Personal training
Short, smart workouts
One-to-one personal training that is focussed on teaching knowledge and skill. I specialise in the 40+ age group, and anyone who wants a friendly, flexible PT who understands that gym culture is not for everyone.
The four pillars
Achieving physical control, freedom and equilibrium
Long-lasting health and vitality are dependent on these four pillars. Our approach to exercise develops them all, efficiently and effectively.
Strength
Being strong means being able to lift and move things – furniture, luggage, children, yourself. Strength also means protection against injuries that can occur in sports and other activities. Strength means muscles and bones, as well as the nervous system that controls movement. Everyone can get stronger, and you will be amazed at how soon you will notice the difference.
Mobility
Having good mobility means being able to move freely, without discomfort and tightness. There’s little point in being strong if your strength is restricted and you struggle to reach, bend, squat, twist. All sports require mobility, and it eases all aspects of life. There is a great deal of individual difference in mobility, but everyone can improve. Training consciously through the full range of motion enables strength and mobility to develop simultaneously.
Balance
You can’t claim to have physical control of yourself without good balance. It’s a necessary component of every sport, and of using public transport and washing your feet in the shower. Balance improves remarkably quickly, and naturally combines with the strength work in our sessions.
There’s another, related form of balance, and that’s the development of equal strength and mobility left and right, front and back. Poor posture in all its forms comes from an imbalance of strength and flexibility, and it can be improved.
Cardio
Cardiovascular fitness is the ability of your heart and lungs to provide the food and oxygen your muscles need in order to contract repeatedly. Again, every sport, and so many aspects of life, are eased with better cardiovascular fitness. Typically, it is trained through very high repetition movements like running and cycling, which are great, but when time is an issue, strength workouts can be structured to be brisk, almost non-stop, meaning cardio fitness can be developed alongside everything else.
The process
We talk (usually, while walking)
We will chat about what you want to achieve, what time you can realistically give the process, and what training environment you prefer (home, gym, outdoors, a combination…). I’ll explain some of the basics of resistance-based exercise, and answer questions. Most importantly, we’ll get to know each other a little.
I design a programme that fits your life
I will put together a personalised workout, or workouts, of between ten and thirty minutes, built around the four pillars above, and the time you have. I will explain every detail.
I teach you
I will teach you excellent technique, movement by movement, and I will help you make the adjustments you need. I will suggest ways of recording your progress that you, personally, find motivating. This is the part of the process that takes the longest, and it’s the most important part, too. Even if your workouts are super-short, these taught sessions will take about an hour. You will be learning to do them completely independently.
Independence
I will encourage and guide you to train without me as soon as possible, including between our scheduled teaching sessions. You will grow in independence while still receiving instruction, and you’ll almost certainly have questions. We won’t rush this stage – it is vital in the progression to real independence.
You keep in touch
Once we’ve ceased regular taught sessions, you may still have questions, issues may arise, you may want more challenge or help with a plateau or some other setback; maybe you take up a new sport or start a new job and you need to make adaptations. Give me a buzz: we can chat things through, and if necessary, I can provide additional taught sessions.
Where we train
Your own training environment
The best training environment is the one that suits you today.
- Outdoors
- Parks and gardens offer the known health benefits of being outdoors, and it is amazing what you can do with little more than a tree, a bench, even just the ground. I’m a keen advocate of the ‘callisthenics parks’ that are popping up – and you don’t have to be able to do pull-ups to use these effectively.
- At home
- A great deal can be done with bodyweight alone, even if you can’t yet do a single press-up. The massive advantage of exercising at home is the saving of precious time – not just travel time, but time spent in changing rooms and all the rest. I can even devise personalised ‘exercise snacks’ for when you are really pressed but still want to stay in control of your health.
- In your gym
- You may have a home gym, or perhaps you have access to a fitness centre at work or in your development of apartments – I can help you maximise your use of these. Similarly, you may have a gym membership – I can review your current training and help with adjustments.
The time it takes
Short, focussed, knowledge-driven workouts
It is genuinely possible to make significant progress in all four pillars using workouts of thirty minutes, two to four times a week. That’s the honest number, not marketing or social media nonsense, and it includes the warm-up.
I can also design ten-minute workouts that will keep you in the game when time is really tight. Ideally, these would happen four or more times a week – but anything is better than nothing, and a ten minute workout you actually do is better than a forty five minute one that doesn’t happen!
I can even design flexible workouts that allow for you to change your mind part way through. You may begin a ten-minute session, get in the groove and decide to push on!
Our teaching sessions will be an hour – teaching and learning takes more time than simply doing, and the learning needs to stick. Remember: my goal is your independence.
In their words
What clients say
Into my fifties now, I have always been someone who’s exercised only intermittently, mainly out of guilt. I’ve never had the motivation to exercise regularly. Lindsay has changed that for me.
He first spent time with me to work out not only what would motivate me (crucial) but also to give me a routine that was short enough to easily fit into my day, and into my mood. Each workout now lasts 30 minutes. Since starting, Lindsay has given me alternative workouts to choose from, so that I stay motivated and so that my body - and mind - are continually challenged. My wishes for balance, functional strength, and flexibility for my golf game have all been factored in.
I’ve never found fitness fun, so I’ve been genuinely surprised that I now look forward to (most!) workouts. I also get a kick out of the looks from younger, fitter guys when they see me doing interesting exercises to a timer. Exercises like commando pull-ups and cossack squats. It’s cool.
Thanks Linz!
After many years of unstructured exercise, I reached a point that my body was just not functioning and my motivation to work out fell off a cliff. Working with Linz at Active Choice has helped me to reset and believe that with targeted support and patience, I am now able to visualise new possibilities with greater strength of mind and body. Linz really listened to my needs and it is with a more mindful approach that I am now able to enjoy once again the activities I used to in my 20s. I am now in my early 50s and with careful support from Linz, I feel stronger, more focused, more generally motivated every day, both in my work and in personal life.
Jenny Linz is super patient, knowledgeable and kind and I really like how he tailors the exercises to suit my needs - I am especially impressed with the impact one such exercise has on my back. He is always full of good nuggets of advice and he explains very clearly so I actually remember how to do them in my own time. I am really thankful to have Linz on call!
Magi
What it costs
The short version
- Initial consultation
- Free
- Getting started workout
- £60
- Follow up workouts
- £50
The initial consultation is free and there is no obligation attached to it. See the full pricing, including online follow ups
Tell me what you would like to be able to do
We will talk it through, work out whether I can help, and go from there. It costs nothing to find out.