Chris Reader PT

18/09/2026

15/09/2026

🔥 𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐌𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐀𝐓 𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐅𝐈𝐓! 🔥

And this is just 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 arriving at the gym 👀💪

Introducing our new 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 — an incredible piece of kit designed specifically for
𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠.

What makes this different from a traditional Smith machine is the 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. As you press, the arms follow a more natural path, coming slightly inwards rather than simply travelling straight up and down. This can give you a great contraction through the chest while still providing the stability and control of a machine.

🔥 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 — 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬:
• Flat chest press
• Incline chest press
• Decline chest press
• Shoulder press
• Different seat/bench positions to change the angle and target the muscles differently
• Independent arms, allowing you to train both sides together or individually

It gives you some of the freedom and natural movement you’d associate with dumbbell pressing, but with the 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞-𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞, meaning you can really concentrate on the muscle you’re working and push the weight safely.

Whether your goal is 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, this is going to be a serious bit of kit. 💪

And remember…

👀 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐌𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒!

We continue to reinvest in Elitefit and bring our members 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧.

𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐒𝐤𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 💪🔥 𝟐𝟒/𝟕 • 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥.

10/09/2026

You feel stronger. Your muscles are pumped. Motivation is high.

Then you step on the scales…

And your weight has gone up.

So what's going on?

First of all — this can be completely normal when you start strength training.

It doesn't mean you've suddenly gained a load of body fat.

As you train, your muscles can increase their glycogen stores. Glycogen is stored alongside water, so changes in training and carbohydrate intake can produce a noticeable increase in body mass.

That's water — not overnight fat gain.

And then there's another factor people often overlook:

Exercise doesn't automatically create a huge calorie deficit.

The calories burned during training can be smaller than many people realise, and exercise can also influence appetite and how much energy you expend during the rest of the day.

That's where NEAT — Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis — comes in.

NEAT is the energy you use for everything outside deliberate exercise: walking, standing, moving around, household tasks and even spontaneous movement.

For some people, increasing structured exercise can be partly offset by reductions in everyday movement.

Then there are the calorie estimates from watches and fitness apps.

They're useful for tracking trends, but they aren't precise enough to treat exercise calories as an exact food allowance.

So if your goal is fat loss, focus on the bigger picture:

Your long-term energy balance matters far more than what your watch says you burned in one workout.

And don't judge your progress from a single weigh-in.

Your scale weight can fluctuate because of water, glycogen, food volume, sodium, hormonal changes and training-related inflammation, as well as changes in body fat.

Strength training can build a stronger, more capable body while the number on the scales temporarily moves in the opposite direction.

The scale doesn't lie.

It just doesn't tell the whole story.

Learn to read between the lines.

08/09/2026

Thanks very much, Sam.
It’s been brilliant seeing how much you’ve progressed over the past year. Taking 10+ minutes off your 5K is a huge improvement, and it’s been great watching your strength and fitness develop alongside it.

Really appreciate the review and, more importantly, the trust you’ve put in me with your training. 👊

06/09/2026

💓 Why Heart Rate Training Matters (and Why Yours is Unique!)

Heart-rate training is a useful way to make your workouts smarter — not simply harder.

By monitoring your heart rate, you can better control training intensity and target the appropriate physiological demands for your goal:

🔥 Develop aerobic fitness
💪 Build endurance
⚡ Improve performance
💤 Manage training load and recovery

But here's the important part:

Your heart-rate zones are individual to you.

The commonly used “220 − your age” formula is only a rough estimate of maximum heart rate. Individual maximum heart rates can vary considerably, meaning using it to calculate precise training zones can leave you training at the wrong intensity.

Your heart rate response is influenced by factors including fitness, genetics, exercise type, temperature, fatigue, hydration and medication.

👉 VO₂ max measures your body's ability to take in and use oxygen during exercise and is an important measure of cardiorespiratory fitness.

💤 Resting Heart Rate (RHR) can provide useful information when tracked over time. A lower RHR is often associated with better cardiovascular fitness, but your individual baseline matters more than comparing your number with someone else's.

⚡ Heart Rate Recovery (HRR) looks at how quickly your heart rate falls after exercise. Changes over time can provide useful information about cardiovascular fitness and recovery.

The bigger picture?

Heart-rate data gives you another window into how your body is responding to training.

Don't chase someone else's numbers.

Your zones should be based on your physiology, your training and your goals — not simply a formula.

Train smart. Use the data. Make your numbers work for you.

04/09/2026

The results you want don't usually come from doing more — they often come from changing the habits that are holding you back.

Small, consistent changes to training, nutrition, recovery and daily activity can add up to meaningful long-term progress.

Change the habits. Change the outcome.

03/09/2026

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