“I really enjoy training with John. His friendly and knowledgeable approach is extremely effective. There is no boot camp-style screaming and shouting, just strong encouragement and a focus on correct form and structure in all the exercises to ensure maximum effectiveness from each one performed.
John tailors each specific exercise and workout session in accordance with your goals and continually researches and reviews the programmes to make sure these are being met.
One of the key things for me is being accountable to someone. John is always contactable via his online training log and will always give you alternative exercises or encouragement to maintain your programme, no matter what happens. It’s the adaptability of the exercise programme which has enabled me to train regularly for more than 6 months now, despite having a demanding job and active family life.
I couldn’t recommend JPPT highly enough.
For anyone who is sceptical, or has been toying with the idea of training for a while, my advice would be: just do it, you won’t regret it.”
Tim S.
“I started to train with John when I wanted to start CrossFit. I knew John was a qualified CF and weightlifting coach, so knew he was the right person to approach. I have also worked with John on previous Bootcamps and know his attention to detail is second to none – I knew he was the man for the job!
In my sessions with John, he taught me correct technique, all the necessary lifts I required and motivated me so that I could achieve my goal. He was methodical in his training approach and only moved on when I was able to do so. He supported my sessions with follow on emails which included training schedules, reading material and videos.
John got me to where I wanted to be within the time span I had requested. I would recommend John as his approach, education and pure love of wanting clients to achieve is second to none.
“We started working with John Pilkington around 12 months ago. We had been gym members, at another gym, for a number of years but felt that we hadn’t anywhere near maximised our potential nor understood the possibilities offered by the ‘equipment’ at our gym. Over the years we had undertaken a number of personal training sessions from the gym’s instructors but they only seemed to scratch the surface in terms of how to conduct a productive system of personalised workouts.
Our goals when signing up with John were to i) gain a better understanding of the role of exercise in maintaining our fitness ii) instruction on how to develop our fitness – guidance on how maintain that in a long term and sustainable way iii) maximise our input/output in the gym iv) lose the excess weight we had gained particularly around our midriffs!
We can only say that we have been incredibly impressed with the expertise, knowledge and support John has provided. We immediately gained a much fuller understanding of how activities could/should be constructed, in order to provide a safe and effective programme of activity and which was hugely different to our previous understanding. John takes an holistic approach whereby he also discusses, informs and advises about lifestyle and dietary issues which has also been invaluable (despite us previously considering we were well informed). We follow the structured and personalised programmes we receive from John. Our arrangement is that, as a couple, we visit him together at his Garage Gym, when we and our programmes are regularly reviewed and progressed as appropriate, so they remain dynamic, interesting and challenging. The programmes enable us to train together, as a couple, although still meeting our individual needs. John is always available at the the end of an email to give information, support and encouragement. We are able to state that his input has been invaluable during the past year and we can only say that we wish we had known about his existence much earlier!!
The results of the training programmes have been remarkable. We would have said that we were reasonably fit prior to meeting John, having attended the gym frequently and being avid walkers. However the difference he has made to our body shape (both due to fat loss and toning), strength and fitness has been noticed by everyone we know; we have not only met our goals but continue to exceed them beyond what we thought was possible – although this is the unfortunate part of the story – we have had to collect a whole new wardrobe due to the reduction in our waist measurement.
We were rather concerned, initially, at joining a personal trainer as we were not looking forward to the hiatus of a gym session in which a yelling, sergeant-major like personality built you physically by destroying you mentally, however we hasten to add that we were very pleasantly surprised by John’s approach. From his initial formal holistic assessment and goal discussions to our current position, our experience has been that John leads you very carefully through the proposed activities with particular emphasis on ‘form’, the way in which the exercise is done. Treated with dignity and respect throughout, you are then sent off with a cheery wave to get on with those activities in your own time, whilst being invited to report back using the Fisikal online recording package. We have thoroughly enjoyed this process, and feel much more confident in our exercises when we attend our gym. In particular we are happy that the training programmes John has designed for us have had such an observable physical effect.
