Simply Strength

Simply Strength

Jun 9, 2017

From the Blog

Personal Trainer… Nutrition Advisor… Sports Therapist

Blog

Personal Trainer… Nutrition Advisor… Sports Therapist

Ten years ago I embarked on a career change, from IT to Fitness and Well-being.  The biggest reason for doing so was to achieve a work life balance.

It has been an extremely challenging journey.  My new career started with me working for one of the top ten personal training gyms in London, which soon changed to maternity leave!! Timing eh! But I have no regrets whatsoever.  I returned to work on a very part-time basis as a freelancer – this is where the ‘real’ work life balance came into play.

The work life balance challenge has developed from working very few hours and enjoying watching my baby grow  to increasing working hours and juggling childcare with my partner.

Gym organisational changes beyond my control were often challenging making me feel like giving up.  Then came a shift of location, my client base in London shifted to my local area.  This has been growing ever since.

I dreamed of working in my own gym where I controlled the work life balance.  That day has finally come, ten years on I can say it was all worth it.

Simply Strength, my very own private gym space where I can manage my client base around my home life.

 

BOOK A CLASS
FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM @amrittandt

Let's talk...

7 + 1 =

Get social

PERSONAL TRAINING

"I found Amrit to be thorough, clear and direct in her approach to personal training. She always pushed me forward towards my personal goals and gave me heaps of encouragement when I achieved them. Her deep tissue massages really helped to ease my muscle tightness and helped me refocus on the areas I needed to work on more."

Janet Haltrecht  Environmental Consultant

SPORTS THERAPY

"Because Amrit’s Sports massage proved so effective for me I have already recommend Amrit to various friends and even my whole cycling club."

Shawn Ballantine  Photographer & Amateur Cycle Racer

SHE LIFTS

"Another fantastic SheLIFTS from Amrit K Theocharous this evening, really built on the moves from last week – with much more lifting this time – my arms feel like spaghetti now!"

Natalie Howells  Freelance writer

PERSONAL TRAINING

"Amrit has been instrumental in getting my fitness back on track. Fat is melting away every week and there are great new layers of muscle everywhere; I’ve really never looked or felt better. She is an excellent motivator and teacher, always eager to find out what will work best for me. I can’t recommend her highly enough. Thanks Amrit!"

Luke Petre  Software Architect

SPORTS THERAPY

"Amrit has helped me significantly with a few issues with my back, neck and shoulder. I go through intensive training periods and it is important for me to be fully functional. Amrit is very skilled and knowledgable, not only does she alleviate the pain but she also works with me in identifying how the problems are caused and how to prevent them. Highly recommended."

Sian Toal  Director OnPoint Training

SHE LIFTS

"Highly recommend Amrit’s Shelift class. Strengthening and conditioning-An excellent way to start the week."

Sharon Parker  Managing Director / Parker & Son Catering Ltd

PERSONAL TRAINING

"I just wanted to drop you a line to thank you for your 1-2-1 Personal Training over the last 4 months. As someone who was an exercise avoider, I surprised myself by enjoying strength training. I have lost 19inches in total and have a new found respect for my body and its abilities. I felt I was in such safe hands with you and I even have my own foam roller now. Thank you for your time, patience and wealth of knowledge in helping me transform my life."

Sarah  Local government officer

SPORTS THERAPY

"Amrit is second to none. Excellent trainer and therapist. She is my choice of sports masseur and attend some of my clients, who keep coming back to her, due her excellence on services and a great character. She is highly knowledgeable and reliable and have so far, my clients and my approval and admiration. She is one of a kind. Brilliant professional.”

Fabio Domingues  Personal Trainer in the City of London

SHE LIFTS

"9.30 class with the Amazing Amrit and the “She lift” girls…. Amrit you are a such a star motivator, and made every moment feel so achievable, and in the words of a He Lifter….”I`ll be back”!!!! so energised, I can`t wait for next Monday!"

