven’t told Steve Foster that I am an entry for the summer CrossFit games – I think no matter how good their skill set both would struggle to get me to achieve these goals, well at least not by Summer. To say to a coach ‘I’d like to get fit and lose weight’ is a “safe” response and the reality is that I’d love a six-pack, to be able to deadlift 200kg and spank David Haye in a sparring session (again) and who knows if my journey continues I may aspire to greater goals, but for now I need to get back to some form of ‘shape’.

 

As an ex athlete, your fall is greater as you are aware of your previous capabilities. I recall as a teenager listening to an old man tell me how great he was in ‘his day’, now I am starting to wonder if these people were telling the truth? This bump to reality can be found at the hands of a coach, someone to take you out of your comfort zone – this is what they are employed for.

 

Paul Gough knows me inside out as a person, he coached me for 21 amateur boxing contests and five professional outings. He has been ringside when world champions including Tyson Fury and David Haye (I had to get the names in here) have been landing hurtful shots on me and equally when I have been dishing it back. He knows what it is like to travel back on a long car journey on the motorway after a savage KO defeat and a national final loss and equally he has shared the jubilation when I’ve had a quick night’s work and sent someone to sleep early. Paul knows when it is time to instruct me to ‘walk someone down’ and overwhelm them (push harder) and equally he was the person in 2012 who sat down with me after a sparring session that saw my teeth come through my bottom lip that instructed me that enough is enough and its time to walk away before I become permanently damaged.

 

Steve Foster, I haven’t had the same bonds with, but I have observed him work with clients. My concern with Steve was that he is physically superior to me. We have similar body frames and the same age and Steve doesn’t look immense – watch him train and your perceptions would change., I was concerned that I’d feel embarrassed training with Steve and I am like the countless people I speak to who would like to get fitters and stronger before training – you don’t take the car to the garage when it is already fixed.

 

When I looked at my options I thought about taking the solo gym user route with training. In the last eight years I have had six gym memberships. David Lloyd, Virgin Active, Pure Gym, Easy Gym and The Gym all promised so much – but over the last eight years I have progressively got fatter and more deconditioned – Why? I feel into the trap of designing my own training regime and dictating my own routines and training. I have coached elite level athletes and had a catalogue of success stories, why could I not get consistent results? ‘Going to the gym’ makes you emotionally feel better and occasionally I would push out a hard session. Generally speaking it would be a five-minute warm up and then the squat rack (if you could get on it because some twat was bicep curling in it, some pressing movements and the obligatory bicep curls before ‘fat burring’ for 20 minutes on the cross trainer. Then I’d go for the protein shake in the changing room before the male grooming in the mirror began.

 

When learning to drive, I was always taught that you should change gears between 2,500-3,000 revs. When you change gear, you go faster – this is the goal with exercise. You can never progress until your body starts pushing itself. A good coach knows how to push someone and when to push someone beyond 3,000 revs, the exceptional coaches can gauge when they’ve pushed them too hard. Exercise should push you beyond 3,000 revs – you should sweat, you should burn and you should achieve. Get a day pass in Pure Gym and watch the gym users toddle through their routines – one squat rack at best used badly, a lot of I-phone texting and lots of spindly arms doing bicep curls.

 

A gyms role should be to push someone to progress themselves. Change starts with effort and effort and motivation can be hard to achieve and your own. Gym users who get great results are the users who partake in group led sessions or who PT, having owned a gym for over 10 years, I can count on one hand the number of people who have achieved results training on their own.

