Success Story

Jan Kelly

Jan I had just turned 40 and, like most women of that age, I began to re-evaluate my life. There was something about hitting 40 that instilled me with fear and insecurity. I didn’t like the thought that I was getting older but what was worse was that I was getting fatter with each passing year. In my 20’s I kept reasonably fit by playing hockey but in my 30’s I more or less stopped exercising when I had three children and a full time career. When I hit 40 I took a good look at myself and did not like what I saw. I was fat, unfit, lethargic and struggling to keep up with my three eergetic children not to mention my job. It was at this point that I decided that things were going to change so I took myself off to the gym to finally use that membership that I had being paying for all these years.

With great enthusiasm, I hit the treadmill and began to build up my mileage. I did manage to improve my fitness levels which I suppose isnt difficult when you are starting at zero and I did manage to lose a few pounds but after a few weeks the weight loss almost came to a standstill and with it my enthusiasm. I knew I needed help or else I would give up. I had seen advertisements for personal training in the gym so, eventually, I plucked up the courage to sign myself up. I rang Damien and was quite surprised that he said he would be available to interview ME the next day. I joke not. Damien interviews his clients to see how serious they are about achieving their goals. He knows the effort that is required to achieve these goals and he goes out of his way to help his clients succeed but he leaves them under no illusion that he expects 100% commitment from them in return. I must have convinced him that I was determined to succeed because he agreed to take me on. Here I was, thinking that I could pick my personal trainer. It never occurred to me that the personal trainer might refuse to take me on.

Damien assessed me so that I knew my starting point. The results were very depressing. He told me I was fat (hey, I knew that but I didn’t like hearing it). Damien doesn’t mince his words. He calls it as he sees it. I weighed in at 72kg and 26% body-fat. He told me that I needed to reduce my body-fat % to at least 16% which meant losing the fat and replacing it with muscle. He assured me that he would be able to help me reduce my body-fat and change my shape. Little did I know then that not only would he change my shape but that he would radically change my lifestyle.

The first thing he did was to get me off the treadmill and into the weights room. This was not an easy task as I was a firm believer that the only way to lose weight was by running and spinning but Damien had other ideas. He explained that continual aerobic exercise was counterproductive and while in the short term I had experienced some gains that the only result I would achieve if I continued was to burn muscle and not fat. Damien also explained the advantage that interval & weight training had over aerobic training, after these forms of training your metabolism is boosted long after you stop performing the exercise unlike aerobic training where once you stop you are back to where you started immediately. However it took a while for me to become a believer and we had a few battles on this issue. On occasions when I did decide to go for a run Damien would miraculously appear at the other end of the gym and let out a roar to get off the treadmill (Damien’s command was probably a little more colourful but it is not fit to print). Not that the treadmill was altogether taboo, in fact Damien encouraged me to perform sprint intervals to help burn the fat faster rather than the long jog I was use to. If I sneaked into the spinning studio I would get a text letting me know that I had been spotted (he seems to have spies everywhere). According to Damien if you want fat legs and big ass go spinning, eventually he let it be known that if I was not willing to follow his instructions he had no interest in having me as a client. So I decided it was time to give it a go “Damien style”.

chinups Damien set about teaching me to lift weights. I had never lifted weights before and at first I found the weights room a little bit intimidating. For one thing, when I started with Damien few women dared climb the stairs to enter the male dominated free weights area. Thanks to Damien this has all changed now and on any given day you will see many of Damien’s female clients lifting weights and in some cases lifting heavier weights than the men. Once I became familiar with the weights area I found that I really enjoyed lifting weights. I now marvel that I can lift over 100kgs on a deadlift and do more chinups than a lot of the lads up there. Damien provided me with many varied and challenging programs so that I never got bored with my training. With each new program he would push me to the limit of my capabilities. He demanded 100% effort and refused to listen to me if I said “I can’t”. In most cases he was right, even though I thought I couldn’t go on Damien managed to persuade me to do a few more reps. His sessions are tough but are worth the effort. After only a few weeks of weight training I began to notice positive changes in my body and my clothes began to feel looser.

After each program, Damien measured my body-fat to see what progress I was making. Damien is not a great believer in the scales as a measurement gauge because you can lose fat and gain muscle and see great transformations in your body-shape but your actual weight loss may not be impressive. By taking my body-fat, Damien was able to tell me what parts of my body were not losing fat and more importantly why. He issues all his clients with the dreaded diet-sheet. I had to record all I ate and drank for two weeks so that Damien could analyse my nutrition intake. From this Damien advised me on how to adapt my eating habits so that I could achieve my goal of increasing lean body-mass. Every week Damien reviewed and fine tuned my food diary changing my diet completely from the one that made me fat. Damien has taught me to eat to be fit and healthy. He has taught me to eat so that I can train properly. This has all contributed to my success in achieving my goals.

Today, I am much happier with my body-shape. Damien has helped me to achieve a body-fat percentage of 10.5% and I have reduced my weight to 63kg. In real terms this means I have dropped two dress sizes which, in any girl’s eyes, is a good result. Not only did Damien help me to achieve my goals but he continues to help me maintain my new body-shape. He continues to provide new programs that challenge me mentally and physically and he keeps an eye on my body-fat % so that I know if I am going astray. I feel fitter and healthier than I have done for years and I find that I have a lot more energy. I have Damien to thank for this. My lifestyle now incorporates a healthy eating regime with regular trips to the gym and it is a lifestyle that I enjoy and find easy to maintain because the benefits speak for themselves.

Damien takes a great interest in all his clients. He is determined that they all succeed in achieving their goals whatever they may be. He is a tough task master and does not listen to lame excuses but he gets results. Damien has the ability to provide varied and challenging programs because he constantly investigates what is going on in the fitness industry by traveling and training with some of the top strength coaches in the world. So whether your goal is fat-loss or strength gains, Damien will create a program that will guarantee success if you are prepared to give the necessary commitment.