Roz Lishak  Cookie Queen

2019 © AMRIT TRAINING AND THERAPY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED I  DESIGNED BY ODRUM CREATIVE

TERMS AND CONDITIONS  I  PRIVACY POLICY  I  COOKIES

Keeping it real during the Festive Season

Keeping it real during the Festive Season

Dec 10, 2016

From the Blog

Personal Trainer… Nutrition Advisor… Sports Therapist

Blog

Personal Trainer… Nutrition Advisor… Sports Therapist

I do love mince pies, but I’m refraining on buying any until the week of Christmas, or maybe the week before!

It always amazes me, the mass rush at the supermarket in the run up to Christmas – people panic buying as if we are going to war! The mass preparation of over-indulgence is underway.

People often become anxious about their weight during this time of year, which is understandable as party season is upon us, how will we cope with all the lush food and drink.

So I thought I’d share a few tips to help keep it real during the Festive Season.

1

Don’t Panic Buy Food

We live in a society whereby if there were a food emergency like forgetting the cranberry sauce it wouldn’t be that difficult to locate a 24/7 convenience store that would be more than happy to oblige. (Be sure to check the expiry date though lol)

Plan and prepare your meals carefully just like you would during the rest of the year. In fact Christmas dinner generally could well be a well-balanced meal Turkey/Fish/Nut toast and loads of vegetables, meat/fish/nut roast and two veg – simple, it’s what I bang on about to clients the rest of the year too.

2

Seasons; Festive Veg

Find out what foods are in season and focus on them, you will be surprised at what you end up with as well as the Brussel sprouts! Others include cabbage, clementine, pomegranate, kale, parsnip, goose, mussels, oysters, pheasant, wild duck, and salmon.

3

Keep active

All the running around for presents, and picking up relatives, visiting relatives does take up a lot of time, so plan your exercise times wisely.

Getting it done first thing ensures you have the rest of the day to plough through your list of a million and one things. With all the happy chemicals floating around your body you will be guaranteed a very successful day! Leaving it to later in the day, let’s face it – this has a tendency to drop off the list of things to do.

4

Short powerful and effective

Keep your workouts short (20-30 mins), with minimal rest time.

If you have access to a gym get yourself in the weights room and lift! Focus on the big compound moves; squat, deadlift, pushing and pulling. Increase the intensity with by challenging yourself with the volume of weight and remember to maintain as perfect form as possible to avoid injury.

No access to a gym? just stick with body weight and increase the intensity with duration of the individual exercises.

Set yourself up a mini circuit of 3 or 5 movements and time each round of activity and rest and complete the workout in 20-25 minutes.

E.g.

  • Squat 60s rest 15s

  • Plank 60s rest 15s

  • Glute bridge 60s rest 15s

  • Press up 60s rest 15s

  • Lunges 60s rest 15s

5

Enjoy yourself

Don’t forget to treat yourself, whether its mince pies, Christmas pudding whatever your pleasure, enjoy it.

If you are interested in keeping it real after the Festive Season, drop me a line at amrit@amrittandt.co.uk

[yuzo_related]
BOOK A CLASS
FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM @amrittandt

Let's talk...

14 + 5 =

Get social

PERSONAL TRAINING

"I found Amrit to be thorough, clear and direct in her approach to personal training. She always pushed me forward towards my personal goals and gave me heaps of encouragement when I achieved them. Her deep tissue massages really helped to ease my muscle tightness and helped me refocus on the areas I needed to work on more."

Janet Haltrecht  Environmental Consultant

SPORTS THERAPY

"Because Amrit’s Sports massage proved so effective for me I have already recommend Amrit to various friends and even my whole cycling club."

Shawn Ballantine  Photographer & Amateur Cycle Racer

SHE LIFTS

"Another fantastic SheLIFTS from Amrit K Theocharous this evening, really built on the moves from last week – with much more lifting this time – my arms feel like spaghetti now!"

Natalie Howells  Freelance writer

PERSONAL TRAINING

"Amrit has been instrumental in getting my fitness back on track. Fat is melting away every week and there are great new layers of muscle everywhere; I’ve really never looked or felt better. She is an excellent motivator and teacher, always eager to find out what will work best for me. I can’t recommend her highly enough. Thanks Amrit!"

