Aidan - Triathlon Coaching
“I started training with Claire a few years ago when planning my first Ironman. I had not had a coach before or used a structured training plan but Claire was recommended by a friend and I knew I needed to up my game massively to even finish the Ironman. I was also looking for someone with significant experience in triathlon, which Claire has spades of, who could advise me with kit, gear, pacing strategy and race choices etc. To that end Claire is able to offer a complete and rounded coaching service.
I was immediately impressed with Claire and convinced I had made the right decision within the first month of the structured training sessions. The sessions were far more varied, challenging, interesting and fun than I could have prepared for myself or even found on free online/magazine plans. I also found they pushed me to the next level and there were numerous times when I was pleasantly surprised that I could complete the sessions and push myself to certain paces etc. With the consistent and structured training I made huge improvements in my PBs, my Marathon PB alone was cut by 43 mins.
Unfortunately the first Ironman planned for 2020 was postponed and I then signed up for a second Ironman so I ended up doing two Ironman distance triathlons (Ironman UK in 13 hours 15 minutes and Outlaw Nottingham in 11 hours 49 minutes) in the space of three weeks this summer. I continued training with Claire throughout and she handled the tight turnaround between races with a plan for the perfect amount of recovery and training in between races (which I would have been clueless to try and do myself!). I felt just as fresh for both races and was able to give them both my all.
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Claire as a coach and when I finally decide what races I want to do in 2022 I will definitely be working with Claire again.
Thanks for all your help!”
Paul - ZOOM Sessions
"I have been having Regular P T sessions with Claire at Hoebridge Gym for several years. With lock-down , the gym closed, and the Winter weather, we have had to look at alternative ways to maintain the fitness sessions. With two yoga mats on my kitchen floor, some dumbbells and bands from Argos, we have been using Zoom twice a week. The sessions have been interesting, varied and dare I say it enjoyable. Claire is always enthusiastic and cheerful and plans the sessions so that I get the maximum benefit. They have been particularly beneficial for the rehab of a torn cartilage in my knee. We shall continue on Zoom until the Gym reopens next month. Many thanks Claire you are a star"
David - golf specific personal training
"I play golf at a high level and it was my coach that recommended getting in touch with Claire for personal training. I was keen that the training was specific to my needs from a golfing perspective so Claire took into account previous training programmes and assessments as well as the findings from her own assessment. No two training sessions are the same even when working on the same muscle groups or movement patterns so the sessions are always challenging and never boring.
Claire genuinely cares about her clients and has been kind enough to attend the golf specific physio assessments that I've had in order to better understand what areas I need to improve and why. In the interim, she performs periodic assessments to allow progress to be
monitored and compared against previous tests e.g vertical jump, horizontal leap etc which often shows more improvement than I had thought. Always enthusiastic and encouraging even during early morning training sessions at 6.30am, Claire has been able to get me to achieve much more than I thought I'd be able to. Over the past 12 months, I've not only improved my strength and flexibility but have also lost around 20kg in weight"
Fran - Triathlon coaching
"I entered the Blenheim Palace Triathlon on a whim with a friend back in 2016, and little did I know at the time how much that decision would come transform my life! I was totally bitten by the triathlon bug, and, in my usual obsessional manner I plunged myself head-first into this new exciting sporting world. Within a year I had bumbled my way through a series of races, riding my rusty old commuter bike with absolutely no idea what I was doing, and by some miracle I managed to secure qualification slots for the GB Age-Group Team to go to the 2018 European Age-Group Championships for both sprint and standard distances.Now that this amazing opportunity had presented itself to me, I realised I was probably going to have to take things a bit more seriously so as not to embarrass myself on the European stage. I had been a Modern Pentathlete in my teenage years, and I also dabbled in a bit of marathon /
ultramarathon running through university so I was used to structured training and the multi-sport thing. The problem now was that I also working all hours of the day and night as a full time NHS junior doctor. Trying to fit work around all the intense training was proving to be a total nightmare – and that was when Claire came in.
