January 2017 www.womanthismonth.com 38 Following 15 years in the British Army and as a semi-pro footballer, Paul entered the fitness industry in 2000 and, after working in the UK as a trainer and health club manager, he moved to Bahrain in 2008. With numerous fitness qualifications under his belt including Level 3 personal trainer and Les Mills instructor, he’s on a mission to help the island start 2017 fitter and stronger with workouts that can be done by everyone. He says: “Health and fitness, as a whole, has blossomed over the past eight years, and people’s understanding of their health has risen rapidly due to more knowledge and more facilities becoming available to work out. “Over the past 12 months I’ve created various group training boot camps around Bahrain, both indoors and out. Boot camp group training is proving more and more popular not only in Bahrain, but around the world. Why? Because a boot camp workout offers you two main ingredients – variety and variable intensity. The variety comes in the form of multiple exercises either using body weight or equipment. Variable intensity simply means you work at your own pace and fitness level. “Having multiple exercises means that, during the class, you will work all major muscle groups, ensuring you get the most effective full-body workout. Within a onehour class, you will have achieved cardio, strength, endurance, coordination and balance training. Going back to variable intensity, I ensure all exercises are achievable for everyone of all fitness levels. It’s crucial to ensure everyone can get the very best from the session. Therefore, the hardened hardcore people can work out alongside someone who may be exercising for the first time, and everyone leaves with their expectations met.” Paul adds that one last important ingredient of any fitness programme is making sure it’s fun! “With a lot of years behind me in this industry, I see success come from enjoying your workout with a smile on your face; oh, and not forgetting rosy cheeks and a little sweat too!” At present Paul runs various female-only morning boot camps of around 25-30 people. He says: “They may or may not have known each other before but are now all friends. Boot camps really create a team spirit and everyone encourages and motivates each other. This, I have to say, is totally unique to boot camp environments.” For those who can’t get to a boot camp, personal training is another option which Paul says is an effective way of achieving your goals, whether they are weight loss, conditioning, strength training or recovering from an injury. But you must be realistic about your expectations. He explains: “A good trainer will educate first, motivate second – setting achievable short-term goals is crucial; walk before you can run et cetera. “You are never too young or too old to make a choice to become healthier and fitter; it’s about making that choice and sticking to it, even when the going gets tough. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.” And Paul is keen to point out that ultimately people can do all this on their own as well. He says: "Again, set yourself a realistic goal and break it down into small chunks. Ideally set a target for the next four weeks and so on. This way you don’t become disillusioned if things are not happening at the speed you want; short goals are easy to adjust or change if things are going well or badly.” If you’re adopting fitness as a way to lose weight, he encourages altering your thinking to work towards changing your diet rather than going on a diet. His advice is: “Try this simple philosophy that I have used with every client. Your body only needs a specific volume of food to perform the things you want it to do. If your body was a racing car and your daily life consists of 100 laps of a track, then put 100 laps of food into your body. If you put in 90 laps of food, you will lose weight; if you put in 110 laps of food, you will gain weight. It’s pretty simple really.” g FITNESS | interview Boot camp boss and personal trainer Paul Hamblin talks workout fun and achieving fitness goals. Paul Hamblin Putting The Boot In PAUL’S FIVE SIMPLE EXERCISES TO DO AT HOME l Squat up and down for one minute, rest 30 seconds, repeat three times. Push-ups on your knees for 30 seconds, rest 30 seconds, repeat three times. l Plank/bridge for as long as you can maintaining a flat back, rest 30 seconds, repeat three times. l Tricep dips on a chair for 30 seconds, rest 30 seconds, repeat three times. l Jumping jacks for 30 seconds, rest 30 seconds, repeat three times. This simple workout can be adjusted if you find it a little hard, by increasing your rest time. It can be made harder by reducing your rest time.
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