Oliver Hobbs

“In the middle of the year, I had back surgery for a ruptured/sequestered disc. For a year prior to that, I’d been focused on fitness and working out a lot, so going from being quite mobile to hardly being able to move, with a longer-than-expected recovery time, was really difficult. Oliver, having suffered himself from back issues, understood what I needed. I will admit to a level of skepticism when our first first few personal training sessions were about diaphragmatic breathing as a way to ensure I provided extra protection for my back and for building core strength. But Oliver slowly introduced core exercises, and then we graduated to weights, and I have to say, the breathing techniques have made me so much more confident about my ability to exercise and even lift weights again without hurting myself. I genuinely notice a big difference in how much more effective the exercises are, too. I’m disappointed that I didn’t take the time to learn this before I got into a harder gym routine a few years ago! Oliver is patient, explains things so that they’re easily understood and he genuinely cares about making sure that you’re OK and that everything is working for you. For the last few weeks, I’ve been waking up without the tightness that I’d been feeling in my back every morning. I feel much more confident each week.”

“After my first session with Oliver, I could tell immediately that I would want to continue personal training sessions with him. Oliver went above and beyond in taking the time to know me as a person, my fitness goals, and any past injuries/problem areas. I had to wear leg braces when I was younger due to hip dysplasia, and as a result, my hips and legs have always been a weak point. To help overcome this, Oliver’s program for me helped target these problem areas, to improve both my strength and conditioning. I always look forward to going to the gym now. Oliver has helped me achieve many of my initial fitness goals such as increasing my bench, deadlift, number of push-ups and pull-ups, and weight loss. He is constantly implementing new and fun workouts to keep me motivated. I feel stronger and much more confident now. I would recommend Oliver in a heartbeat to anyone who wants to do personal training.”

“I joined the gym a while back to train with my fiancé. He had previously been paired up with personal trainer Oliver and I decided to try buddy sessions with him. I have had type 1 diabetes since I was 11 and it has had a major impact on my life; my blood sugar can be great one minute and then terrible the next. I was worried about doing the sessions together with my partner as I felt my blood sugar would impact the sessions. On top of my diabetes, I suffered from several sports injuries as a teenager (torn labrum, and separated my sternum and clavicle breaking off the cartilage), so I was scared of getting hurt again. When first discussing prior injuries and my diabetes with Oliver, I could tell instantly that he genuinely cared about my safety and wellbeing in the gym. After the first two buddy sessions, I felt very comfortable continuing. Oliver’s primary goal for me was to start with form, then work on increasing weight. He’s always very understanding if I have to take a minute to check/adjust my blood sugar if it’s too high or low. I wholeheartedly enjoy every training session and feel like I’m progressing very well. My blood sugar levels have been getting progressively more stable and I’m able to handle more weight. Because of Oliver’s help, I feel more confident and motivated than ever to keep going.”