Melbourne’s top personal trainers share workout tips to get you moving
Winter might be over but there’s still time to get that summer body you’ve been craving. Melbourne’s best personal trainers — as voted by you — have shared their tips to get you off the couch and working out.
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The sun is starting to shine, the weather is warming up and you know before long you’ll be coming out of winter hibernation and peeling off those layers of clothing.
But are you ready to expose what’s underneath?
It’s always a good time to start your fitness journey, according to Melbourne’s best personal trainers.
Haul yourself off the couch today and you’ll be ready for summer in no time.
Our city’s favourite trainers, as voted by you in our latest Best of Melbourne poll, have shared their top tips for getting in shape.
>>Read on to find out how to start your journey towards better health.
NAWEL TAHA, BODY BY NAWEL
32 Hilton St, Glenroy
Do not overthink it. Get up, dress up and show up. Often the hardest stage is putting on your workout runners and stepping foot in the gym.
PAUL LYONS, FIGHTING LYONS
70A Keilor Rd, Essendon North
Paul Lyons died suddenly in his sleep last week, but he was generous to the end, sharing his tips with Leader the day before his passing.
Just start! We are all average to begin with, nobody is born fit. We all need to work at it and be consistent. Be kind to yourself and set mini goals. Don’t look at everyone else, keep your head down and focus on your own journey.
DANNY KENNEDY, PROGRESSION FITNESS CLUB — GLASSHOUSE
1 Olympic Blvd, Melbourne
Find a training method and a way of eating that suits YOU and that YOU enjoy — this is the most important aspect of seeing success with your goals.
Other than that, do the small things exceptionally well, day in day out and you will see significant results over time.
If people want to follow along with my journey or receive my advice on the daily for free they can follow me on IG @djkfitness or tune into my podcast “The Fitness and Lifestyle Podcast” on iTunes or Spotify.
LINDA NOGARA, BENTLEIGH FITNESS CENTRE
12 North Drive, Bentleigh East
Find an activity you enjoy, then the chances of you then sticking at it are far greater. There is so much to choose from. It can be one-on-one with a PT, it can be a walking group, it can be a class at a community centre. Do you know they run numerous activities for all age groups and usually at low cost? If you’re shy or time poor, you can do things in the privacy of your own home with apps. You can get out and join a group. Being social is also great for your mental state and a great way to make new friends. So many of my groups have coffee after the session with me together, they’ve even formed a book club. But do what is right for you, find your tribe.
TRAVIS TRENT RANDLE, BODY FIT TRAINING
84 River St, South Yarra
Seek advice from a professional in the industry and not just an influencer on Instagram. When wanting to improve your fitness, whether it’s getting started or wanting to do something different in your training, have a goal in mind and have a clear vision on how you wish to achieve that goal. Identify your ‘why’ … this is your passion. When you have passion, you don’t need to rely on motivation because the motivation to get your ass out of bed won’t always be there … but passion will.
There are no quick fixes or miracle overnight cures when it comes to your health and fitness. To succeed you will need to push through physical and psychological barriers. Improving your fitness is not just about getting to the gym and smashing it out — there should be a whole thought process behind why you are doing it, how you’re doing and what you want to achieve. And whatever you do, don’t compare yourself to others. It won’t help you get what you want in life. We all have our own paths, and we are the ones responsible for carrying out our path in the way we want it.
TANNA BAILEY, BAILEY’S BODIES
111 Forest Rd, Ferntree Gully
You can’t out-train a bad diet. I say it as a compliment when I always tell newbies we are the most average group of people, exercising. no superstar, show-offs here, just your average person.
Don’t overhaul everything at once. You’re setting yourself up for a massive fail. Pick one thing you can do today to make a positive change. It may be cut sugar, get more sleep or just get one walk in this week.
You’d be surprised but yes, you can actually enjoy exercise if it’s fun and rewarding
CAITLIN DEVIDAS, HUSTLE & THRIVE
59A St Hellier Street, Heidelberg
264 Dundas Street, Thornbury
Just get started!
Often people say that they will join when they’ve lost a bit of weight or when the weather improves … which in Melbourne is really just an excuse!
Realise that not everything has to be perfect to start! Just give it a go, get started and you’ll be amazed at how different you feel and so quickly.
The key to success is balance. Enjoy your fitness but balance it all around other important things in your life — family, friends, eating and socialising.
HAYDEN FARRELLY, ANYTIME FITNESS ROXBURGH PARK
Roxburgh Park Shopping Centre, 25a/250 Somerton Rd, Roxburgh Park
Find what you enjoy, so it doesn’t become a struggle to keep at your goals, and you actually get enjoyment throughout your journey in fitness.
PAUL SAHLBERG, SNAP FITNESS SUNBURY
1/78-84 Horne St, Sunbury
If you’re new to training, find a local gym in your area and have a chat to a personal trainer on how they can help you achieve what you’re wanting to achieve. The easiest way to commit to a goal is find your emotional reason to why you want to achieve it, keep yourself accountable and enjoy the journey. Form a connection with your trainer so you can achieve your goals and keep the accountability
LEANNE HAMILTON, SWIFT FITNESS
2/645 Burwood Highway, Vermont South
Find a trainer who understands movement restoration.
If you can’t move correctly then you shouldn’t be loaded up with weights and cardio first. Once you have learnt and taught your body tissue to move again teach it to stabilise correctly, then venture into light three directional movement, then you can start to load with equipment and cardio. You should have fun when you’re moving your body and you should finish your session moving better and having more energy compared to when you started your session. Isn’t that why we want to move anyway — better movement and increased energy levels.
I’ve nursed so many people, sat beside them in hospital and cried with them when they have asked me “How did I let myself get to this point? I’m in pain all the time and I’m so frustrated and depressed about it”.
Before people reach this point we need to teach people how to restore their movement correctly, we need to teach people how to listen to their bodies, we need to encourage correct breathing, we need to show people how to enjoy movement, we need to take time to understand the individual and most of all we need to stop pushing clients’ bodies outside of their limitations — being in pain and unable to move the next day after a workout is not an intelligent way to train our clients and no longer OK — our clients deserve better.
BEAUX GLENN, DYNAMICARDIO
12 Brock Industrial Drive, Lilydale
2/1-3 Eastspur Court, Kilsyth
I have a few tips for people wanting to improve their fitness — firstly get in the door! 80% of
the challenge is just walking through the door and taking the chance to change your life. I
also think variation is the key to success. Don’t get caught just doing cardio or only doing
weight training. Variation is the key! Resistance sessions have so many benefits and so do
HIIT sessions. Having a great amount of variation keeps the muscles, bones, heart and mind
healthy. It also challenges us every session instead of doing the same workout day in, day
out. Fresh is fun! Changing things up helps us to find strengths we maybe didn’t realise we
had.
HAMLET ARMENIAN, F45 DANDENONG
73-77 Walker St, Dandenong
Don’t leave it for next week or from Monday, the hardest part is getting yourself to the gym. Once you do that you make it a habit and part of your lifestyle.
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