Aaron Grimley - Strength Coach, Portadown (2026)

07/04/2026

Powerlifters PSA🗣️

Stop overshooting❌

Turning up the heat doesn’t cook things faster, it just burns them.

Overshooting is a lot of lifters biggest downfall.

In the pursuit of a bigger total it’s easy to get caught up in the hamster wheel that is “forced progression”.

But progression can’t be forced, trying to force kilos on the bar only creates pressure without foundation.

Real progress comes in the form of patience and intent.

Growth can’t be rushed, it’s layered and needs time to settle in order to strengthen and last.

More often than not the things that take time and are built slowly are much less likely to fall apart under pressure.

You can’t build a house on s**tty foundations.

Your time is coming, be patient.

What’s meant to last is worth waiting for🥇

26/02/2026

Repetition is king👑

Effective training looks boring as f*ck🥱

The people that seek novelty from training will turn their noses up at the thought of doing the same exercises repeatedly for months at a time.

Your development in the gym will largely be dictated by your ability to progressively overload.

But progressive overload only works on the basis of being able to push the same movements over and over again for long periods of time.

Sounds boring I know..

But it’s the boring stuff that works wonders.

Repetition is often overlooked, and whilst variety is important with the right INTENT, changing exercises “just for the sake of it” isn’t going to do you any favours long term.

Too much variety only adds complexity.

Complexity is the enemy of progression.

Keep it simple, if it’s working rinse and repeat the hell out of it.

I genuinely think leg extension has been in my program for 10 consecutive years.

Why? Because it’s really good at what it does, and there’s no other movement/machine that can mimic knee extension and hit the quads quite as hard as it does.

So if there’s anything you can take away from this, don’t let boredom be the thing that sways you whilst in pursuit of smashing your goals.

Focus on progressing the movements that you perform well at and see the greatest return of investment from.

Train with INTENT.

10/02/2026

Here’s why you keep hitting plateaus on SBD☠️

Powerlifting at times can feel like a real mental hurdle.

When lifters hit a plateau on SBD they’re very quick to come up with solutions as to why their lifts are stalling📉

But sometimes the more you overthink it, the more likely you are to hold yourself back long term.

What you think is holding you back vs what actually is are two very different things.

Here’s some examples⬇️

What’s not holding you back:-

❌Technique Changes
❌Your Equipment
❌Exercise Selection
❌Lift Variations

What’s actually holding you back:-

✅Inadequate sleep
✅Poor hydration
✅Low step count
✅Not eating enough calories
✅Lack of training consistency
✅Regular overshooting
✅Skipping accessories

Lifters often overlook these very basic fundamentals when their training doesn’t go to plan.

But the reality of why you’re stalling is much simpler than you think.

Don’t overthink it, overthinking only adds complexity where it’s just not needed.

Double down on the steps above and I guarantee that’ll help get those cogs turning again⚙️

04/02/2026

Here’s why I’ve steered away from “Before and afters” over the years.

There’s a lot to be said about the fitness transformations that you see online.

There’s so much more to coaching for fat loss than helping people get from “Point A” to “Point B”

It’s about how you help them get there, it’s about the habits you teach them along the way.

Any schmuck can write a program that has you doing 15,000 steps on or below 1200 calories a day, you’re literally guaranteed to lose weight doing this, but you’re also guaranteed to feel miserable.

Which completely defeats the purpose, if you’re not enjoying the process you’re never going to stick to it long term and be able to maintain the results you worked so hard for.

There’s so much more to transformations than just the “physical”. No one talks about the mental and emotional side of it.

The crazy “before and afters” you see online often don’t paint the full picture.

No one talks about the eating disorders that come with it, no one talks about the warped perception of what “being healthy” actually feels like.

Looking healthy and feeling healthy are two completely different entities.

The shredded influencers you follow will only ever show you the “good” stuff, and tell you what you want to hear.

I’ve lost count of how many people have came to me for fat loss off the back of working with other coaches and the only association they have with losing weight comes in the form of starving themselves to death.

It’s also what makes my job so great, because I get the opportunity to teach people what it actually feels like to be “healthy” whilst still enjoying the process and getting great results.

