PT – The 10 Minute Body

Testimonial: From borderline anorexic to a fit chick

Khelda used to "forget to eat" when stressed out at work, which made her worryingly skinny. Now she still gets stressed out but manages her lifestyle on a whole new level. Khelda's been my PT client for around 6 months now and she's also become a keen climber through the Fit as Hel climbing club :-).

To me it sounds ridiculous that Khelda has had two PTs before me and neither of them have told her to EAT MORE. We're upping her calories constantly so that she can actually look and feel great.... and get results from training! Also, I've banned her from doing cardio outside of high resistance classes ;-). It's all about the weights, baby. Being functionally strong. And healthy. And amazing. Let's keep sculpting that body (and add a few lean KGs in the process)!

Thank you so much Khelda for your lovely testimonial - you're the one who does all the hard work!!

TESTIMONIAL

"Name: Khelda S

Your specific weight/fitness/lifestyle related goals when you started personal training with Erika Helsinki: My weight was 7stone 9lbs when I started training with Erika.
I was moderately active at work up and down stairs and I walked my dog.
I was in the past an avid gym member but had not been for 18months or more and wanted to regain a more fit and healthy lifestyle. Tone my body shape.

What have you achieved since starting your sessions with Erika? Since I began my sessions I have achieved an amazing amount.
My posture and core is so much more stronger I walk head held high and with so much more confidence. My skin is glowing and I eat a huge amount more than I ever did. I enjoy healthy food I was just not eating enough . My body looks healthy no longer skeletal gaining muscle and definition. It's not the physical change it's the mental transformation the confidence to try and push yourself to do more try harder. The results speak for themselves.

Your PT session experiences summarised: My favourite day of the week !!!

Everything is bespoke to your individual need . I have learned so much regarding resistance / functional training . Erika explains everything in easy to understand language , demonstrates each task how to use the resistance machines / gym equipment and what you should feel and how to improve technique and get the best result and outcomes. I always leave exhilated and invigorated learning new things keeping motivated and fresh.

Are you happy with your results? YES YES YES

How has Erika helped achieve your goals? It's the encouragement , seeing you as an individual and listening to you. The goals set are stepping stones and Erika guides you along. The food diary and blog has been inspirational to me it aids me to look at my self retrospectively . This has been great insight to my diet and eating patterns, I love the different ways to train and it's exciting . Introducing me to new things - climbing wow as a middle aged woman stepping out of your comfort zone is terrifying now I just go for it if I fail I try again or I may not like it but I gave it a go.

What do you still want to achieve regarding your weight/fitness/lifestyle? I want to continue to gain muscle and definition . Climbing beat my green nemesis wall . Go on trying new things I am loving having more energy looking good.

Would you recommend Erika Helsinki as a PT to others? Why? Anyone looking for a PT would be insane not to want Erika. I have PT in the past and have never experienced the dedication previously. Erika is a fantastic teacher and mentor her patience and guidance has given me the the strength and confidence to keep going when times are hard. Not just the motivation in the gym and fitness but when work or life gets you down.

Any other comments? Erika is brimming with new and exciting things to keep all her clients motivated. Masterclass in Deadlifting , nutrition - recipes posts . My favourite and the one I use more than anything her community created on social media - clients helping each other through the rough patches and parsing when goals have been reached.

Erika you are a inspirational

Thank you words do not do you justice."

MUST SHARE: Jeannie’s before/after pictures

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What a complete transformation! From a shy girl to a confident fitness chick with Erika Helsinki --- WOW!! Is this even the same person?? (In many ways, no!)

Jeannie around 86kg -->
Jeannie now 69kg

Rachel G. body fat test results (progress in 4 weeks)

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I'm passionate about training two kinds of personal training clients;

1) People with a dieting past who want to lose body fat effectively and keep the results in the long term &

2) People who want to learn to learn to train for maximum aesthetic results - a nicely toned body (vanity, ha) -- usually women who want to primarily start using weights/resistance equipment in their training and to learn to train safely and effectively.

All training is based on getting optimal fat loss results FAST.

Rachel on incline chest press yesterday (tricep definition starting to come through!)

I've trained Rachel G. for the past month - she's a "type 2 client". I just did her body fat analyses (caliper method) yesterday as we'd reached 4 weeks of training together. We couldn't believe the results - increased lean mass (=increased BMR=her body is now burning calories more effectively) and a lower body fat percentage while her weight has remained the same (she's got no weight to lose). Details below:

Body fat%: Was 26.3% ---> now 24.4%

Lean body mass: Was 38.3 kg ---> now 39.3 kg

Fat mass: Was 13.7 kg ---> now 12.7 kg

BMR (basal metabolic rate): Was 1197 ---> now 1219 kcal/day

So proud of you, chick!! Let's keep rocking those weights :-)

/Fit as Hel fitness coach Erika Helsinki

P.s. Rachel had pretty much NO upper body strength a month ago!! She's so much stronger now and definition is starting to show.

P.p.s. If you'd like to enquire about personal training (currently available in North East England), text me on 0789 719 7818 anytime :-)

Our first ever PT Masterclass

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Our first ever PT masterclass was held last Saturday by Erika Helsinki. We focused on working on people's technique on deadlifts. At the end of the hour-long masterclass people were beating their previous personal bests, although it's more of an educational session rather than a hardcore workout.

We were very impressed by the effort, enthusiasm and the great atmosphere throughout the session. More PT masterclasses to follow for sure (squats and bench press at least). Stay tuned by liking our Facebook page!

Once again, thanks for all attendees! Here are some pictures from the day.

DRAMATIC weight loss in 1 week!!!

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My new PT client Mel just lost 4 lb in her first week with me. That's a dramatic result. But now we've got work to do - and that's to focus on MAINTENANCE. There's no point in losing that much weight in a short space of time if we can't keep it off (I'm sure though, in her case, we can. You'd know why if you met her [I'm talking motivation and determination]).

THE PROBLEM: Although that's a great and motivating start for her, nowhere near all of that lost weight is fat. The majority of the weight loss will have been loss of fluids - and that's not REAL weight loss because it comes back on very easily. Some of the weight lost will most likely have come off her precious muscle tissue as well - and we certainly don't want that because muscle turns your body into a fat burning machine.

You see results like this all the time in weight loss clubs. In fact, this type of rapid weight loss gets rewarded -- and in my opinion that's WRONG. This way most people will initially be happy with the weight they've lost - and then struggle to keep it off. I'd say probably 95% people I've met who've been in these weight loss clubs have put the weight back on after they've stopped going to the weekly meetings. Sad, isn't it.

So... As harsh as it is, I told Mel "That's great, but bot ideal". We have to keep it real. The aim is not to lose so much weight each week, and it certainly doesn't mean failure if one week she'd "only" lost 100g (or even put on a bit of weight!). Fat loss is not linear - weight will fluctuate, and that's perfectly fine. And that is because we're only concerned with LONG TERM WEIGHT LOSS, i.e. FAT LOSS.

I posted this on Twitter last week:

"Do yourself a favour and never ever even consider going on a shake diet. They're so bad for you and they MAKE YOU FAT. Fact."

Bear that in mind and you will already be closer to achieving all of your fat loss goals.

Stay tuned - Mel's before/afters to follow!! (You can subscribe to updates easily on the side -->)

REMINDER: Healthy weight loss rate is around 0,5kg per week, or 1kg per week for those who are overweight.

There is no fast way to permanent weight loss. As hard as it is, take it easy.

TAKE IT EASY.

Love,

Erika