The Fit Coach

25/10/2026

Getting stronger isn't just about lifting more weight. It's also about understanding what you're doing and finding an approach that suits you.

Adeel shared this after working with me:

“Excellent personal trainer with over 30 years of experience. Very polite, understanding, and genuinely takes time to understand and tailor workouts to your needs. Plus his custom app which is easy to use makes tracking workouts and nutrition effortless. Highly recommended for personalised results.”

If you'd like to find out how coaching could work for you, book a free introductory consultation.

https://thefitcoach.co.uk

Strength, mobility and fitness coaching for the over 40s. Online, hybrid and 1-2-1 with a highly reviewed Hampshire coach. Book a free 45-minute consultation.

22/10/2026

Starting strength training can feel daunting when you're not sure whether you'll manage the exercises or keep up with everyone else.

That's why clear explanations and the chance to learn at your own pace matter.

Vicky shared this after attending my group sessions:

“I’ve been to 3 group sessions and have learned so much! Dave is a clear and patient teacher, who instils an “I can do this” mentality. I am looking forward to doing more of his classes”

If you're in Basingstoke and thinking about getting back into exercise, you're welcome to get in touch to talk about the coaching options available.

https://thefitcoach.co.uk

Strength, mobility and fitness coaching for the over 40s. Online, hybrid and 1-2-1 with a highly reviewed Hampshire coach. Book a free 45-minute consultation.

21/10/2026

Thinking about getting back into exercise, but not quite ready to join a gym or book a PT?

That's fine.

It's easy to feel you need a full programme, a gym membership and a completely new routine before you've even started. But your first session can simply be a chance to find out what you can comfortably manage.

I've put together a Quick Win with a free two-week starter programme and a simple session tracker. It gives you somewhere to begin without trying to do everything at once.

Have a look here:
https://thefitcoach.co.uk/quick-wins/your-first-session

14/10/2026

Another five-star Google review. If this sounds like you, book a free consultation — no commitment. Link in bio.

13/10/2026

"If it hurts, stop."
"No pain, no gain."

Two pieces of advice. Both wrong. Both sit at either end of a long list of excuses.

One gives you permission to do nothing. The other, to ignore what your body is screaming. Let's be honest, neither helps, and neither is what I teach.

"No pain, no gain" was popularised by Jane Fonda in the 1980s. The irony? She was later sued due to serious injuries sustained from following her workout video. VHS, remember those?

A phrase that promoted overtraining. And yet 40 years later, it still exists in some form today.

Here's the reality. Pain is information. Not a red light or a green light. A signal we should listen to.

I use a pain scale with every client. Not to decide whether to train. To decide how to train. There is a world of difference between a 2 out of 10 discomfort that fades as you warm up, and an 8 out of 10 that sharpens with every rep. One is your body adapting. The other is an alarm bell.

Most people who avoid pain at all costs, or train blindly through it, are uninformed. What you need is a way to manage how to train, when to train, and importantly when to stop.

Overly cautious is no more helpful than being blind to the damage you're doing. There are already too many reasons not to start. Don't add another.

EXCUSELESS doesn't mean ignore pain. It means understand it.

I've put together a Quick Wins guide on exactly this. The pain scale I use, how to read it, and what to do at each level: https://thefitcoach.co.uk/quick-wins/pain-ceiling-reserve-a-smarter-way-to-train-with-pain

16/08/2026

Personal training is on your radar. The price gave you pause. Completely understandable.

So here is a free starting point instead.

One thing worth knowing before you begin. The biggest mistake new gym-goers make is attempting exercises that are simply beyond where they are right now.

One session becomes the evidence that you cannot do it - and the perfect excuse never to return.

So instead - two goals only. Show up. Build confidence in the movements.

Consistency follows confidence. Motivation follows consistency. In that order. Not the other way around.

The first session is 30 minutes. Eight exercises. One set each. A weight you can move for 10-12 reps without losing form. Note what felt manageable and what surprised you.

That is it, job done.

Free 2-week starter programme on the site - no sign-up required.
thefitcoach.co.uk/quick-wins/your-first-session

13/08/2026

The pain starts in your back and ends up in your leg. You have tried the stretches, watched the videos, and you are still looking for the one exercise that fixes it.

I will save you some time - there isn't one.

If such an exercise existed, every physio, PT and rehab specialist would speak of it. So for the influencers claiming they have the secret - swipe left, save yourself time and money.

That is not cynicism. It may be the most useful thing you hear about any "special" exercise.

Sciatica is not a single problem with a single solution. It is a symptom with multiple possible drivers. The exercise that helps one person can make another worse.

I have managed chronic back pain for thirty years. No matter how strong my core got, the pain didn't vanish. It just became more manageable. Frustrating as hell - but manageable is a different thing entirely.

And it is worth pursuing.

Full method on the site.
thefitcoach.co.uk/quick-wins/sciatica-and-exercise

10/08/2026

There is a difference between exercising and training.

Exercising is showing up and doing things. Training is showing up with a specific intention - and not just follow your routine. Training is more nuanced than sets, reps and load.

Training should target competency, movement efficiency, balance, control, pain management - and essentially get better at the thing you are doing, not just to get through it.

Most people walk into the gym chasing their long-term goals from day one. Lose two stone. Get stronger. Fix the back. All reasonable things.

But your body - especially as a beginner, or over 40 - is not ready for two-stone training on week one.

For the first four weeks, your only goal is competency. Not fitness. Not weight loss. Instead, focus on your ability to perform an exercise with control, consistency - a little style and grace.

Pick four or five exercises. Not twenty. A squat, a push, a pull, something for core. Perform them slowly - two seconds down, pause, two seconds up. After each session rate two things out of ten: how well you controlled the movement, and how you feel the following morning.

If both scores are improving, you are training.

Full method on the site.
thefitcoach.co.uk/quick-wins/stop-exercising-start-training

31/07/2026

She'd tried for years. Physio. Osteopathy. Massage. Years of chronic lower back pain and nothing had stuck.

In our first session I took her through a simple mobility drill. Two minutes. Her range of motion increased and pain all but gone.

The pain came back after a few days. But now we had a window - a pain-free period to build strength through isometrics, but also resist this new found range of motion.

Over time the window grew. Pain dropped to manageable levels, and no more medication.

More importantly - she stopped seeing her back as a restriction and started seeing it as something she could work with. Management is key to mindset when in pain.

Her shift - from no control to control - is what Excuseless is built on.

It's not about pushing through pain. It's about finding the version of the solution that removes the reason not to try.

Every excuse has an Excuseless answer.
thefitcoach.co.uk/quick-wins/excuseless-what-it-really-means

22/07/2026

He hadn't been able to flex his ankle properly for 17 years.

NHS specialists. Massage. Acupuncture. Chiropractic. Nothing helped.

Within one technique he flexed his ankle. But not through ankle exercises, but through an approach often looked down on by established professionals. The approach may lack research papers to prove this works conclusively. But the results speak for themselves.

He was emotional and frustrated how one simple exercise fixed his issue.

This is what M.A.D is built on. The body is a system, not a collection of separate parts. The source of a problem is not necessarily where you feel it.

Tight doesn't always mean short. Sometimes a muscle is tight because it is weak.

Stretching in some cases achieves nothing, but a temporary relief. And the irony even strength training provides little comfort.

Full story and method on the site.
thefitcoach.co.uk/quick-wins/mad-the-method

Movement Activation Drills. Developed over 23 years with clients who had tried everything else. Here is what M.A.D is and why it works.