Learning to enjoy the process is where it’s at, and frankly it’s what’s going to help you maintain results long term🫱🏻‍🫲🏼

01/02/2026

🚨ANNOUNCEMENT🚨

To mark the beginning of February I’ll be opening up a space for 1-1PT🫱🏻‍🫲🏼

Now that the January dust has settled this is the perfect time to put the hammer down🔨

My last free slot was all the way back in September so this could be one of the few opportunities you’ll get to work with me this year.

Don’t sleep on this one!

Let’s make 2026 the year that you level up💪🏻

26/01/2026

Why choose AG Strength?🫱🏻‍🫲🏼

In an industry that is saturated with mediocrity and where oftentimes shiny content is mistaken for good coaching, it’s important to do your research before picking the right coach for you.

So what separates us from the rest?

Attention to detail✅

Detail matters, when it comes to being responsible for the health and wellbeing of an athlete we ensure that no stone is left unturned.

There’s so much more to coaching than the program you’re given.

How much you’re able to progress is pre determined by key components such as lifestyle, nutrition, habits, recovery etc.

At AG Strength, we laser in on these key fundamentals to help ensure each athlete gets the absolute most out of their training.

Experience✅

With over 5 years of coaching experience, 3000+ hours on the gym floor and ££££’s spent on education you can be rest assured that you’re in safe hands🫱🏻‍🫲🏼

Education✅

We aren’t just about the method, but also the ‘WHY’ behind it.

Education is where we place our greatest emphasis as it is the difference maker.

And it’s often what separates the casual gym goer from the well rounded athlete.

Community✅

We are BIG on community.

It’s the one thing that kept me in the game back when I started.

Having that additional layer of support and encouragement from like minded people is such a powerful feeling.

When s**t gets tough and you have people around you to spur you on, it’s an absolute game changer.

Disclaimer: we are a little neurospicy, so beware😂

25/05/2025

Ladies and gentlemen let me introduce you to the absolute muscle mommy that is Diane Piddock🫱🏻‍🫲🏼

July 2024: 85KG

May 2025: 68KG

-17KG (37lbs)

Diane is the hardest worker in the room all ends up💪🏻

You’ll not come across many people with as much resilience and determination as she has.

When Diane first got in touch with me she felt totally lost with her training, she had no sense of direction and after years of yo-yo dieting she decided it was time to make a change.

We opted for the slow and steady approach to weight loss, this helped prioritise training performance whilst giving Diane the opportunity to become more educated on nutrition.

And before long Diane found her love for training again, this time in the form of powerlifting.

What started off as small in the beginning soon turned into something pretty special.

And whilst the metric of “weight lost” is impressive here, what’s more impressive is how much strength Diane has gained.

She oftentimes likes to brag about out-lifting her male counterparts in the gym😂

That’s a pretty cool feeling right😉

It’s been an absolute pleasure working with Diane over the past 10 months and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this maniac☠️

Calories are up!⬆️

Now it’s time to grow that shelf🍑

09/04/2025

My controversial opinion of the day🗣️

Diet culture needs to die☠️

The fitness industry and in particular nutrition has come a long way since the arbitrary meal plans that PT’s dished out years ago.

For one meal plans don’t work, if anything they serve as a way for coaches to deflect responsibility when their clients don’t get results, prompting them to lean on the age old excuse of “you didn’t follow the plan”.

Sound familiar?

I work with human beings, so I don’t expect them to act like robots.

Meal plans occasionally work for elite level physique competitors, not the general population.

The people that I coach for fat loss often get confused when I tell them that we need to look at what we can add to their diet, not take away from it.

Understanding nutrient density and macronutrients can make or break whether someone lasts any length of time in the gym.

Food is fuel, it’s the ultimate performance enhancer.

When we unnecessarily over-restrict calories, s**t can get messy.

We’re talking serious long term physical, emotional and psychological side effects.

Which makes it all the more scary when you realise there’s coaches putting their clients on as little as 500 calories a day.

But why?

To make the before and after photos look better..

People are not trophy horses.

Again this is human beings we’re working with here, not some pawns in a game of chess.

I would never make my clients do things that i myself wouldn’t feel comfortable doing.

