Best of Melbourne 2019: top 10 personal trainers in Melbourne’s east
Here there are — the top personal trainers in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, as voted by you. Did your favourite fitness guru muscle their way on to the list? SEE THE RESULTS
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These personal trainers know how to get your heart racing — in a cardio workout, that is.
They are the people you love to hate, and while they thrive on doling out the tough love you know you will be much better for it.
Here are the fitness fiends you voted in as the best in the eastern suburbs.
Our top three trainers from the region also managed to crack the overall list of Melbourne’s favourites, which you can read HERE.
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Here are the top 10 personal trainers in the east, as voted by you.
MORE:
TOP 10 PERSONAL TRAINERS IN MELBOURNE’S NORTH
TOP 10 PERSONAL TRAINERS IN MELBOURNE’S SOUTH
TOP 10 PERSONAL TRAINERS IN MELBOURNE’S WEST
10. MICHAEL HOLLOWAY, MAX PERFORMANCE FITNESS, CROYDON
14-17 Railway Crescent
Michael Holloway may threaten to remove televisions from the gym to stop them from being a distraction, but his clients know it’s for their own good.
“Michael knows everything this includes weight loss, weightlifting, nutrition and mindset coaching. He works so hard and deserves recognition,” client Taylah Moschetti says.
More importantly, Josh Parkinson says the Croydon trainer practises what he preaches: “He makes sure you turn up and give it everything.”
And Kathy Healy said he had helped improve her core strength “and define muscles I didn’t know I had”.
9. KIMBERLEY MASINA, VISION PERSONAL TRAINING, BLACKBURN
75 Railway Rd
Clients were quick to share how enthusiastic and dynamic this bright-spark from Blackburn is.
And Mark Wigg says trainer Kimberley Masina has changed his life: “She helped me drop 40kg, reverse Type 2 diabetes through diet and exercise, and run 10km at the Melbourne Marathon Festival”.
Petra Paul says Kimberley is very intuitive: “(She) knows when to push me, but also knows when to ease off a little”.
More: visionpt.com.au/studios/blackburn
8. DAMIAN NENNA, PHOENIX HEALTH DESIGN, RINGWOOD
8/10 Maroondah Highway
This Ringwood all-rounder has his clients rising like the mythical phoenix with their workouts.
Leah Ashton says she can rely on Damian for a range of fitness needs — strength, cardio, stretch and yoga — providing a well-rounded approach for her wellbeing.
“Damo has created a great environment to work out in, he always pushes you and respects you,” Jacq Lavelle says.
More: phoenixhealthdesign.com.au
7. JO WILSON, MELSWAYS WOMEN’S FITNESS, BAYSWATER
2/6 Holloway Drive
Highly skilled, knowledgeable and “kick-ass awesome” are some of the ways Jo Wilson has been described by her clients.
Fiona Clark said the Baywater martial arts marvel had helped her get over her fear of training after surgery, with her caring and informed approach.
“Jo pours her heart and soul into her girls,” Marj Nicholas says. “Nobody is ever considered a nuisance. Jo deserves the title.”
Meanwhile Yvonne Knapman says: “Jo has done absolute wonders for my health and self esteem. She encourages you every step of the way.”
More: melsways.com.au
6. JOSE THOMAS, MANA FITNESS SOLUTIONS, NOTTING HILL
8/31-37 Howley Rd
Mana Fitness Solutions is based on the belief that lifestyle and body change is a process, and every small shift counts.
They aim to empower clients by teaching to train smarter not harder, and to use food and exercise as a way to achieve a more holistic way of living
Clients say Jose Thomas knows just how to inspire them and is very passionate about his work.
“He values you and your goals as much as you do,” Liam Barr says.
For Ryan James: “Jose is very accommodating to individual needs and great at motivating without shouting”.