Luke Petre  Software Architect

SPORTS THERAPY

"Amrit has helped me significantly with a few issues with my back, neck and shoulder. I go through intensive training periods and it is important for me to be fully functional. Amrit is very skilled and knowledgable, not only does she alleviate the pain but she also works with me in identifying how the problems are caused and how to prevent them. Highly recommended."

Sian Toal  Director OnPoint Training

SHE LIFTS

"Highly recommend Amrit’s Shelift class. Strengthening and conditioning-An excellent way to start the week."

Sharon Parker  Managing Director / Parker & Son Catering Ltd

PERSONAL TRAINING

"I just wanted to drop you a line to thank you for your 1-2-1 Personal Training over the last 4 months. As someone who was an exercise avoider, I surprised myself by enjoying strength training. I have lost 19inches in total and have a new found respect for my body and its abilities. I felt I was in such safe hands with you and I even have my own foam roller now. Thank you for your time, patience and wealth of knowledge in helping me transform my life."

Sarah  Local government officer

SPORTS THERAPY

"Amrit is second to none. Excellent trainer and therapist. She is my choice of sports masseur and attend some of my clients, who keep coming back to her, due her excellence on services and a great character. She is highly knowledgeable and reliable and have so far, my clients and my approval and admiration. She is one of a kind. Brilliant professional.”

Fabio Domingues  Personal Trainer in the City of London

SHE LIFTS

"9.30 class with the Amazing Amrit and the “She lift” girls…. Amrit you are a such a star motivator, and made every moment feel so achievable, and in the words of a He Lifter….”I`ll be back”!!!! so energised, I can`t wait for next Monday!"

Roz Lishak  Cookie Queen

2019 © AMRIT TRAINING AND THERAPY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED I  DESIGNED BY ODRUM CREATIVE

TERMS AND CONDITIONS  I  PRIVACY POLICY  I  COOKIES

Julia’s Journey

Julia’s Journey

Feb 21, 2015

From the Blog

Personal Trainer… Nutrition Advisor… Sports Therapist

Blog

Personal Trainer… Nutrition Advisor… Sports Therapist

Julia first came to me in early 2014. She wanted to lose weight, increase her body tone and improve her health and overall fitness. But, as she pointed out when we first started working together, she wasn’t a fan of exercise.

I work with a lot of people who say they don’t like to exercise – they get bored, tired or frustrated, and give up before they see real results. Working with a personal trainer is a great way to keep yourself inspired, because I don’t just run you through the same old exercises time and time again.

My approach is to find the way that works for you, and that’s exactly what I did for Julia. In fact, she commented on my friendly yet no nonsense, down to earth approach to her training.

To keep Julia interested and motivated, it was important to vary the routines we worked on. So I devised a combination of weight training, circuits and gym time, so that there was plenty of variety.

Julia joined my SHELifts classes, where I teach women how to safely and effectively start lifting weights. In no time, she was deadlifting with the best of them.

Of course, the outcome is the crucial bit when it comes to an exercise journey like Julia’s, so how did she do? Well, the pictures speak for themselves – you can see how amazing her transformation has been – taking her from a size 14/16 right down to 8/10! Just as importantly, her stamina and overall fitness has increased considerably, she feels younger, and her confidence has massively increased.

But enough from me, here’s what Julia has to say about her experience with Amrit Training and Therapy:

“I’ve been training with Amrit Theocharous on and off for the past 10 months. Physically my strength has greatly improved. My stamina has increased more than threefold and I get a real buzz from training. It most definitely increases my energy levels and keeps me happy and energised for the whole day. I was never one to exercise in the past but Amrit really makes it fun which means I don’t tire or get bored with it. So if you find exercise uninspiring but know that you really should look after your body then Amrit is who you need to speak to! Thanks Amrit for teaching me how to enjoy exercise again!”

[yuzo_related]
BOOK A CLASS
FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM @amrittandt

Let's talk...

