Philly’s Photoshoot Prep

“What can I say about Matt the man has the world of knowledge. Last year I wanted to take on a massive challenge “A photo shoot”, something that would really push me to my limits and I did it. It wasn’t easy, I loved fast food, I loved drinking but I loved training. I was sick of being in the vicious circle of training and eating healthy 5 days of the week and throwing it all away at the weekends. With Matt’s knowledge and guidance I managed to lose 23 pounds and get into shape to stand in front of a camera. It changed my perspective on life. I felt like I could achieve anything I wanted if I just put my mind to it. If you had asked people could I do it, they would have laughed. If you asked Matt he would have said yes. That’s the difference with Matt, he really believes in his clients.

This year I went back to do the shoot again, I had put on about a stone from the shoot last year to Christmas. I can only put this down to my lack of goal setting after the shoot. I never pushed on from it. Instead, I went back to training inconsistently, not watching my food and this resulted in putting back on some weight I trained so hard to lose. My goal this year was to smash my photos from last year and I did ???? I was 8 pounds in better shape than the year previous.

What changed this year versus the year previous? My mind and my attitude. If I had a setback I got on with it, I didn’t punish myself, I trusted what Matt was telling me because I know from the year previous, the man knows what he’s talking about. The one thing I would say is I thought this year would be easier. It WASN’T. It was much harder than the year previous. I had changed jobs which meant I was out with clients a lot during the shoot. I would have to put more thought around my meal planning and get comfortable not drinking with clients when out. Stress and fatigue was something I hadn’t factored in. I had to listen to my body if I felt I wouldn’t get the most out of my training I would have an active rest day, I would go for a walk or a run. This is something Matt always told me, rest and recovery is as important if not more important than training. If it was the year previous I would have trained on days I didn’t feel up to it and it would have had a knock on effect on my food choices.

To me, Matt is more than a PT. He listens to his clients and helps change their attitude and mindset to allow them to achieve their goals. Everyone can train 7 days a week for an hour, but it takes a lot more for people to change their eating habits, understand their body, their mind their week spots. For anyone who would like to take on a challenge and get in front of a camera for Charity, then Matt’s your man. If you think you can’t do it well then look at me. When I started working with Matt I was 193 pounds. Today I am 158 and maintaining that weight comfortably.”

– Philly Cullen