Keri at New U - Personal Training

03/09/2026

This is just one of the reasons I don’t call my Small Group PT sessions 'classes'.

Because they’re more than that.

It's 8:15am, and before this morning's deadlift session, I’m going through every client who is booked in and checking:

🏋️ What weight they lifted last time
📅 When they last deadlifted
🔢 How many times they’ve done the movement
📝 Any notes about their technique, confidence or injuries
👥 Who they’ll work well alongside
👀 Who might need a little more attention with their form today

This means that before anyone even walks through the door, I already have an idea of where they should start and what they may need from me.

Everyone may be doing deadlifts in the same session, but they aren’t simply following the same workout. Each person is coached as an individual, according to their own experience, ability and progress.

That’s the difference between a class and Small Group Personal Training.

I know my clients. I care about their progress, their safety and their confidence...each and every one of them. ❤️

02/09/2026

🆆🅸🆂🅳🅾🅼 🆆🅴🅳🅽🅴🆂🅳🅰🆈

It's that time of the week again, folks! Time to share some wisdom!

This edition focuses on '𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢, 𝙆𝙚𝙧𝙞?'

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01/09/2026

𝚂𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎…𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚛𝚊 ❤️

In 2020, James, Josh and I first opened the door to New U Functional Fitness.

I’ve seen so many faces come through it - both in the way of clients and trainers.

Some clients have stayed for years, some for a short time, some came to train independently, some joined classes or Small Group PT…but every single person who chose to support my little independent gym has played a part in its story.

Over the last year or so, things have naturally changed. The local fitness landscape has changed, with more new gyms popping up, and my business model has also changed.

More and more of my time, energy and passion has gone into Small Group Personal Training, and it has become clear that this is where the future of New U lies.

I’m genuinely sorry for the handful of open gym clients who are holding on tight, but, at the end of the day on 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟯𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿, the door of 15C Leconfield will be closed to clients for the final time.

After that, I’ll be spending some time clearing out the unit before starting the next chapter - concentrating fully on 𝙎𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙢𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙤 𝙞𝙣 𝙁𝙧𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙤𝙣. I will be having some time off to make sure the transition is perfect. 👌

If you remember me talking of moving the gym to Frizington, the initial unit plan is no longer going ahead - I’ve decided the way forward is just Small Group PT, and so a smaller studio specifically for this is where I will be found.

I’m really excited about what’s coming next, but I’ll also be very sad to say goodbye to a place that has been such a huge part of my life for six years.

Most of all, I just want to say a massive ♥ thank you ♥.

Thank you to everyone who has trained here, recommended me, supported the gym, shared my posts, brought friends along, stuck with me through the initial Covid stricken opening days and beyond, or simply wished me well.

I genuinely couldn’t have done it without you. ❤️

Here’s to the end of one chapter… and the beginning of a very exciting new one. 🥰

28/08/2026

𝕁𝕦𝕞𝕡𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕤𝕟’𝕥 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕜𝕚𝕕𝕤!

(Though it does bring the inner kid out of you!)

This morning my SGPT clients did 10 seconds jumping on and off a plate, followed by 10 seconds rest, repeated 8 times.

Everyone chose their own plate height, so the aim wasn’t to jump as high as possible. It was simply to practise moving quickly, confidently and powerfully.

One of my favourite moments was one lady initially saying, “𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙢𝙥.”

Then she tried.

And she absolutely could. 💪

As we get older, we naturally lose some of our 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁-𝘁𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗲𝘀. These are fibres we rely on when we need to produce force quickly. Strength training helps, but adding some safe, appropriate explosive work such as jumping can also help us keep that ability to move FAST.

And that matters in real life.

𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙥.
𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙥 𝙨𝙪𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮.
𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙥.
𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚.
𝙈𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤.

Jumping also challenges your legs, core, balance, coordination, cardiovascular fitness and bone-loading capacity all at once.

And no, that doesn’t mean everyone needs to start jumping onto huge boxes!

A low plate, a tiny jump, or even building towards leaving the floor is absolutely fine. The level can be adapted to the person in front of me.

Sometimes the biggest benefit isn’t even physical.

It’s going from…

“𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩.”

to…

“𝙊𝙝! 𝘼𝙥𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣.” ❤️

28/08/2026

Another happy customer 🥰🫶

25/08/2026

Testimonials like this... 🥹🥰🫶

(And 'that little look' is the teacher in me... 😉😂)

18/08/2026

Well 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁-𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘀 may have continued to have not disappointed today...

