Client of the Month: David
Whether he was in the boardroom or at the beach, 36-year-old David always felt uncomfortable and self-conscious.
He always felt that all eyes were on him; judging his physical appearance and finding him wanting. He wasn't obese but just couldn't stop comparing himself to others around him.
Tired of the constant mental self-judgement, he decided to get professional help from Ultimate Performance Manchester to improve his body shape and get fit.
"Physically there's been a massive difference, but I'd say the main benefit for me has definitely been mental. I'm just feeling so much more confident.
David joined U.P. Manchester for a 12-week body transformation programme but stayed at the gym for close to five months.
During his time at U.P., he lost 12kg and brought his body fat down from 20% to just 7.7% – but the real transformation was in the way he feels about himself.
Before U.P., David had been following a DIY training regime, but this was never allied with an intelligent diet plan and the accountability that U.P.'s holistic and results-driven programmes bring to the table.
At first, coming to U.P. felt like a big step up, but David realised the new training process was crucial for achieving the big goals he had for himself.
"My training was nowhere near on the level of U.P.'s fitness training. At U.P. when you want to stop, you've got your trainer there not letting you stop which is good because it pushes you to the next level, whereas if you're on your own, you haven't got that motivation and willpower."
"You literally start to feel better after the first session, and within 14 days I'd say you start seeing differences and you start feeling a lot better mentally as well."The first couple of weeks, I was just getting used to the diet. I was adjusting physically, but mentally I started feeling better straight away."
SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE? WELL, IT'S NOT.
David's real motivation for starting U.P. was to feel better emotionally. He was stuck in a loop of low self-esteem, which was getting worse and worse with time. U.P. helped him snap out of it.
"My self-confidence had been completely shot. I just didn't feel comfortable in social settings with a lot of people around me. When I go to meetings for work if there are 20 of us at a table, I always felt all eyes were on me because I'm maybe not quite in shape as I should be. So, I started this course mainly to get myself in shape as much mentally as physically.
"Now when I go on a holiday or when I look in the mirror I actually feel kind of proud looking back at where I've come from day one. My last 5-6 holidays I've lacked confidence because I've not been in shape and couldn't take my shirt off! Now I am not afraid to walk around without a top on in a holiday. I feel good and just generally confident."
U.P.'s 360-degree approach helped him get the results he couldn't manage even with years of training. David credits the nutrition plan for the breakthrough he had thought impossible.
"I think the diet is a massive part of it and I'll carry it on forever. Also, coming to the U.P. gym three times a week has enabled me to go to the gym outside of my training and know what to do. I feel confident in the gym because I can basically replicate what we're doing in here.
"Logging the weights that we lift, etc. has helped massively. I feel stronger compared to when I first started. It's so motivating, and I want to lift more and do extra."
Life for David now feels like it has been upgraded on every level.
"I just feel generally happier outside of work, and outside of U.P. So, family life has improved massively as well because I think when your self-confidence is down, it affects your mood. So I think on that level things have improved massively.
"I feel like a different person. Just looking at the before and after pictures, it looks like two different people to me."
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