Fitness levels of many people suffered during the lockdown, with programs to work out from home fast losing pace. Yet for those of us whose planned daily jogs turned into meanders to the store for wine and munchies, personal training can help get that workout regimen back on track.
Of course, you simply cannot out-train a poor diet, regardless of how long, hard, or frequently you exercise. Because of this, the London gym Six3Nine offers customized PT programming that is accessible both in-person and online, along with practical and realistic nutritional advice. Dan Price, the in-house nutritionist, collaborates with your trainer to ensure that you achieve the greatest results possible.
James Conci-Mitchell, a fitness instructor, launched Six3Nine in 2012 with the goal of providing his clients with a setting free of gimmicks and hollow claims of quick solutions. Six3Nine, which was first founded in Covent Garden, now has a second location on Gun Street in the heart of The City (inspired marketing or just a coincidence?). It was here that I went to be put through my paces.
While some gyms can be daunting, I was greeted with extreme relaxation and shown to the changing areas, which were immaculately clean and stocked with considerate extras like hair bands for the unprepared. That day, my life—or at the very least, my hairdo—was saved.Tresses tamed, I headed back up to the modern, spacious gym, where the first thing that struck me was that there was no cardio equipment. As my trainer, Mike Brooks, explained, the Six3Nine team focus instead on functional, big muscle movements to get those endorphins pumping – and after all, having your PT standing watching as you run on a treadmill is not the best use of either of your time. The philosophy here is that it’s not about the equipment you use so much as how you use it that really counts.
Each workout is tailored to your individual goals, which in my case was to gain functional strength that would last, while taking into account my various injuries. My programme focused on my core muscles, with Mike giving great hints on technique and reminders when I was, to be honest, starting to cheat. Training with just the voices in your head for company, you tend to go through the motions, but having someone telling you to do five more, take the squat lower, brace your core more… it meant that the following day I was aware of muscles I’d forgotten existed.
