"I have extended my life expectancy by about 15 years, enough time to get to see my grand kids"

Neil Clark's Success - lost 40kg (88.2lbs/6.3 stones)

"I've been working with Ryan since being given some personal training sessions as a (close to 40th) birthday present from my wife! At the onset I was weighing in at 118 kg following several years of no real exercise, and poor eating and drinking habits.

Ryan and I set out a contract for my aims and objectives, and targets to be achieved - Ryan was realistic about the time it would take to achieve these while still making sure they were challenging. The main target was to get to 85 kg within 9 months - that meant losing an average of 1 kg a week / more than half a stone a month, for 9 months.

We went for this through weekly one on one coaching, and training plans that Ryan developed, targeted sessions fitted in around my work and home schedule that often involves travelling around the country on a weekly basis, and sound advice around eating habits and nutritional supplements to help maintain energy levels.

Ryan maintained and drove my motivation through regularly amending the routine and plans, adapting the routine where required, as I hit the inevitable plateaus, when I needed to work away from Reading, and when on holidays, and sensible pushing of the limits during training sessions.

We achieved the 85 kg target a few weeks early.

I then moved away from Reading with my job but have continued to work with Ryan on a consultancy basis for the past nine months by plugging into his online coaching program which includes one phone call per week where we go though my diet diary and discuss any issues along with monthly updates to my training program and unlimited email support when needed. This has helped me meet other goals we set - i.e. 10 miles on the exercise bike within 22 minutes, and further tuning up of my weight and body fat content.

It is now 18 months since Ryan and I first worked together and having lost 6.5 stone overall I am now weighing in at 78kg (two thirds of my initial weight), completing 10 miles in just under 22 minutes on the exercise bike, and continuing to focus on my eating habits.

Through this time while working hard in the gym with Ryan, and being careful on what I eat, I have still been able to enjoy my favourite bottle or two of wine at the weekends, and my Friday night curry; the personal achievements that help keep me motivated are summarised through two key measures:

• I can now stand of the scales, holding my two young daughters in my arms and still weigh less than I did at the outset

• My heart rate has reduced from well over 80 beats per minute to about 57 beats per minute at rest - that means that if the total number of heart beats determined life expectancy, I have extended my life expectancy by about 15 years, enough time to get to see my grand kids."

Neil Clark - Jan 2009 *

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