Nicola Normanby

 

As a lifelong reluctant gym-goer, I have only found one trainer I can stand, and this is Travis Allan.

 

I came to see Travis ten years ago, for two yoga-injured, painful and slightly arthritic shoulders, as a last-ditch alternative to the operating table. I had tried a number of physiotherapists, to no avail; I could barely raise my arm above my waist without pain. I can now testify that the MAT he practices, a targeted mixture of massage and exercise, has worked for me very well. It was effective almost immediately and continues to do the trick. My shoulders and arms have good mobility, range and strength and I suffer very little discomfort.

 

I now do three half-hour training sessions with Travis a week. This works for me. Over time, the sessions have changed to involve more general training and fewer specific shoulder exercises, though we revisit this from time to time. Travis is an intelligent, curious and responsive person who sees to it that I do not get bored or complacent.

 

Most trainers just put you through the workout they have devised, but not Travis. He perceptively assesses his client’s physical and mental state on each occasion and will gear the training session up, down or sideways to accommodate those changes. The result is that I am always engaged, don’t miss sessions and have a much better body than an exercise-phobic like me deserves.

 

I am a woman of sixty with no great athletic ability. Yet I always feel that it is as interesting to Travis to train me as it is to train the athletic superstars he works with, and that he takes as much trouble to get the programme right. This is a great rarity in his field.

 

Recently, I went to have a bone-density check-up. My hip bone density was almost exactly the same as it was ten years ago, which the surgeon pronounced:

‘really remarkable’.  I ascribe this at least partially to the work Travis and I have done to maintain bone strength.