Philip Woodrow
Philip Woodrow started training with Outdoor Fitness in 2008.
Phil says, although physically the training was difficult (and still is!), it
is always great fun. Personally I have lost over three and a half
stone in weight. Although the weight loss and accompanying fitness
are great rewards in themselves, I count the friendships I have made
and the fun we have during training as equally if not more important.
Outdoor Fitness lead instructors Jeff and Stuart are extremely
approachable and helpful.
If you have a minor strain or injury they
are always willing and able to tailor your training such that you
are able to take part without worsening your problem. What I also
love about Outdoor Fitness sessions is that the training can vary
greatly so you rarely have that "Oh no here we go again feeling". In
my experience it doesn't even matter if you have the same instructor
several times in a row, they still vary it from one session to
another!
I've also found the different approaches that different
instructors adopt as very refreshing and a change to the military
style that others adopt. Also important is the attention to detail.
You really are reminded that quality with an exercise is better than
quantity, which becomes very apparent during the occasional fitness
tests when you could find the majority of your press-ups disqualified
for being rubbish!! Add to that the extra end of month session in
a different location to your normal park, which can involve team-
building exercises.
Have a look at the
photos on the website and see what we get up too, it’s all GREAT fun.
Sean-Eleri Jones
I started losing weight about 3 years ago and managed to loose 3 and a half stone by going to aerobics twice a week and eating healthily. After about a year I just found it difficult to motivate myself! I found my weight would start going up and then come back down, it was a real battle!
I then joined Outdoor fitness! My boyfriend raved about it for months, about all these friendly cool people and these various exercises he did! I had to go along to see, I did aerobics, it surely couldn’t be as tough as he made out! Was I wrong...?
My first session I ran for 20 minutes, I thought I was going to pass out! I walked the rest of the session and did as much as I could! It was really hard but I had so much encouragement from the instructor and people around me I kept going. The next day, I couldn’t walk up the stairs I ached so much! This subsided after 2 days and I decided to try another session, it was just as tough, but I got through it! After a few months, Jeff one of the instructors to me said ‘God, do you remember when you started; you couldn’t keep up at all! Look at you now!’ It was then I realised that I wasn’t really lagging behind; I was catching up and able to run for the entire session! I felt like the exercises were more achievable! This gave me a real buzz and I just trained more and more! As I got more into training I was offered advice by instructors on how to perform the exercises correctly and I really felt the improvement!
I must say, Outdoor fitness has a real fun, family atmosphere. You train with like-minded people who all want to keep fit and stay healthy. These are the people I now go walking, cycling, jogging with and socialize with! The away days and Saturday morning everyone gets together, trains and has fun! And maybe a coffee afterwards! What a lovely, lovely group of people! The fantastic thing is that everyone is welcome!
I have now lost 4 stone in all and am far from putting it back on! I ran a 5k last June.... 10k last October ... and A HALF MARATHON LAST MARCH! I walked the National 3 peaks as part of an O F team in May in 21 hours 45 min, what an achievement! I am so proud of myself! I train at least 3 times a week and absolutely love it! Best thing I have ever done!
It’s all really thanks to Jeff and Stuart. They really know me personally. Jeff has given me diet advice, advice on training, little emails with inspirational quotes for everyone! Stuart has given me running advice. They recommend things to try all the time and really inspire you to just keep going! They will push me when they can see I’m being a little lazy! Will really praise me when I’m working hard, nothing goes unnoticed! Its tough, but keeping fit, slim and healthy is hard! I could even hear Jeff in my mind pushing me on in the half marathon, and then as I cross the finishing line he and his missus, Caroline are there, having driven an hour to support those doing the marathon! He was stood in the rain and the wind supporting us all, what a guy!
Thank you Jeff and Stuart for changing my life you are both truly encouraging and inspiring!