Simone Laurie Personal Trainer
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Simone Laurie moved across the country to follow her dreams of becoming a Personal Trainer and she hasn’t looked back since. Now 7 years on she tells Sundried how she keeps up her training and curbs her sweet tooth.
How did you find yourself in the world of fitness?
After graduating from university with a 2:1 in a subject I no longer had any passion for, I found myself working in a part time job in Guildford, pondering over my future. The Surrey Sports park had just opened, and having plenty of free time I joined and went there very regularly. It was there, at age 22, that I discovered my love of fitness. Having never been particularly enthusiastic about sports, I was surprised when, put in a fun exercise environment, I absolutely loved it working out! Not knowing exactly what I wanted to do, but knowing that I wanted to do something sociable and a job that would allow me to help people, a light bulb went off in my head when I saw an advert on a jobsite for a personal training course in Newcastle (where my best friend lived). Right then I knew I should take a chance, and that's exactly what I did. I moved to Newcastle to do the course, and seven years later I am still there working as a very happy PT at the Gym Group.
How do you keep your clients motivated?
To keep my clients motivated I will post regular recipes and exercises on my social media sites, I encourage them, and I remind them of the reason why they hired me to begin with. I will sometimes do activities with them outside of the gym too, for example going to the local climbing wall, attending a zumba class with them and so on.
Talk us through your training regime.
At the moment I am training for the Great North Run so my regime is different from normal, but usually it comprises of two high intensity sprint sessions a week, two strength training days (focusing mainly on compound movements), one metabolic conditioning circuit, and two short abs sessions. I also teach insanity and kettlebells once a week which I join in with.
Do you follow a specific diet?
I don't follow a specific diet, but I do have rules that I stick to and fin this helps. I don't avoid fat, I just ensure that I am staying away from trans-fats. I always start the day with a glass of water and a shot of pure aloe vera drinking gel. I always have some form of protein for breakfast, make sure I am snacking on something every 2-3 hours, and feel I have let myself down if I don't have a cold pressed juice (80% veg/20% fruit) once a day! I only buy organic produce as I strongly believe that pesticides do s much damage to our bodies, and that's not a risk I am willing to take. I have a real sweet tooth, so will curb this by taking garcinia supplements, or making a natural treat, like the kind you'll see in a Deliciously Ella book.
How do you keep your fitness knowledge up to date?
To keep my fitness knowledge up to date I attend REPS (Register of Exercise Professionals) fitness conventions and read the monthly magazine I receive from them. I also look at things online.
How do you balance work and a social life?
To balance a work and social life I will try to keep weekends free and I rarely work past 8pm these days as I start early.
What are your top 3 trainer tips?
My top 3 trainer tips would be:
1) Do exercises you enjoy so you're not as likely to quit
2) Try new things and say "YES!"
3) If it's not doing you any good, don't put it in your mouth!
If you could only give your clients one exercise, what would it be?
If I could only give my clients one exercise it would be a clean and press with either kettlebells or a barbell. It is an explosive compound exercise that will burn fat and give you definition, working big muscle groups and getting that heart rate up.
What are your training aspirations?
My training aspirations are to be more flexible and have the core strength of a gymnast! The Rio Olympics have inspired me to try new things!
