I’ve been a personal trainer and nutrition coach in London for over 20 years and can’t believe how fast the time has flown. Here’s a typical week in my life as a PT.
Red Light Therapy
For 10 minutes each morning, I sit in front of a Beurer infra-red lamp with protective goggles. The infra-red radiation has several therapeutic benefits to rejuvenate the skin and the cells beneath the skin.
Deep Breathing Meditation
While I’m doing my red light therapy, I do 10 minutes of deep breathing through the nose, to really fill the lungs and train my vagus nervous system (sympathetic/parasympathetic). This helps reduce stress and cortisol levels.
Beurer Bright Light
Particularly on dark winter mornings, my Beurer bright light helps me wake up and feel alert while I have breakfast and get ready to leave the flat.
Fluids
Before I eat anything, I drink half a litre of filtered water with a teaspoon (5 grams) of creatine monohydrate (Applied Nutrition) to give my energy system a boost. Between meals I will have a big glass of water with half a lemon squeezed into it for the vitamin C. Every other day I will have a glass of water with a portion of marine collagen powder (Applied Nutrition) dissolved into it, for building healthy bones and connective tissue.
One fluid I’ve pretty much cut out is alcohol and I don’t miss it. Quitting alcohol is one of the best things you can do for your health.
Meals
I aim for high-protein (Greek yoghurt and blueberries for breakfast), eggs/beef mince/salmon fillets for main meals. A decent portion of stir-fried vegetables boosts my vitamin/mineral/fibre intake. I’m trying to keep carbs to moderate portions (quinoa/wholewheat pitta/hummus).
To give my main meals more richness, I often use beef stock from a company called True Foods based in Yorkshire. It’s available in good butchers’ shops and also Wholefoods Market on King’s Road, Chelsea. It’s made from 100% British slow-roastedf beef bones and it’s a powerhouse of nutrition.
For a healthy treat I love Montezuma’s Absolute Black chocolate, 100% cocoa solids, with a glass of milk. It has no added sugar and no sweeteners, too bitter for many people but I like it.
Another favourite treat is good quality honey on wholemeal pitta bread with butter. My current favourite is Mellona Raw Honey with added bee pollen, made in Cyprus.
Reading
To keep my brain alert, refresh my PT knowledge and broaden my horizons I read a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction. My favourite health & fitness books include Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, and Tom Venuto’s Burn the Fat, Build the Muscle. Reading is a great way to pass the time on the Tube between clients. Over the years I’ve acquired clients all over London (Chelsea, Belgravia, Farringdon, Hampstead, St John’s Wood) so there’s lots of Tube travel during the week.
Gym Workouts
I’m a member of Fitness First, a fantastic gym chain with several branches across London. My current favourites are the Bishopsgate branch and the Strand branch, and varying my locations keeps my workouts fresh.
I do 3 intensive workouts a week, with a ‘rest day’ in between. I use a split routine: for instance Monday is back and biceps, Wednesday is chest, shoulder and triceps, and Friday is legs, glutes and core.
An added advantage of gym training is that I can spy on the excellent personal trainers at Fitness First and see what workouts they are giving their clients. Industrial espionage!
Post-Workout Protein Shake
My current favourite is Per4m Isolate Zero: 100% Whey, which gives 26g protein per serving. It comes in big tubs of powder that you can mix with water or milk.
Walking
On rest-days between gym workouts I go walking in one of the three large local graveyards in my neighbourhood. It’s a very peaceful walk in all three locations, and often I see foxes and of course squirrels. There are plenty of trees to walk among and it’s good to be outside (away from traffic fumes) getting some gentle low-intensity cardio steps in nature.
Tennis
For variety of surfaces, I’m a member of two tennis clubs in London. One has just hard courts, the other has astroturf courts and artificial clay courts. These are all very different surfaces and the softer surfaces give the knees a much needed break from pounding the hard courts.
(Dominic Londesborough is a personal trainer in London and online nutrition coach)
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