 

I am on week three of my regime. Today I have taken a day off from my scheduled Hot Yoga Flow session – I am feeling a little under the weather and a ‘sweat shop’ will do me more hard than good. I will echo again how fantastic Yoga complements the HIIT, Lift and Boxing sessions we endorse at HSG. Paul Gough is Paul Gough – he is excellent, and I am learning all the time and been pushed to my limits, this not only improves me physically and psychologically– it improves me as a coach. Steve Foster has been immense, my level of decondition is lower that I thought it would be. A lifting session saw me deadlifting a weight that psychologically I was not happy with, but physically was my limit. If he’d have pushed me beyond this I’d have failed ad become disheartened, if he hadn’t have made me lift this much I’d have been coasting too much – gauging this is the sign of an exceptional coach. Olympic weightlifting is also great fun and the technical work and explosiveness is something I am determined I will master so as my strength base increase I can push some impressive numbers – this is engaging my mind and my body. This has created a new goal – to be at a level when I can train with Anthony Rogan and Steve on a Friday training sessions. I really enjoyed last weeks ‘Boxing Intervals’ class delivered by apprentice Scott Melvin – it was great to push through with a cracking group of people, you forget how strong the community is that we’ve created at HSG. The complement off Scott ‘You can box a bit’ definitely made me smile!

There is reason why I set up HSG was to ‘scratch my own itch’. I saw something missing and we need to offer elite level coaching for everyone. Training, eating and managing my lifestyle in enabling me to perform and function better – I will make this product better and keep sourcing quality coaches to improve. I am glad I didn’t opt to become a budget gym wanker. Training and lifestyle changes in enabling me to think like a business owner, I hope to start looking to a gym owner. With my current regime, change and improvement will come.

Fitness Journey – Scratching Your Own Itch

On
by Henrietta Street Gym

Scratching Your Own Itch

by Neil Perkins

It was successful entrepreneur and writer of the 4 hour week, Tim Ferris that said that when setting up a business that you should ‘scratch your own itch’ His reasoning behind this is that you should offer a service that is currently missing and that would satisfy you as a customer. This belief and vision is something that will inevitably drive your brand to succeed. Richard Branson was inspired to set up Virgin airways as the main competitor British Airways was not offering a service that left him satisfied as a customer. I have never flown Virgin or BA and I have no doubt that Virgin isn’t quite as good as he claims, and that BA has rectified some of it’s wrongs. Poorly equipped cabin staff, poor customer service and no ‘fun’ on the airline was the reason that Branson felt he could offer a superior alternative.

 

My self-belief has always enabled me to believe I could achieve anything I put my mind to, on paper in 2007 when launching Fighting Fit City Gym, I would not have financially backed me. Although I had always found some form of employment from the age of 12, with my mum taking (or dragging) me off to work 16-hour days on catering functions, some part time bar work and even some call centre work occupying part time slots in my life. My ‘skilled expertise’ where formed in my early 20’s by either dragging men out of nightclubs as a doorman on Broad Street, punching people in the face as a professional boxer or teaching other people to punch people in the face as a PT…..hardly CEO material.

 

My vision for Fighting Fit was to provide members with authentic boxing training and then offer them the opportunity to progress up to boxing on white collar boxing shows. As far as I am aware I was the first person outside of London that was looking to offer this nieche service? A service that was booming over the Atlantic Ocean in New York. My vision had been formed from my own life and training experiences and I aimed to replicate the community feel that I had experienced as an amateur boxer at Priory Park ABC. I wanted our users not only to become fitter than ever before, but encourage self-development, confidence and a sense of camaraderie. This was missing in regular gyms. I wanted to enable this style of coaching and community to all and I would even recall my original ‘one page business plan’ where I wanted to re-brand boxing so it was no longer exclusively a ‘Blue Collar Sport’ I wanted to open this style of training and the psychological and physical benefits that if offers to everyone. I wanted the ‘world of the fight’ to be open to everyone – elite level coaching for the everyman.

 

Now the last bit of the previous paragraph has shown my evolution into CEO material. It may resonate Churchill’s ‘fight them on the beeches’ speech but this is the truth of my convictions. My evolution into CEO will enable me to tell you some facts about my business, and some of these leave me feeling a little old! My target market/ demographic is 21-45 city centre professionals who either live or work within half a mile of the gym. This is seeing me slide to the higher end of the age spectrum. Although we’ve had members to 74 years old and boxers to 59 box on a show, generally speaking the market place is occupied by this age range, what is worse is that 62% of my members are 21-35 – I am officially out of the cool club! The community vision and interpersonal relationship with members is something I am keen to resonate throughout the brand, the vision for the gym is to be like the bar in TV show ‘Cheers’ and where ‘everyone knows your name’ – for the 62% of my members who are 21-35 probably haven’t got a clue what ‘Cheers’ is 😉 ?

