Like I said to you last year, the training for it is really good because it brings the gym together. I try to prepare as many of my clients for this event who had entered. Today I had June and Lee Rogers racing against each other and I had John Brown and Nancy Hagen racing against each other, so not only did I have them training together I competed them against each other too, so it promoted a bit of banter in the gym got them really into the meeting up, having a training session. so if they wanted to do 20 shoulder press we were doing 30. It's really about motivating and getting them into it and saying “this is the event, let’s go out there and let’s try and get some silver wear and if you cant let’s complete in it and let’s get the t-shirt  and lets move on and do some more next year"

Would you say X Training increases your client personal trainer relationship?

Yes, defineitley, not only did they do the one to one with me I then arranged stuff during the week to get them together so there has been a few friendships start there as well. I work with my clients to find out what they like to do and as such now have got 10 people to go to New York  to run the New York marathon for the Marie Cure cancer care next year and 2 of the guys who raced against each other  today are going to pair up to run the marathon as well, so there has been some good friendships sparked,

Mainly transition training which is the support thing, most people can do all the events, it is going from one to the next without a pause that's the problem and the diversity of it all. So I am really concentrating on breaking the events down that they have and then saying you know you are weak on this one, or that one but you are strong on the one before or the one after so lets do the transition. It is like any transition sport, that’s the main emphasis on the training I believe, a runner is going to be good at running but then if he then goes to do a cycle before that he is not going to be as good, so I am really concentrating on transition training and really concentrating on endurance.

In terms of motivation, would you say that your clients have a focus when training for this event?

I think it gives them a bit of focus for something, as a personal trainer I am very pro-active anyway, for instance next year I have got 16 events already booked in for my clients and I have got 30 clients so you know I always make sure my clients have got a focus,

John Brown who I got into last year he came to Fitness Extreme and he has been here today, we are going to do a few next year, so I definitely think because X training is spread out the whole year you can always say to somebody there is a little event coming up I am going to enter you in it, let’s go and do it, I’ll come with you, I’ll do training the training together.

I think it does help with motivation, as long as you diverse as a trainer you should be able to do most things, but X training gives a really good focus because in the gym you never want to do the same thing, I don’t want to keep doing cardio, cardio or strength, strength – whereas I can say I want you to do this event and it opens different avenues like today

It bring's people together on so many different avenues, I mean I am the biggest case for it myself I was a PTI in the army and I was a runner, all I used to do was 60-70 miles a week running with people and last year Ty said to me nobody from the gym is doing it this year and it will be the first year in 7 years that a gym instructor is not doing it, so I said yea alright I’ll have a go and I had a shock because I did 15 minutes last year didn’t place in the top 3. As a personal trainer I don’t think its massively acceptable and it opened my eyes. I am a good runner, but there is so much more to my fitness that I preach to other people – so last year it was Ty who gave me a kick up the arse to start improving on my whole fitness as opposed to just my running

Also in terms of inspiration I guess it's good to see your clients seeing you leading the way?

Yes,I mean I have a few motto’s with my clients, you never ask a client to do something you can’t do yourself and then make it hard, make it fun, make it safe.

What about next year how is that looking? Will you move on up to the Open?

Well, I have won an event now, so I am going to move up straight away and try the open I will probably chose a few events throughout the year, I wont go mad just that I have so much going on anyway – have a go at them at the open – I wont go out to win them my aim will be to come here and do the open next year.

It 's a great sport brings the gym together its something you can do indoors, you don’t have to go out in the rain and there is always somebody in the gym, and you get what are they doing over there, people train in groups and you get a good atmosphere in the gym and we have had a knock on effect in the gym and I have people come to me now and say oh can we have an event in the gym. I have got a fitness challenge downstairs in the gym its similar but its got burpes in there opposed to should press and stuff just to make it more diverse.

Any plans for next year with training in the gym?

Next year I’m gonna change it again in the gym, as we have a following of about 30/40 people now downstairs, not everybody did it today but actually in the gym there is a competitive atmosphere, there is a lot of banter going on, which is what I have always wanted to promote anyway from the army – next year I am going to split it down I am going to do Mr Strong Man and Ms Strong Woman and a Mr Fit Man and a Ms Fit Perfect Woman, so next year I am going to have loads of stuff going on in the gym.

Ty Whitlock the organiser of this event is also your personal trainer - tell me about that relationship

Ty is the king of the jungle in the studio. I will definitely carry on working with Ty . As far as inspiration for myself goes, I believe in personal training and I have a personal trainer myself which is Ty, he has pushed me so much the last year and my time today shows that – I needed that because I was getting complacent, I was telling people what to do in the gym and not always sticking to my motto of not asking a somebody to do something you cant do yourself, but now I have got to the point where I never ask anybody to do something I cant do myself.