More: manafitness.com.au
5. JUSTINE ROPER, DYNAMICARDIO, LILYDALE
12 Brock Industrial Drive
This Lilydale trainer isn’t afraid to push her clients harder — but she does it in the nicest possible way.
DynamiCardio is a group fitness company, which caters to all fitness levels and individual needs.
Bec Biggins says: “(Justine) is so encouraging and just so extremely nice but can push us to work harder”.
And Jane Sartori says she appreciates the passion and individual touch Justine adds to each session: “(She) knows all clients personally and pushes us to the limit!”
More: dynamicardio.com.au
4. CRAIG ABBOTT, PHIIT STUDIO/HEAVY HAULERS, DONCASTER
Westfield Doncaster
Craig Abbott may have started his working life in events management, but his true passion was health, fitness and helping others.
When that career “ran its course” he decided to move into an industry he loved.
And, nearly 23 years later, he hasn’t looked back.
He runs group exercises, which are designed to cater for “any and everyone”.
Most importantly, the programs allow people to set their own targets.
“Everyone has different capabilities and limits, we need to be able to establish what they can do,” he says.
But letting people set their own limits, doesn’t mean letting them slack off either.
“Compliance is the first step, never miss a session, if you don’t commit to a system or a routine your results can be erratic,” he says.
While the idea of “personal trainers” has the connotation of people who prescribe exercises and diets, counting reps and barking orders, Abbott says it is about educating and empowering people to be able to things for themselves.
“It’s about giving people guidance and direction,” he says.
Rachel Giusti has nothing but praise for Abbott, saying his support, expertise, love and guidance helped revive her strength and energy after chemotherapy and to prepare her for a transplant.
Client of seven years, Craig Cowley, says: “Craig’s unique blend of ‘amazing’ fitness knowledge, combined with ‘interesting’ exercises and good humour makes workouts both efficient and fun”.
More: phiitstudio.com.au
3. TANNA BAILEY, BAILEY’S BODIES, FERNTREE GULLY
111 Forest Rd
The number one thing Tanna Bailey wants her clients to ditch is the “all or nothing” mentality.
She says too often people think they have to do absolutely everything — go to the gym and train hard five days a week — or they may as well do nothing. And it does’t work.
Bailey knows — having struggled with weight her whole life, once tipping the scales at 115kg before losing 30kg.
“You know those six to eight week challenges where you lose a crapload of weight? Over the years myself doing that I’ve realised it doesn’t work, it doesn’t stick,” Bailey says.
“That’s what I try and teach my members, to try and get over that all or nothing mentality.
“When I learnt to get over that it was the day I really started getting successful results.”
Calling herself a “lifestyle PT”, Bailey, 37, helps her clients to identify their trigger points and turn their life around, focusing on overall health rather than the number on the scales.
“I guess it’s that self-diagnosis, if you can work out why you’re sabotaging yourself and eating that way, if you can work backwards and find out why that’s happening then you can try and get in front of it,” she says.
She runs her Bailey’s Bodies bootcamps at the Ferntree Gully North Primary School, and is one of the few in Melbourne that runs outdoors year-round thanks to a large undercover area.
Members are able to come to unlimited sessions six days a week, and she also operates a mums’ and kids’ bootcamp indoors at St Paul’s Church in Boronia.
Whether it’s helping people get to their goal weight or providing nutritious diet advice, Bailey’s clients appreciate her around-the-clock support and tendency to go that extra mile.
“Tanna constantly encourages everyone to achieve their best by setting realistic goals, offering positive support daily and nightly,” Elise Marsh says.
“Makes herself available to her clients anytime of the day or night (almost!) for advice on diet or workouts,” Linda Short adds.
More: baileysbodies.com.au
2. LEANNE HAMILTON, SWIFT FITNESS, VERMONT SOUTH
Level 2, 645 Burwood Highway
Barefoot trainer Leanne Hamilton thought she was “super fit” back in 2006.
She’d just had her first baby and was busy training herself and her clients “very traditionally”, on machines, pushing heavy weights.
“Until one day I had to lift something relatively light across my body from a bottom shelf at home and my whole body froze,” she says.
“I was stuck on the floor with a six-month-old screaming from his high chair.
“I was super fit yet my body couldn’t do a basic functional movement.”
The incident spurred Hamilton — also a nurse at Maroondah and Box Hill hospitals — to begin studying how to move “as the body was designed to move — not on machines, instead matching life’s movement patterns”.
A personal trainer for 25 years, for the past 10 she’s owned Swift Fitness, which operates from the “ground up” and is a barefoot movement studio which aims to get the “feet strong first”.
“If your feet don’t have the muscles and structure to hold you up first it makes it extremely hard for the rest of the body to operate correctly,” Hamilton says.
“Clients are always amazed at how much incorrect foot posture is interfering with aches and pains occurring in the rest of the body.”
Hamilton began operating out of her double garage after the 15-week miscarriage of her third child, Grace.
“I needed to get myself out of what was fast becoming depression and I knew if I went back to inspiring others it would shift my headspace too,” she says.
Today she operates from the Vermont South Medical Centre, where she has 15 teachers who offer sessions in pilates, senior pilates, gentle yoga, senior yoga, aerial yoga in silks, functional movement, stick mobility, spin and boxing.
Many of her 270 members — AKA Swiftys — are over 40 and have health and movement issues.
Hamilton’s movement restoration sessions see the use of equipment including trigger point rollers, fine tune whole body vibration plates, cable machines, balloons and pool noodles.
The studio floor comprises textured mats “as the nervous system receptors that exist on the bottom of the feet are critical to activate when creating quality movement and balance”, she explains.
Hamilton says she has “bucketloads” of success stories and loves taking someone from “aches and pains, multiple medications and feeling stuck and scared of movement” to a “life that is worth living again”.
One client, Geoff — who found himself on crutches after a knee operation many years ago — has recently lost more than 30kg, is close to ditching the crutches and is preparing to hike the Austrian Alps next year, she says.
Julie Mitchelmore says Hamilton turned her from “a seriously ill, muscle-wasted, anxious, painful, scared body, to a balanced, freed, and strong one”.
More: swiftfitness.com.au
1. BEAUX GLENN, DYNAMICARDIO, LILYDALE
12 Brock Industrial Drive
Mum-of-two Beaux Glenn has been working in the fitness industry for 16 years, personal training and teaching group fitness while she was studying her school teaching degree at uni.
She even continued her side-hustle while school teaching full-time.
But it wasn’t until five years ago, when she was on maternity leave, that the idea of her own business took off.
“I was still running sessions at the gym at night but found the juggle was hard with
my hubby getting home from work and I’d be racing off to take sessions,” she says.
“I decided to takethe risk and began running sessions out of my garage from home where clients could bring their children day and night, and I could have my children there too.
“Before long an incredible community of women was formed. Women felt at ease knowing their baby was in the pram next to them or their little one was watching on the side while they got a chance to work out with other women in the same boat.”
DynamiCardio offers a huge variety, including Les Mills programs, HIIT sessions, resistance sessions, boxing, pilates, small group hypertrophy sessions, Metafit and MetaPWR.
Glenn says her gym community — which now also includes a branch in Kilsyth — is full of “encouragement, kindness and support for everyone on their health and fitness journey”.
“It is honestly beyond what I ever thought was possible. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to do what I do every single day.”
Hundreds of readers cast their votes for this dynamo, who urges her clients to “unleash the warrior within”.
“Beaux is an amazing woman who has helped me to love my body for the first time in my life,” Kylie Magee says.
Meanwhile Anna Searle says: “Beaux makes you love exercising while challenging and pushing you to your limits. She is kind, fierce, passionate about fitness”.
“(She) has created an environment where women can be their best and worst and still be an inspiration to others,” Emma Cass says.
More: dynamicardio.com.au
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