Being a total fitness aficionado, gym bunny and health freak, I knew I would enjoy any personal training session wherever I’d been. However, a one-to-one training session at the Matt Roberts Chelsea centre, was without doubt an experience never to forget, one I’d repeat a hundred times again if possible, and definitely like none other.
The changing rooms alone were magnificent: work tops lined with GHDs, hairdryers, a tray of every deodorant imaginable, hair products, towel bales; and an assortment of accessories in case one arrived in a sports kit and had forgotten all other necessities.
My one hour and 30 minute session with Vicky Smith began with a fitness consultation - establishing lifestyle and habits, determining blood pressure, body fat composition, water and muscle percentages, and discussing my fitness goals. As a regular marathon runner, I explained my daily training plan, and my main target of this year being to boost my upper body strength and stamina. For a new member, the compulsory initial consultation is £195 for a complete fitness analysis, physiotherapy screening and after completing a food-log, a dietary analysis with a nutritionist.
The fitness analysis is a series of tests to determine your flexibility levels, range of motion and balance. The trainers assess you on each of the exercises, to work out your fitness level (I scored intermediate) and spot any hidden injuries. After a thorough warm-up, including back massages over a foam roller, we spend the session doing one-sided weight training exercises to build up upper body and core strength. I was out of breath within minutes but I knew the results would be truly rewarding.
The gym is kitted out with a treadmill, a couple of stationary bikes and a spin bike, one cross-trainer and a huge range of mats, rollers and weights. It’s not the ‘usual’ sort of gym, but a well-equipped exclusive one-to-one training centre where you can meet with your new fitness-pal which you can chose from their friendly team of expert personal trainers. In between weight training circuits, Vicky and I chat nineteen to the dozen about our passion for fitness, our enthusiasm for foam rollers, and how great the team and facilities are at Matt Roberts. The Chelsea branch is one of four of the Matt Roberts centres in London: Chelsea; Hampstead; Mayfair; and the City of London.
The session ends too soon and after a glorious cool-down where I lie on the floor and Vicky stretches all my leg muscles for me, we part with a handshake. The relationship with a personal trainer is an interesting one - in a few minutes of meeting they become your new best friend; your rock, always pushing you that extra mile. I left feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, and with jelly legs.
If you would also like to be part of the Matt Roberts experience, visit their webiste for more information and to make an enquiry: www.mattroberts.co.uk
Matt Roberts Chelsea
230 Brompton Road
London
SW3 2BB
020 7581 9199