500 calories isn’t enough to keep a lab rat alive.

Sure, it helped them lose weight, but at what cost?

The only association they now have with making progress comes in the form of starving themselves.

And then I wonder why people come to me for help off the back of working with other coaches have developed eating disorders.

Thankfully I’m well equipped to deal with it.

Being starved to death is not the industry norm, you deserve better🫵🏻

01/04/2025

Today marks a year since I started working on the gym floor🫶🏻

And wow…what a year it’s been🥹

Looking back at my choice to begin offering 1-1 it has turned out to be the best decision I’ve ever made.

Up until that point my knowledge and expertise were merely theoretical.

Working on the gym floor has enhanced my practical knowledge tenfold.

It’s made me better at every aspect of my job and then some.

I still cannot comprehend why so many personal trainers want to leave to gym floor in favour of switching to fully online.

Besides there’s something pretty special about working with people on a personal basis.

The people I’ve had the pleasure of working with over the past year help serve as a reminder of why I love my job so much.

It feels less like a business and more like a tight-knit family❤️

I am so grateful because without them I wouldn’t be where I am today.

And aside from doing my job I can safely say I’ve made some really great friends in the process🫂

If the past year is anything to go by, I absolutely can’t wait to see how the next one unfolds🙌🏻

Bring it on💪🏻

13/03/2025

Body recomposition, completed it mate🫱🏻‍🫲🏼

Jonny Williamson

January 2024: 85KG

March 2025: 85KG

Exact same weight in both photos.

The difference? A whole lot of quality tissue added to the frame.

Jonny is the perfect example of what can be achieved when all of the right boxes are being ticked.

Body recomposition isn’t just another made up term to make me sound smarter than the next guy.

It’s a highly effective method when it comes to getting in incredible shape without the unnecessary suffering that comes with restrictive diet plans and ludicrous training protocols.

Paying attention to the finer details as a coach is what helps you get the best out of your clients long term.

Sure losing weight and getting shredded is cool, but it means nothing if you’re weak as sh*t as a byproduct.

Looking strong and being strong aren’t mutually exclusive, don’t forget that.

The strength this man has developed over the past year has been absolutely crazy.

Last year Jonny pulled 200KG off the floor for the first time, this year he will pull 240KG, mark my words.

Keep your eye on him in 2025👀

We’re building something really special🫱🏻‍🫲🏼

Shaun Breen capturing the sick angles📸

27/02/2025

Another week another transformation, this time it’s the turn of Eoín Mc Cormac💪🏻

April 2024: 54KG

February 2024: 64KG

+10KG (22lbs)

Eoin reached out to me in April last year looking to pack on some muscle and get stronger.

His reason for this ran much deeper than that and it’s something that really hit me in my chest.

Eoin suffers from multiple sclerosis and his main motive for starting the gym was so that he was able to keep up with his young daughter as she was growing up.

I don’t ever recall feeling the weight of responsibility on my shoulders quite like I did when this man came to me for help.

As you can expect things were slow to start, Eoín was quite frale, lacked any sort of balance/stability and not to mention strength was pretty much non existent.

But it didn’t take long before Eoín started to add tissue to the frame, with simple tweaks to his nutritional approach we managed to find what worked for him.

And whilst we’ve had our fair share of setbacks along the way Eoín has picked himself up time and time again.

This man’s appetite for success is like nothing I’ve ever seen before, he has every excuse not to show up to the gym and yet he’s established himself as one of the strongest members on the team.

Eoin no longer uses his condition as an excuse for not being able to do things but instead he uses it as motivation to seek endless improvement.

He is totally unrecognisable to the guy that started with me back in April, and the scary thing is that this is just the beginning for him!👀

I hope you can join me in congratulating Eoín for his unbelievable efforts.

He deserves every ounce of credit for this and in many ways I look up to him.

A great dad and a fantastic role model

This man is living proof that we can still prosper no matter what life throws at us.

You’re an inspiration to us all sir👏🏻

Aaron Grimley - Strength Coach

07/04/2026

26/02/2026

10/02/2026

04/02/2026

01/02/2026

26/01/2026

25/05/2025

09/04/2025

01/04/2025

13/03/2025

27/02/2025

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