14 + 13 =

Get social

PERSONAL TRAINING

"I found Amrit to be thorough, clear and direct in her approach to personal training. She always pushed me forward towards my personal goals and gave me heaps of encouragement when I achieved them. Her deep tissue massages really helped to ease my muscle tightness and helped me refocus on the areas I needed to work on more."

Janet Haltrecht  Environmental Consultant

SPORTS THERAPY

"Because Amrit’s Sports massage proved so effective for me I have already recommend Amrit to various friends and even my whole cycling club."

Shawn Ballantine  Photographer & Amateur Cycle Racer

SHE LIFTS

"Another fantastic SheLIFTS from Amrit K Theocharous this evening, really built on the moves from last week – with much more lifting this time – my arms feel like spaghetti now!"

Natalie Howells  Freelance writer

PERSONAL TRAINING

"Amrit has been instrumental in getting my fitness back on track. Fat is melting away every week and there are great new layers of muscle everywhere; I’ve really never looked or felt better. She is an excellent motivator and teacher, always eager to find out what will work best for me. I can’t recommend her highly enough. Thanks Amrit!"

Luke Petre  Software Architect

SPORTS THERAPY

"Amrit has helped me significantly with a few issues with my back, neck and shoulder. I go through intensive training periods and it is important for me to be fully functional. Amrit is very skilled and knowledgable, not only does she alleviate the pain but she also works with me in identifying how the problems are caused and how to prevent them. Highly recommended."

Sian Toal  Director OnPoint Training

SHE LIFTS

"Highly recommend Amrit’s Shelift class. Strengthening and conditioning-An excellent way to start the week."

Sharon Parker  Managing Director / Parker & Son Catering Ltd

PERSONAL TRAINING

"I just wanted to drop you a line to thank you for your 1-2-1 Personal Training over the last 4 months. As someone who was an exercise avoider, I surprised myself by enjoying strength training. I have lost 19inches in total and have a new found respect for my body and its abilities. I felt I was in such safe hands with you and I even have my own foam roller now. Thank you for your time, patience and wealth of knowledge in helping me transform my life."

Sarah  Local government officer

SPORTS THERAPY

"Amrit is second to none. Excellent trainer and therapist. She is my choice of sports masseur and attend some of my clients, who keep coming back to her, due her excellence on services and a great character. She is highly knowledgeable and reliable and have so far, my clients and my approval and admiration. She is one of a kind. Brilliant professional.”

Fabio Domingues  Personal Trainer in the City of London

SHE LIFTS

"9.30 class with the Amazing Amrit and the “She lift” girls…. Amrit you are a such a star motivator, and made every moment feel so achievable, and in the words of a He Lifter….”I`ll be back”!!!! so energised, I can`t wait for next Monday!"

Roz Lishak  Cookie Queen

2019 © AMRIT TRAINING AND THERAPY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED I  DESIGNED BY ODRUM CREATIVE

TERMS AND CONDITIONS  I  PRIVACY POLICY  I  COOKIES

Yoga & Strength Training

Yoga & Strength Training

Jan 27, 2014

From the Blog

Personal Trainer… Nutrition Advisor… Sports Therapist

Blog

Personal Trainer… Nutrition Advisor… Sports Therapist

I came across this blog about strength training and yoga complimenting each other; basically it talks a lot of sense.

The two types of training are like the Yin and Yan in exercise terms. As the blog mentions, strength training focuses on big compound moves involving fast twitch muscles stimulating power and speed. Yoga trains the endurance slow twitch muscles, allowing the body to achieve tone and flexibility. So using both types of training would be extremely beneficial to an individual.

Strength training requires some degree of flexibility to achieve the range of motion required to perform the specific compound lifts. So the exercises are broken down into smaller units, and performed as drills to teach the body how to perform the full lifts. These drills will include flexibility and activation drills.

The flexibility drills can often be derived from yoga poses or routines. I often use the Sun Salutation as a dynamic warm-up for myself and clients preparing to train.

Lack of flexibility does often lead to injuries due to limited range of motion.

Another very valid point to note is; to perform the various yoga poses requires some strength, which can be achieved by practising the pose itself as well as performing some level of strength training, this will definitely contribute to the endurance factor which plays an important part in holding the yoga pose.

My own thoughts on this drove me to the conclusion that Yoga is the root of most exercises, and with strength training in particular, I’ve been matching Yoga poses and compound lifts ever since I came across this article.

So here are some of the derivations which I thought of, based on what muscles the exercise uses:

Yoga pose
Squat = The Chair
Lung = Warrior
Deadlift = Standing Forward Bend
Bench Press = Cobra
Lat Pull Down = Downward Dog
Plank = Plank

The blog makes a point of performing bodyweight exercises like pull ups and push ups, to encourage muscle balance hence avoiding muscle imbalance which can cause injuries.

So injuries bring me onto my other thought about this topic, a lot of the time injuries encountered during our training will at some point require rehabilitation of the muscle or joint, and more often than not, yoga exercise, isometric holds, partial range exercises will be used to aid the recovery process. This just emphasises even more how well strength training and yoga complement each other.

Some really sound advice in this blog; I for one will continue to use both forms of training for myself and include it in workouts for clients.
~OM~

[yuzo_related]
BOOK A CLASS
FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM @amrittandt

Let's talk...

8 + 12 =

Get social

PERSONAL TRAINING

"I found Amrit to be thorough, clear and direct in her approach to personal training. She always pushed me forward towards my personal goals and gave me heaps of encouragement when I achieved them. Her deep tissue massages really helped to ease my muscle tightness and helped me refocus on the areas I needed to work on more."

Janet Haltrecht  Environmental Consultant

SPORTS THERAPY

"Because Amrit’s Sports massage proved so effective for me I have already recommend Amrit to various friends and even my whole cycling club."

Shawn Ballantine  Photographer & Amateur Cycle Racer

SHE LIFTS

"Another fantastic SheLIFTS from Amrit K Theocharous this evening, really built on the moves from last week – with much more lifting this time – my arms feel like spaghetti now!"

Natalie Howells  Freelance writer

PERSONAL TRAINING

"Amrit has been instrumental in getting my fitness back on track. Fat is melting away every week and there are great new layers of muscle everywhere; I’ve really never looked or felt better. She is an excellent motivator and teacher, always eager to find out what will work best for me. I can’t recommend her highly enough. Thanks Amrit!"

Luke Petre  Software Architect

SPORTS THERAPY

"Amrit has helped me significantly with a few issues with my back, neck and shoulder. I go through intensive training periods and it is important for me to be fully functional. Amrit is very skilled and knowledgable, not only does she alleviate the pain but she also works with me in identifying how the problems are caused and how to prevent them. Highly recommended."

Sian Toal  Director OnPoint Training

SHE LIFTS

"Highly recommend Amrit’s Shelift class. Strengthening and conditioning-An excellent way to start the week."

Sharon Parker  Managing Director / Parker & Son Catering Ltd

PERSONAL TRAINING

"I just wanted to drop you a line to thank you for your 1-2-1 Personal Training over the last 4 months. As someone who was an exercise avoider, I surprised myself by enjoying strength training. I have lost 19inches in total and have a new found respect for my body and its abilities. I felt I was in such safe hands with you and I even have my own foam roller now. Thank you for your time, patience and wealth of knowledge in helping me transform my life."

Sarah  Local government officer

SPORTS THERAPY

"Amrit is second to none. Excellent trainer and therapist. She is my choice of sports masseur and attend some of my clients, who keep coming back to her, due her excellence on services and a great character. She is highly knowledgeable and reliable and have so far, my clients and my approval and admiration. She is one of a kind. Brilliant professional.”

Fabio Domingues  Personal Trainer in the City of London

SHE LIFTS

"9.30 class with the Amazing Amrit and the “She lift” girls…. Amrit you are a such a star motivator, and made every moment feel so achievable, and in the words of a He Lifter….”I`ll be back”!!!! so energised, I can`t wait for next Monday!"

Roz Lishak  Cookie Queen

2019 © AMRIT TRAINING AND THERAPY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED I  DESIGNED BY ODRUM CREATIVE

TERMS AND CONDITIONS  I  PRIVACY POLICY  I  COOKIES