When I met Andy I was hesitant about having a coach for a few reasons:
1) I wasn’t ready to commit to what I thought would be a rigid programme at that point in my life.
2) I had had a coach quite recently who had become quite apathetic towards helping and I could clearly see he wasn’t invested in my progression so this put me off having a coach again.
3) I felt like I knew enough about training to know that there were no secrets to becoming more athletic and that it was all down to just ‘hard work’.
I was wrong on all accounts.
Andy listened to all my needs when I signed to be one of his athletes. He planned the programs around my needs and my routine, whilst adding a lot of value along the way and picking me up on things when I was wrong and explaining why.
He was clearly invested in my success as an athlete from the outset, as his passion for what he does exudes through his interactions with you. It was obvious he wasn’t in it for monetary gain. He really got to know my lifestyle and me as a person right from the initial consultation.
Despite having 11 years of strength-based training under my belt, Andy was able to teach me so many valuable lessons on things that I had either been misguided on or just didn’t have sufficient or any knowledge of to begin with.
He has continued to develop my knowledge as we moved forward so that I am able to think for myself. Although he is only ever a message away and responds rapidly - that being said, hard work is still required!
Overall, I’ve gone from being very frustrated due to plateauing for many years, to reaching a level of athleticism I never thought I could possibly achieve, as I had convinced myself that I could not become any better than what I already was. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Before I trained with Andy I didn't really have much of a plan of how I should be structuring my strength training around BJJ so I could get the most out of the BJJ sessions or even what type of lifts I should do. I was training BJJ numerous times a week and also lifting every week.
My routine was a very typical bodybuilder type lifting routine and I was pushing hard every session. This left me gassing out during rolls and not getting the most out of BJJ training.
Working with Andy we structured a programme so there was no wasted effort in the weights room and it was efficient towards gaining strength whilst still having energy for BJJ which was my priority. I wanted help with prep for competitions and this is exactly what I got, no messing about!
After a few months of training with Andy, I felt stronger, my lifts were improving and more people were commenting that I felt strong during live rolling. This led to me winning my first competition and I am confident if I hadn't been working on this strength programme and taking advice to help effectively and safely cut weight I wouldn't have won.
Andy is a great coach who tailors training specific to your individual needs and there's no bullshit, it's about seeing results in the most efficient way possible. With regular reviews, he listens to feedback and will provide alternatives depending on your lifestyle, equipment in your gym, etc. The knowledge he gives you is all derived from scientific evidence and it gave me the confidence to trust what he was teaching me and set me up for a lifetime of safe, effective, strong training!
I’d been training on and off for 10+ years; I learned enough to put training physically into practice but never had an angle or method to my approach in order to get the results I wanted.
Mostly this was down to motivation, fatigue, and accountability. We’re all guilty of not turning up on some days, mentally defeating ourselves, or talking ourselves out of things before we even start them and this lack of discipline started to seep into other aspects of my life as well.
Frustrated, that’s when I decided that I need to bolster my training programme and find myself someone who is able to mentor me but also cater to my own knowledge base. Which is exactly why I approached Andy.
After being recommended by members of the armed forces and athletes competing in high-level competition, I contacted Andy and found we got on really well. His no-nonsense, evidence-based training really resonated with me.
Whilst I’ve incorporated many different aspects and training styles for different sports over the years, I’ve since settled on pure hypertrophy training; I find it most therapeutic and enjoyable and having a firm knowledge base in resistance and weight training already, made Squatsby Strength the most appealing coaching style for my needs and ability.
Since starting, we’ve implemented evidence-based training methods into my training regimen. The structure and organisation that Andy’s coaching provides really does complement the training and progress we’re making. I'm starting to see fantastic physical results, both in the mirror and on paper.
As someone who loves the gym, I would describe Squatsby Strength as the perfect ensemble of evidence and geek based training for the Dr. Jekyll with a Mr. Hyde gym persona - the brains and the brawn!
Since making the leap to joining Squatsby Strength, I haven’t looked back. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
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