Being in this industry means working with other professionals who aim to push and bring about the best in their clients, for better health and wellbeing.
So if you’re based in Dubai, then allow me to introduce you to The Physical Training Company and Matt Cotterill, a personal trainer, strength & conditioning coach and physiologist whom I have the pleasure of working with. Here’s the scoop on what you need to know…
How would you describe your philosophy with regards to health and fitness?
Do whatever works for you.
If classes/pilates/weight training/running/crossfit is your thing then go for it, if that’s the difference between you getting up and moving or just sitting on the couch, then good luck to you. So long as you do it with:-
- Consistency: you won’t achieve anything unless you do it a lot.
- Perseverance: This links back with consistency. If you’re one of these people that gets knocked off your training schedule by the slightest change in your daily routine, then you’re going to struggle.
- Progress: At some point you’re going to have to get outside your comfort zone. If you’ve been rocking up to the beginners body pump class for the last 3 years then it’s time to make a change! Success requires ACTIVELY trying to get better!
What is The Physical Training Company’s vision?
Simply, to get more people enjoying the training process.
Everything we do (with a few exceptions) is focussed on building a fun and friendly community of people who can train hard together in and out of the gym.
What do you offer?
Our key services are:
- Semi-private group training: This is our small group training environment of around 4-6 people all training together during the same session but with individual programs. We believe it’s a nicer, more enjoyable and a more motivating way to train.
- ‘The Training Room’: This is our take on the larger group, high intensity circuit class concept.
- The PTC Outdoor Club: At the end of every week we take a group out on some outdoor excursion or competition, in previous weeks we’ve done kayaking, mountain biking, hiking, 10k Desert Road Runs and the Dubai Marathon.
Details and videos of our services can be found on www.thephysicaltrainingcompany.ae
What does a day look like for Matt when it comes to nutrition and training?
For the last year or so I’ve been on a bit of an endurance spree, quite a bit of long distance running in the form of 10k’s, half marathons and the Dubai Marathon to finish it off. So over the last year I’ve generally trained twice per day, with weight training in the morning and cardio in the evenings and weekends.
As far as the nutrition went, I initially weighed in at 96kg at 15% body fat (I had just finished going through a few months of trying to get strong) when I decided to start the endurance phase which, in the past, has been too heavy for me to safely run as. So I dropped my calories from around 2500kcal to 1800kcal and got down to 86kg at 10% body fat. Generally, the meals were an even split of carbs/proteins/fat bar pre and post running sessions where I would up the carbs.
As far as supplements go my staples are normally Magnesium, Vitamin-D3, Probiotics and a tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar.
What do you want the people of Dubai to know about the Physical Training Company?
That we actually, genuinely care. Seems like a cheesy answer but my business partners and I love training and we want our clients to love, and reap the rewards, of training too. There is a certain grace and confidence that comes from being physically fit and strong and more importantly a desire to self-improve; it’s not uncommon to find that once people get their training, nutrition and lifestyle in sync and start to see real results, this fog lifts from their minds and they start really believing that they can in fact change things about themselves, after which, they start making more positive decisions in all aspects of their lives.
About Matt
Matt has been working in the Strength & Conditioning/Fitness industry for nearly a decade, gaining an undergraduate and postgraduate degree in Exercise Physiology. As an avid believer that education is only useful when combined with lots of experience, Matt has made a point of pursuing varied roles within the industry as a Personal Trainer, Strength & Conditioning Coach and Physiologist for numerous British Olympics teams, University academic/sports programmes and professional teams and athletes. His current interests now reside in the business side of the Fitness industry as co-owner of The Physical Training Company, a Dubai-based fitness solutions company, and as a Product Education Specialist for the American gym equipment manufacturer, Cybex.
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