 

It is fair to say that my vision has been a little blurred over the past 18 months. Changes in life circumstance, age and stresses in my life have affected my outlook. With Javelin Block re-branding HSG, my life race was nearly over as I was ready to coast over the finish line and lap up profits, I was nearly there but burnt out, tired and demotivated. Those who work in the fitness industry can not be motivated by money, they must be motivated by vision, belief and passion. April last year we hit our membership targets and were so popular we put a freeze on new members. There were still many things going on behind the scenes and this created stress. Stressed decisions are inevitably bad decisions and natural attrition, bad staffing, poor session delivery and increased competition in the market place saw our number reduce back down below 300. I was ‘the man’ driving my business, community and vision. My lifestyle had slipped, and I was a far cry from the professional boxer who started this enterprise in 2007. I began similar escapism that many clients who come and see us have experienced with stress. Self-medicating on alcohol or recreational drugs, late nights, caffeine/ stimulant reliance and poor lifestyle choices had taken its toll on my outlook. I wasn’t optimistic, driven and energy filled – I was worn out and tired. I had forgot what it was to exercise and what it was to workout, without sounding too deep, I had forgot what it was to be me. I read a wonderful quote in relation to alcohol, especially when consumed on a ‘school night’

‘Alcohol borrows the happiness for tomorrow today’

 

My slick writing, CEO facts or corporate speak hadn’t made my business a success – it was the drive, the vision and the belief. It was the desire to make people change and provide the best service we could in a unique and motivating environment. I had spent 9 months sleepwalking, but I had accrued some very talented coaches to deliver this vision in this time. After a tiring 2017 I took a long overdue break I reflected my 2017 on a beach in Cape Verde. In 2018 I need the last 60 members to once again have my gym on a waiting list. I realised is that no matter how good this service people will come and go, the nature of our client base and evolution means we need to keep striving to improve the service we offer. I am also aware that in the last 10 years we have seen the addition of independent gyms, Crossfit boxes and budgets gyms. The market place is more competitive. I didn’t want just a waiting list, I wanted successful classes, an nu-paralleled vibe and a delivery on the gym floor that no-where else offered. To do this we had to add to our boxing and improve the lifting, hiit classes and the service we offered our members. As a nieche gym we also need to specialise and identify our target market and the service that we would offer them. Equally, we need to understand that we are not the gym for everyone and not be afraid to tell people this.

 

On a beech in Cape Verde I realised that I still loved the fitness industry and if I carried on sleepwalking that this enterprise would carry on ‘existing’ but never flourish. I also realised that unless I made changes to my lifestyle that I wouldn’t experience the same quality of life that my fitness had enabled me to achieve prior. I have a unique opportunity to be crowned head of the very dysfunctional family that is Henrietta Street Gym, this would see friendships formed, memories made and have a positive effect on all that pass through our doors – this is something I am most proud of the business I have created. I have re-ignited my own training regime and I realise that I will never be the same ‘athlete’ that I was in 2008, but I can be a more definitive and successful business owner and make a far superior product. I have ‘scratched my own itch’ and rather than train elsewhere which would have been a break from the day to day routine of work, I opted to use two trainers at HSG. Steve Foster has been recruited for conditioning session and me and Paul Gough are back on pads once per week on a boxing session – albeit a little slower than we used to work together. This has re-ignited my love of training and desires to improve what we offer our users.

I am back scratching my own itch and looking to improve HSG week on week. I am relishing the challenge of making us the best gym in the UK. We have some exciting additions and changes coming this year. I am back in the swing of training….

 

Don’t call it a comeback

Next Page »