Success Story

Stevie Livingston

Stevie So there I was leading what I thought was a healthy lifestyle. I was a keen runner, out pounding the roads at least 4 times a week covering distances of between 4 and 10 miles. I supplemented this in the gym with spinning classes and a “Mens Health” style weights program, this was usually 3 sessions per week. My diet consisted of what I thought to be healthy eating choices, wholegrain bread, cereals and pasta, and lots of fruit. With a very busy lifestyle I considered I was prioritising my health & fitness, however despite all the effort I wasn’t particularly happy with the way I looked or felt. Recognising that continuing to do the same thing and expecting different results is the first sign of madness I decided it was time for a change.

I had gotten to know Damien in his younger years when he was an instructor at Westwood; his legendary classes had often left me in a heap. I began to see less and less of him instructing as he graduated to personal training and see more of him walking round the gym drill sergeant fashion while he trained his personal clients. It was clear to see the improvements in body shape that Damien’s clients were enjoying. I also wondered what he was doing with that laptop and what the hell was a bio-signature that I heard his clients discuss. My curiosity had gotten the better of me and after several enlightening discussions I signed myself up for an assessment and personal training programs.

Assessment time revealed that I weighed in at 74kg, and had 22% body-fat. Damien normally sets targets in terms of body-fat as weight or BMI alone do not take into account muscle mass, and can be very misleading. Knowing your body-fat is important. Damien often talks about what he calls Skinny Fat people, they have normal BMI’s but are still at risk from what is normally considered weight related diseases. A strength test was also part of my assessment, it highlighted that I had a number of imbalances between the left and right side in almost all of my muscle groups. I agreed a target of 10% body-fat with Damien which is what he terms the Gold standard for men. With thoughts of that six pack in my head I set about my training.

Damien set about tailoring weights programs to address the deficiencies and start me on my path to the body I wanted. His first set of programs gave me 3 separate workouts, one for my chest and back, one for legs and one for arms. I followed a cycle of chest and back one day, followed by legs the next, a day-off before arms followed by another rest day and then repeat. In duration terms I was actually working a lot less than before with an average of 4 to 5 hours per week, but my workload was far more intensive and effective than before. Regular “frank” assessments, coupled with new individually tailored programs followed at regular intervals. Damien switched between strength and muscle building programs to challenge the body and keep things interesting. It was hard work, but when you can see and feel the difference you really do believe it’s worth it. Damien is inspiring and motivating but a hard taskmaster. He will let you know in plain terms if your performance is not what he expects, his standards are high and he does not accept excuses. He is 150% committed to help you achieving your goals and in return you must show the same determination. As time progressed my body fat dropped considerably and my energy levels increased. At the start of this year I achieved the primary goal I had set myself at the end of 2005, my body-fat had fallen to 9.7%, to put this in real terms I had shed 22 lbs of fat and replaced it with 26lbs of solid muscle.

The path to this wasn’t easy and required a lot of effort both physically and mentally, and sure there were times when I wavered and fell off the good nutrition path, doughnuts are tasty you know! So you ask yourself “Is it all worth it?” Of course it is! I feel better now than I ever have, I’m much happier with my body, I’m more informed on food and its effect on the body and I can certainly see through advertisements promising miracles with no effort required. Still now my programs challenge me in every way and I leave the gym feeling energised rather than fatigued. The dumbbells that I used to look at in wonderment I now use as part of my workouts, 44KG in each had for a chest press – no problem

One of the best things I found working with Damien is his application to personal training, he’s always seeking to better himself with practical seminars and courses, and this really rubs off. Your tailored program isn’t straight out of a book, it’s immaculately researched and put through its paces and tweaked by Damien himself. I always dread seeing him at the gym in the middle of some new exercise, his face contorted with physical effort, because I know some time in the future that exercise could be in one of my new programs!