It’s been a month since we started training with Tim and Leon of Tim
Gold Fitness and already we feel the difference. The variety of training
as much as the personal approach with the guys is probably what has
struck us the most. The training tales place at their stunning villa,
where everything they need to put us through our paces is there. The one
thing that has struck me about our sessions is how fast they go, the
guys make it interesting and with the odd bit of banter flying back and
forward throughout the workout, they are also fun.
Week one saw us enjoying resistance training for the first time. After a
proper stretch, which starts every session, we get to work. Using towels
and their own strength, they put us through a variety of exercises. The
bicep curl for example sees us grip the towel and work against their
resistance to complete the curl and on the way down, provide out own
resistance to stop them returning to the starting position easily, hence
the name of the training I guess. We adopt the same routine with every
exercise, meaning we are working twice as hard as we would be just lifting
weights in the gym. As well as the resistance aspect of the work out,
there is also an emphasis put on improving balance and when the workout is
completed we stretch for a good 15 mins, another discipline that is
important at Tim Gold fitness. It’s an enjoyable workout, one that flies
by but also one where you know you are working hard.
Week two and we are up on the roof of the stunning Gold villa and the view
is spectacular. We can see right across the countryside and over to Dalt
Villa. This session we will be working mainly on Body Balance and
stretching. Tim takes the first session and runs us through some tricky
balance enhancing exercises. This is another example of what sets Tim Gold
fitness apart from other training regimes, the variety of the training is
important, we are only in our second week and we are covering a discipline
that I have never tried before in all the years I have been flitting in
and out of gyms. The personal interaction is clearly an important one and
it adds motivation to get the work out done properly. Leon takes over for
the second part of the session and gives us several great stretching
exercises. It’s clear we have to work on our balance and stretching
techniques but, even at our level, we feel the benefit immediately.
Week three and we move from the main gym area around the pool to the
tennis court below, where Tim has laid out a circuits course. Eight
different exercises in the rotation to be done twice. Luckily it’s not the
hottest day in Ibiza and there is a good bit of cloud cover, Tim informs
us that he likes using the circuits but the weather in the height of the
season restricts the use of them. Circuits’ works everything, obviously
the core takes the brunt of the exercise but using the TRX we also work
chest and back and with the ropes, we are challenged to pull Tim towards
us, not the easiest thing as he is pulling away from us at the same time!
Some sprints in between the cones break up the pain slightly, although
they do leave is out of breath and finishing up with abdominal stretching
sit ups as Tim throws the medicine ball at us just about finishes us off!
This session is a much tougher cardio work out that the others and, once
again, provides more variety.
Week four sees us return to the tennis court for a slight variation on the
circuits for the first half of the session before Leon takes over for some
kick boxing. The circuits incorporate some of the exercises from the
previous session so we have a good idea what we are doing, although there
are a few abdominal exercises thrown into to the mix. The scissors, using
then TRX and stretching our abs is a personal favourite, he says
sarcastically. The interaction between us and Tim and Leon while we are
training really adds to the experience, we work hard throughout but enjoy
a bit of banter along the way. It adds a competitive edge to the training
and makes us work that bit harder. They do get involved in the exercises
too, so they are not just standing around barking orders at us for an
hour. Next up, after a not so gentle circuit warm up, we head upstairs to
the side of the pool for some basic kickboxing. But not before we do some
preparatory stretching first. We work on some punches before adding them
together to make a combination, then the same with kicks, before having a
full range of movements. Leo holds the pads and doesn’t look too worried
when I am attacking. It’s fair to say that he braces himself much more
when he’s on the end of some punches and kicks from Charlie!
Our first month of training has flown in, a combination of a great variety
of sessions and the craziness of closing party season, where time
disappears. As Ibiza settles down to post summer calm, Tim and Leon are
preparing diet plans and looking to step our training up to three sessions
a week. Their personal approach to training is refreshing, they have a
vested interest in making sure that we perform well every time we train,
and the programme that they construct will deliver the results that we are
looking for, if we stick to the regime. When you see the amount of effort
that they put in on our behalf, there is extra motivation to make sure we
live up to their expectations, for me, this is the sign of a great
training relationship. Watch this space…
