GYM MEMBER OF THE MONTH: Albie Hogan
How long have you been a member of Avenue Tennis?
I joined Avenue the day lockdown lifted in April of this year, so I’m currently celebrating my six month anniversary.
Tell us about your experience with your Personal Trainer Wayne Gemmell, and your Wellness journey so far.
I have suffered from poor mental health over the last number of years. I’m a firm believer in the adage ‘strong body, strong mind,’ so I decided to challenge myself to get fitter and stronger after a tough lockdown.
Working with Wayne has given me the confidence and discipline to train smarter and push myself in ways I never thought I was capable of before. With each new personal best, I’ve unlocked a sense of satisfaction that spurs me on to new ambitions. Wayne has really helped me hone in on a sensible approach to building strength. He has continued to reinvent my programmes to allow me to see the incremental gains that are so important to my state of mind.
We have systematically worked through everything from rehabilitation and conditioning work to tackle some lingering injuries that have always held me back. Building stamina and resilience, as well as reviewing and tweaking diet and lifestyle habits. I can definitely see my progress and have to keep reminding myself of all I’ve achieved with Wayne’s help in just six months.
What is your next step here at Avenue Tennis?
My goals remain focused on seeing incremental gains that will help my mental wellness. I’ve also set myself a challenge of doing unassisted pull-ups by Christmas!
Personal Trainer: Wayne Gemmell
Since joining the club in April, Albie has progressively chipped away at any goal in front of him. After every review, he has put in place all the things that he needed to increase his strength, fitness and to lose weight. Testament to this is his change in body shape - already dropping around 2st in weight.
Albie was an easy choice for Member of the Month. He has consistently turned up and put in all the hard work required to make the relevant changes; he wants to succeed in all his goals and help his health and well-being. He is showcasing this each week by achieving something new... be it working on better posture or hitting a new personal best in a lift.
Next on the agenda is for us to work towards a long-term goal of achieving a first pull up, which I have no doubt will be achieved. In the short term, it is building up the relevant strength to accomplish this and constantly pushing Albie’s fitness/ weight loss goals.