As a personal trainer we have only known John as a caring professional whose commitment to ensuring each person’s goals is total. He has a relaxed and very friendly manner although there is, at his core, the steely trainer whose ambition is to drive you on to achieve whatever it is you wish to get out of the process. We consider John strikes a perfect balance between motivating and supporting us to meet our goals without making us feel overwhelmed. It is a winning combination and all we can do is to thank him for the work he has done and continues to do, with us and what we have achieved thereby. We met John due to recommendation and would have no hesitation in recommending him to others.”
J & G
Group Classes
“John is one in a million, his classes have helped me to greatly improve my core strength and overall fitness.
Over the last few years, John has also gone that extra mile for me and my family. All his advice and help has been very much appreciated. What an absolute star. Thanks, John.”
Jane Riley, Whalley
“I have been attending John’s circuit training classes held at Bolton-by-Bowland Village Hall for some time now, and find them both enjoyable and invigorating.
After a thorough warm up, the sessions are structured to work all parts of your body. John makes sure that each exercise is explained properly, so there are no injuries. Now I feel supple, and many of my aches and pains have disappeared.
We are encouraged to work as hard as we can, but not to overstrain our bodies.
As I am a person that dislikes gyms, this is a fantastic alternative, and I look forward to attending more of John’s classes.
He really does inspire you to exercise.”
Catherine C.
“After breaking my shoulder skiing, I was referred to Whalley Physiotherapy for treatment in order to regain full movement. It was at the latter end of this treatment that I saw an advert for JPPT and Snow Fit Training – ideal for what I needed – little did I know……
It took me six months of dedication to maintain the effort to attend classes and after twelve months I could declare myself ‘fit for life’ – I’m two years beyond this, fitter and well maintained. The scheduled progression is certainly key to mid/long term lifestyle fitness.
Like a sports car – if you put decent fuel in it then it will run better, if you maintain it then the long term costs are lower, it looks more attractive, puts a smile on yours and others faces, but best of all, you can give it a bit of stick – blow the valves out – and it’s not knackered!
John is more than a Personal Trainer, the approach is different, the investment might cause some pain at times but long term pays a dividend.”
SC
“A clever chap is our John – his classes are designed to improve both ones dynamic and core strength but is purposefully chopped in to small aliquots of exercise so before you know it you have done an hour’s worth of class without realizing it!! Therefore no chance of boredom and routine can creep in and despite ones ageing aching limbs I am sure it must be doing us good as have just returned from a short intensive ski trip feeling as fresh as a daisy and ready to go again. Well done John and Thank-you.”
Dot and Robin
“I have been training with John for about two years now. I didn’t have any specific goals, like losing weight or running a marathon, but I wanted to achieve a good level of strength and fitness and to improve on that week by week. Training with John has helped me to achieve that; I am much stronger and my knee and back pain has diminished considerably as I have followed John’s training and advice to strengthen these areas.
Although we work hard, John’s classes are very sociable and many of us who have met through training are now good friends. We have learned how to do strength exercises and cardiovascular training while laughing, which is an achievement all by itself. If you want to improve your strength, fitness levels and your state of mind, I can’t recommend John highly enough.”
JR 22/01/2015
“John doesn’t only make working out fun, he also clearly knows what he is doing. He makes sure that there is a proper warm-up to start with, proper stretching to finish, and keeps an eye on us when we do the exercises in between, correcting us if necessary.
The exercises are varied and interesting, working on core stability, strength in arms and legs, and overall fitness. As a result I feel more toned, stronger, and never had crippling muscular pains the day after. I’ve been to plenty of other gyms and classes before, but can honestly say that John’s keep fit class is the best!”
Belle M., Rimington
“I started circuit training with John a few years ago with a small group and immediately felt at ease with the workout and the atmosphere.
John changes the routine every week and it doesn’t matter how fit you are, because you can work as hard as you are able to – although if he feels you can up your game, he will say so. Also, if for any reason you have an injury, he will quickly tailor certain exercises for you to take that into account and he manages to keep an eye on everyone to make sure they are in the right position for doing the circuits correctly.
The age group range is extremely wide from teenagers to sixty plus and because we all have a common goal, the laughter and banter makes the whole session great fun.
I can honestly say my personal fitness level has dramatically improved along with my health and wellbeing.
If you are thinking of starting to exercise, I can thoroughly recommend John Pilkington.”