Recommended via a family member, I sought out Claire’s help early in the 2018 season, and her support has been nothing short of fantastic. From the start she was able to take me through a thorough assessment of my ability, setting me up with FTP measurements and heart rate zones. She then meticulously went through my racing goals and aspirations for the future. We planned out a season, with the Euros as ‘A’ races, a few 2019 age group qualifiers, plus the Prudential Ride London thrown into the mix (somehow my ENTIRE family had managed to get places – Euros or not, I wasn’t going to turn that one down!). From then on in Claire provided me with an extremely detailed and comprehensive yet flexible monthly training plan that I could easily fit in around my work commitments. It was challenging, but was time smart, making it easy to stick to and achievable within the spare time I had available.
We would catch up regularly over the phone, with me providing feedback on the sessions, and Claire offering helpful suggestions on how to tweak things depending on how it was all going. In the build up to races, she would always get in touch in the days beforehand to check how I was feeling, and whether I was ready and had everything I needed. Her wealth of knowledge and experience is incredible – having raced on the Age Group scene herself, she knows the deal and was able to provide valuable insight into the ins and outs of managing the process – from kit, to travel, to nutrition, to race planning and strategy. I would have been totally clueless and a nervous wreck without it all!
I think the biggest testament to her skills as a coach, is the fact that this year has gone far from smoothly for me… from being bitten by a snake in my first race of the season, to several viral illnesses, to work being a non-stop total nightmare… yet throughout it all she has remained a calm, constant source of support, patiently listening to my whingeing, and always having a sensible and practical solution to my woes.
Having said that though, through all our hard work together, Claire really did help deliver a top 2018 season, and I am extremely grateful for all her support. I ended up winning my first race of the season, I also finished 4th in my age group at the Triathlon England National Sprint Championships. In the next two races I secured automatic qualifying slots for the 2019 Age Group Sprint Distance European Championships and for the 2019 Age Group Standard Distance Championships. I had a fantastic race at the Standard Distance European Championships in Estonia and finished 8th in my age group. I sped round Ride London faster than I would have ever thought possible in the pouring rain, loving every minute, and a fortnight later I somehow found the legs to race the Sprint Distance European Championships in Glasgow, with a quick run split bringing me back into the mix after a disastrous swim! However, the biggest measure of my success this year I feel does not necessarily lie in my results. It lies in all the support and encouragement provided by Claire that has enabled me to make the most of all the new experiences, enabled me to really enjoy those moments, and enabled me to learn from each event so I can come back wiser and stronger next year"
Thank you so much Claire! Bring on 2019!
sally - personal training
"I’ve been training with Claire for the last three years, and during our sessions together it’s obvious Claire is totally committed to her work, and genuinely cares for her clients. My weekly sessions are varied and, at times, challenging, but with Claire’s friendly personality she still manages to make the sessions fun! The main aim of my sessions has been to focus on improving my core strength, especially in the build up to, and following my lower back surgery which took place earlier this year. My successful, speedy recovery was all due to Claire’s expertise, help and support during my rehabilitation Thanks to Claire, I have now developed a greater feeling of wellbeing, and have a much better understanding of my body which, at this stage of my life, is so important"
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Jenny - personal training
"I have to say right away that I Don’t Like Gyms !! I love any kind of Dancing, from Ballet to Ballroom, and in my youth was very fit and full of energy, but gym work has never appealed to me. My husband had been going to Claire for Personal Training for about a year and had enjoyed it, so he suggested that I should do the same – it would be good for my health, might encourage me to lose weight, etc., etc. So I agreed to try and have now been going to Claire for a good year myself. At first I was extremely embarrassed to be among a horde of young, well-honed people in the state I was in, but Claire was very encouraging from the start and in no way has tried to make me feel my age, while still getting me to do things that are within my capabilities – she says I’m improving! My fitness and mobility have certainly improved, my weight has decreased and I feel that I have a friend as well. Sessions combine hard work on my part with
lots of pleasant conversation along the way, so that although I still don’t like most of the exercises over-much, there are some that I do actually enjoy and the overall experience is a good one and I never miss a session. I can’t recommend Claire highly enough – she’s extremely nice, extremely patient and extremely good at what she does. She suits me, anyway, but I know that she can do what is necessary for people who are much more advanced than I am. In fact, I would even go a little further and say that the whole ambiance of the gym at Hoebridge is good. I had a very bad experience at another gym once which nigh on put me off training for life. At Hoebridge there is always a warm reception from all the staff, it’s clean, efficient and timings can be arranged to suit. So, even if you don’t think that Personal Training is for you, Claire would make you change your mind"!!
Aiden - triathlon coaching (updated)
"It was February 2017 and a few months before I had somewhat nonchalantly signed up for the Outlaw Iron distance triathlon in July that same year. It became apparent to me quite early on in my preparation for the race that this was not something I was going to be able to just wing. With 6 months to go, having "gone it alone" with generic fitness training for a few months, I knew I needed precise, structured and specific training sessions and goals to turn to if I was going to succeed (and, well, not die), preferably from someone with relevant experience, given the highly technical and demanding nature of the sport.I had previously worked with Claire towards some more general fitness goals, having always been an all rounder and enthusiast for anything sport related. It was at this point that I realised that real improvement could be found in the tailored and holistic approach Claire took to training. Focusing in on the subtleties of mobility, nutrition, activation of key muscle groups and following set training plans
enabled me to realise vast gains in performance quite quickly. In addition, Claire helped me to get set-up with all the necessary data and performance indicators such as FTP, heart-rate and VO2. This enabled me to take a scientific and results based approach to my training.
During the 6 months of training leading up to the race, Claire was on hand whenever I needed to discuss how my training was going, how I was feeling and to run through the intricacies of the weekly training schedule she had constructed for me. This one-to-one support was imperative, not only to my gains in performance, but for morale and much needed psychological boosts before races. Whether it was nutritional guidance, kit advice, or regular sports massage reminders, I took enormous confidence from having Claire's training programme in place. This was particularly true in the case of the bike leg, cycling being the discipline I was least experienced in and also the biggest part of the day, with many components to think about.
Training was tough, there is no doubt about that. The back-to-back 5/6 hour training blocks on the weekends, the mid-week 90km rides and pre-work 4km lake swims really tested my metal. However, when it came to the big day, I was delighted to find that the race itself was (almost) a breeze. By having a bit of blind trust in the process, having done all the hard work in training, I felt fresh, fit and happy throughout the entire day. Everything came together and my mind and body felt very strong. I finished the race in 10 hours, 48 minutes and 49 seconds, over an hour under my goal time. The day was probably the proudest I have felt, and finishing the race in front of friends and family is a feeling that cannot be put in to words. I am grateful to Claire for getting me to that point and getting me across the finish line in one piece. It was quite the journey and I look forward to working together again.”
Keith - personal training
"I realised I needed to find a personal trainer to help with some health issues where fitness, diet and lifestyle were important considerations. Having owned a gym for many years I knew that there was a wide variation in skills, knowledge and understanding from personal trainers. Some PT’s can push people too hard and for older people such as me it’s no use treating them as a 30 year old athlete. Claire exceeded my best expectations in all respects and has been a source of motivation which has helped bring about measurable improvements in my health and diagnosis. I doubt I have the discipline to attend a gym regularly without the regular appointment so the benefit of PT sessions and with the right trainer is immense. I even managed to convince my “anti gym” wife that she would benefit which has been the case as a result of Claire’s professionalism blended with sympathy and understanding.Strong recommendation and with her personal sports background as a triathlete, Claire is capable of developing the right programme for a wide range of clients"
felicity - golf specific personal training
"Claire is an excellent personal trainer. She puts together really challenging and relevant programmes and no two weeks are ever the same. Enthusiastic and caring, she is always ready to motivate and help me achieve my goals.
Not too horrid at all!!"
Aiden - triathlon coaching
"Claire has been a fantastic coach and mentor, providing tailored and insightful advice along with beneficial programmes to follow. As an all round fitness enthusiast, it has been great to have Claire on side to discuss anything health and wellness related. More specifically, in turning my goals to triathlon and in particular to iron distance, Claire's wealth of knowledge derived from extensive experience, has been an ideal resource to draw upon. I thoroughly recommend having Claire on your team in pursuit of your objectives"