How long have you been doing X Training?

Becky: About 10 years

Gary: Roughly 10 years

What are your greatest strengths?

Becky: Running, Step Ups, Bench Jumps and Bench Press

Gary: My strength is my strength!

Do you train each other?

Becky: Not much as we train with our clients; we don’t have time to train together.  We do try and inspire each other by setting goals and aiming to stay with each other’s fitness

Gary: We are too busy to work out together so we mostly work out with our 1-1 clients.  It is a nice job getting paid to train!!

If you had to choose a training partner from the current X trainers, who would it be?

Becky: Probably Micky White.  He has done so well this year, always gives 100% and is an approachable guy who could help inspire me.

Gary: Micky White.  He is a great athlete who has been there and done it; a true gent who gives you the time of day.  He would definitely sort my running out. I think x- training will be at a sad loss, when he goes to Oz.

Do you prefer cardio or strength training?

Becky: I like to mix the two.  I do not enjoy doing just one or the other in a session.  I think I push myself harder at Cardio and feel relieved when I have achieved my goal.

Gary: I prefer Strength but I do enjoy doing cardio especially the bike and flat running; my mile and 5k are my best distances.

Who do you admire in the sporting world?

Becky: Paula Radcliffe

Gary: Amir Khan. He is a breath of fresh air – he is young, ambitious, an amazing boxer and if managed right could become one of the all time greats. Above all a very level headed and nice guy.

What are your favourite sporting films?

Becky: I don’t really watch films, sorry.

Gary: The Great Escape – they were all athletes as they tried to run away!!!

Have you seen many changes in the sport over the years?

Becky: Yes: Competitors started with big builds, then reduced down and now seem to be gaining the muscle again to come through on the strength side.

Gary: I think x training has changed for the better; there are a lot more comps out there now.  It use to be just the ultra fit as the main event of the year, whereas now there are around 6 good comps to compete in and they are all different. Also with the new veteran category coming into play more, I think it is nice for the older bods

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Is X training going forward?

Becky: Yes as it attracting more people and the correct exercises are being put in to allow fairer judging.

Gary: Most definitely big thumbs up to UKXTA for taking x-training to another level.  Also to Steve Watts & Sue Regan (Dragons), Ty Whitlock & Marc Carson (Hampshire fire comp), Will Whitmore (DB MAX), Roscoe Nash (NETFIT), Micky White (GORTON GRUELLER), Stuart Leng (IRONMAN/WOMAN, me & Becky (CALSO 7s). To organise a comp is very hard work and time consuming, but still very rewarding.  You do get the complainers and critics with that. If it was not for us guys there would be no x-training.

What would you like to see happen in X training? 

Becky: I would love to see it televised more and in the Olympics.

Gary: I would like to see 3 standard Olympic courses set up, i.e. sprint knockout course like the challenge, a normal 10 discipline course and a real tough iron man course with 12 disciplines as soon as possible, then hopefully we can push the sport on into the Olympics 2016.

If you could compete against any athlete, who would it be?

Becky: Denise Lewis.

Gary: There are so many great x-trainers out there and I do not really have a preference.  I just love competing!  I like racing Stevie Watts as it is always a very close race.  He is a great x-trainer and a very good friend but he’s not so pretty as me!!

Do your clients X train?

Becky: Yes many of them do and this is how I get my training in.  This is the great thing about training; you can train with various people of all levels setting higher or lower weights and cardio to give you and your partner an equally hard workout. Some of my clients have injuries but we can get around this in X Training.

Gary: Most of them do, we do have some really fit girls at Calso I am very proud to say, and pound for pound I think we would give any gym a run for their money in the field of x-training.

Who do you respect most in X training?

Becky: Hywel Davis. Not just because he has reached the top in X training but because of his 100% focus every time and no excuses.  If he was not fit to win he would not compete because he only wants to win so he makes sure of it every time.

What was the last CD you bought?

Becky: I never buy CDs as listen to music all day in the gym so I have the radio on in my own time.

Gary: Some nutty dance CD.

Who is your favourite singer?

Gary: Chubby Brown.

Who’s your favourite band?

Gary: I like lots of bands.

Who is your favourite radio DJ?

Gary: James Whale on Talk Sport. He talks sense.

What is your fave album of all time?

Becky: Abba.

Are you a romance or action film fan?

Becky: Neither really but if I had to choose I would watch Romance.

Can you quote your fave comedy line from a film?

Becky: “Welease Woger - thro him to the floor centuwian!”

Who is the coolest film character of all time?

Becky: Batman – James Bond – Randall P McMurphy (one flew over the cuckoos nest).

Who is the biggest villain?

Becky: Nurse Ratchett – the Joker – Scarface.

Do you think obesity can be controlled?

Becky: Yes. Not just by educating people, but by them wanting to lose weight or not gain it in the first place.

Gary: If you have serious discipline then without doubt you can control obesity.  Too many people in life have excuse-itis. There are some people who have genetic problems, and I do feel sorry for them.  I would excuse them but any one else I don’t feel sorry for. I take weight loss courses and I do hear so much b*llshit and I give them one chance only. If they mess up, they’re history.

How do you control your food urges?

Becky: I am very disciplined. I don’t really eat many bad foods and if I do have an urge I would have it but not too much. My control is that my job is a personal trainer so I need to practice what I preach and be able to perform in training and you can’t do this when overweight.

Gary: I like to pork out on Pringles or crisps every now and then; other than that I am a pretty good boy.

Are you a “my body is a temple” type or would you eat burgers, pizzas and kebabs at 2am in the morning after a skinful?!

Becky: Would not dream of it and would rarely have a skinful because I would fall over first – I’m no good at drinking.

Gary: Every now and then I will have a blow out and if I do I will have a monster big boy’s workout the following day to make up for it.

What would say to someone who said they could not lose weight or find motivation to train?

Becky: Do a food diary and make a decision that you want to lose weight. Try and set small and realistic goals so you regularly feel rewarded when you reach them. Also find a gym that you feel comfortable in where people will encourage you and not just look at you. Enjoy training by finding the right exercise for you so you stick to it.

Gary: ‘Bollox’.

Do you eat 6 small meals a day?

Becky: Yes I snack all day!

Gary: I try to eat little and often, that is the key.

Do you eat fresh fruit and vegetables daily?

Becky: Yes.

If you could invite 3 people in history or still living to dinner who would they be and why?

Gary: George Bush, Tony Blair and Zinedine Zidane. I detest war mongers and I hate violence. I would ask ZZ to do the honors to see how they like it.

What trainers do you wear?

Becky: Asics or Nike.

Gary: Not very fast ones but I am in the process of buying some supersonic wheels that hopefully will make my big fat ass go a bit quicker.

Do you wear an hr monitor?

Becky: No.

Gary: No. My body talks to me, it tells me when to speed up or ease down. I don’t like them.

Did you ever see the footie match from the film Kes?

Becky: No.

Gary: Yes.

Have you ever watched UFC (Ultimate fighting Championship)?

Becky: No.

Gary: No.

Do you like soaps?

Becky: No.

Gary: I prefer shower gel!  Seriously, no; I find them depressing.

Do you like the biggest, baddest, flattest TV screen with Dolby surround sound?

Becky: In the right place, yes.

Gary: Yes sir!

Would you ever parachute out of a plane?

Becky: Unlikely but never say no!