I really could never explain how grateful and lucky I am to have such a dedicated and supportive trainer.

With everything I have thrown at Mel over the years (with my chronic illnesses) I am surprised he hasn’t run a mile. Thanks to him I am fitter, stronger and much happier than I have ever been.

I am so grateful to not only have a trainer but a friend who spends more time researching my conditions and how he can help me than he does actually training with me. I know without question that his concern is not how many sessions he can get from me or how much progress I can make to look good for a portfolio. His sole focus has been on my health and day-to-day wellbeing.

Although my illnesses and symptoms keep changing, he is always there to offer emotional support. He is quick to understand what is going on or how he can help me.

On my “good days” he pushes me to reach goals I didn’t think were possible, on my “bad days” (which I don’t usually warn him about as I don’t want him to modify the sessions) he goes through exactly how I feel and what is hurting or causing me problems before adjusting our workout. On the days/weeks that I am not allowed to train he is messaging me constantly, trying to keep my spirits up, make me laugh, convince me that I am strong enough to do this and to look back on what I have achieved so far.

Before knowing what was really wrong with me…and being told it was just lax ligaments causing pain in my joints, some of my previous trainers would avoid working on certain muscle groups. This obviously caused some big imbalances that I was unaware of until I met Mel!

He was NOT letting me work around these. He did exactly the opposite, and man did I hate him for it.

Instead of avoiding certain exercises and saying I wouldn’t be able to do them, he found alternatives and sometimes pretty creative ways to get me there and work the muscles I needed. I had to relearn some movement patterns/techniques and adjust exercises to build the problem areas.

Quite often I will see people at the gym doing things I wish I could and say “I am never going to be able to do that” which he quickly shuts down… and reminds me that we just need a little bit more time than most to get there but that “We’ve got this and “didn’t you said that before about what you are doing right now”.

He has NEVER told me I can’t or won’t be able to something, it’s usually me saying “Absolutely not! I can’t do that!” but he is there encouraging me to “stop thinking about it, trust yourself! I KNOW you’ve got this”.

I feel completely comfortable and safe in trying new exercises as I trust him 100%. l know he would never let me go too far and lift too much or do something that could cause me any injuries or setbacks.

He knows exactly when and how to push me through, especially when I need to slow down/stop or drop the weights. When I’m trying to fight back, hide pain or pretend I don’t need to lower the intensity, all i hear is, “safety first little one, leave the ego outside”.

One of the things that I love about training with Mel is that he absolutely loves what he does and it’s so easy to see that when you speak to him. He is so dedicated, passionate and committed to helping people and will never compromise on form or safety regardless of how long it takes to get it right!

I honestly don’t think I could have made it through the last few years of ill health without Mel there supporting me, pushing me to be strong enough to physically and mentally carry on. I just know that he is going to be here supporting me through it all!