But the same could be said for the ladies' deadlifts in this morning's session.

As if my ladies could disappoint me anyway! 🥰

All in the name of getting stronger and more capable for lifting and carrying in real life 💪

I have a mahoosive list of messages to reply to since coming back from festivalling this weekend, but feel free to pop another on the end of them if you, too, want to increase your strength for your future self 🫶

14/08/2026

𝙎𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙜𝙖, 𝙧𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙮𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣?

I've been going on about this all week, you may have noticed.

Well, the answer is, and to bring it all together, they can ALL be made better by being stronger.

This week I've talked about why strength training complements other types of exercise rather than competing with them.

I never want people to think that coming into the gym means giving up the things they actually enjoy doing.

Quite the opposite.

𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗘𝗘𝗣 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.

Keep running. 🏃‍♀️
Keep cycling. 🚲
Keep walking the fells. 🥾
Keep doing yoga. 🧘‍♀️
Keep swimming, dancing, playing sport or whatever else makes you happy.

But give your body the strength to support you while you do it.

And amazingly, this idea is hardly new.

Back in 𝟭𝟵𝟬𝟴, George Hackenschmidt wrote that weight training should be combined with:

“𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙧𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙟𝙪𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙮𝙢𝙣𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣”

to also develop activity and agility.

In other words, even over 100 years ago, the message wasn't:

𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝑰𝑵𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑨𝑫 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆.

It was:

𝑮𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆.

And I think that becomes even more important as we get older.

Resistance training can improve strength, muscle mass and physical function - things we increasingly need to actively maintain as the years go by.

I'm not trying to turn everyone into a weightlifter.

I'm trying to help people build bodies that are strong enough to keep living the lives they want to live.

𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥.

𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬. ❤️

𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴:
𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘵, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘦 (1908).
𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 (2026).
𝘐𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘯 𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭. (2023), 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦-𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯.

13/08/2026

“𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐬 - 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠?” 🚲

Cycling is fantastic exercise. I cycle to and from the gym everyday, sometimes twice. That's 7-14 miles per day!

But I still strength train 5 days a week.

Yes, cycling improves cardiovascular fitness, endurance and gives your legs plenty of work.

But cycling and strength training are not the same thing - and you can benefit from both.

Research in cyclists has found that adding strength training to normal cycling training can improve cycling performance.

Don't assume that because your legs can pedal for miles, they don't need to lift, push, pull, squat or carry load too.

Strength training gives your body a different stimulus.

And it doesn't just have to be about your legs either. Cycling isn't giving your upper body, back, shoulders or grip much resistance, whereas a good strength programme trains the whole body.

So my message isn't:

𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙘𝙮𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙮𝙢.

It's:

𝙆𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 - 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩. 💪🚲

𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴:
𝘝𝘪𝘬𝘮𝘰𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭. (2021), 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘺𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘺𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴.
𝘓𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘴-𝘓𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘴 𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭. (2025), 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢-𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘺𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴.
𝘐𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘯 𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭. (2023), 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦-𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦- 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵-𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯.

12/08/2026

𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕝𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕤? 🌄

Then strength training matters more - not less.

Fell walking is fantastic exercise. I love it, and thankfully my 16 year old son has started to join me. (I definitely wasn't interested at that age! 😂)

But anyone who walks in the Lakes knows it isn't just walking.

It's stepping up onto rocks.
Controlling yourself down steep descents.
Balancing on uneven ground.
Climbing stiles.
Catching yourself if you slip.
Getting back up if you do end up on the floor.

And all of those things require 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡, 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥.

As we get older, maintaining muscle strength becomes increasingly important. Resistance training can help preserve and improve strength and physical function as we age. Research also shows that exercise programmes including strength and balance work can reduce falls in older adults.

So if you love walking, whatever your age, don't be thinking:

“𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙡𝙤𝙖𝙙𝙨, 𝙨𝙤 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣.”

Instead think:

“𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝒔𝒐 𝑰 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒊𝒕.”

Squats help us get up and down.
Step-ups prepare us for climbing (as much as my clients moan about them!)
Lunges and single-leg work challenge our balance and control.
Deadlifts strengthen the hips and posterior chain.
And strength work gives us more capacity to deal with whatever the terrain throws at us.

Even George Hackenschmidt was making the case for combining strength work with other forms of physical activity more than 100 years ago.

The aim isn't to replace your walking with the gym.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗶𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲. 💪🥾⛰️

𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴:
𝘚𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘲𝘢 𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭. (2023), 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘴.
𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭. (2021), 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢-𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘴.