Could you tell us about the Calon Lan Personal Training story – what inspired you to start it up?
I started Calon Lan Personal Training last year after completing a Personal Training course at Lilleshall National Sports Institute in Shropshire. My enthusiasm for health and fitness was reignited when I started training for a triathlon back in 2008. I had up until that time always struggled with my weight and I didn’t lead the healthiest of lifestyles. Training for the triathlon improved my mood, gave me more energy and made my more conscious of my nutrition. I was suddenly feeling a lot fitter and healthier and this inspired me to enter more triathlons, half marathons and a full marathon in Brighton in April 2011.
I had myself benefited in so many ways since changing my exercise and eating habits, I was fitter, I had more energy, I was more confident and I was happy with how I looked for the first time in years. I decided that I wanted to help other people achieve the same results. I was also concerned and frustrated by what I heard in the media about exercise, nutrition and fad diets and I wanted to help people achieve long term results through healthy eating and exercise.
What’s the ethos behind Calon Lan PT? Is there a particular service/services you aim to offer, and what makes your business unique?
My mission is to help as many people in Cardiff and the surrounding area achieve and maintain a happier and healthier lifestyle through exercise and lifestyle coaching.
A lot of Personal Trainers train their clients in gyms but I wanted to offer an alternative experience. I don’t think that the gym environment suits everybody and many people, particularly if they’re unfit or overweight feel intimidated in that environment. I therefore offer a mobile PT service training clients in the comfort of their own home/garden or in a local park. I can train anybody who wants to lose weight and/or increase their fitness but I do specialise in fat loss. I therefore combine resistance/strength training with high intensity interval / cardio training which are the two most effective types of training for increasing fat loss and fitness.
As well as exercise it’s really important to look after the nutrition side of things. It is so true that you cannot out train a bad diet. I therefore offer a free consultation to clients before we start training. This is a great opportunity to discuss nutrition, what’s good and bad, what they want to achieve with Personal Training and how we are going to go about doing it.
Why did you choose to open your business in Roath?
I live in Roath and as I offer a mobile service I can train people in Roath Park or wherever is most convenient for the client.
What sort of response have you had from customers so far?
My clients have seen some amazing results. I have had clients drop a dress size after just a few weeks training.
I also take measurements and body composition analysis at the beginning of training so that we can easily track progress. As well as weight loss my clients have spoken about feeling more confident, having more energy, being able to sleep a lot better and feeling generally happier. There are some great client testimonials on my website.
Do you have any 2013 plans you can share with us?
This year I have started offering partner and group PT for up to four clients. This is a great option for people who want to get all the benefits, motivation and knowledge of personal training whilst sharing the costs. There is more information about this on my website.
I have also started offering supermarket tours for clients to help them with their nutrition so that they get the best results possible from our personal training sessions.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
As well as offering mobile PT I also run a fitness and fat loss boot camp in Whitchurch called Smash the Fat. The boot camp is an indoor boot camp and as well as offering fitness classes three times a week I also offer nutritional advice to my boot campers.
Sian Thomas
Follow Sian on Twitter here
Find Calon Lan PT on Facebook here and Smash the Fat Cardiff here
Images copyright Sian Thomas
