Jo McKenzie Personal Training

Another one of my explanations on why I may differ from other PTs.

You have to think of the history and background of people when you start working with them. Have they come for a disordered background? Have they done a lot of work on not being all about the numbers, which you could potentially ruin. Or feed an obsession more?

Again, you have to think is there little faces watching their mum weigh themselves in the n**e every morning?

These people are not high level athletes, that need to be in the prime condition of their life all the time: that just isn't sustainable. They are mums, sisters, business people, the fun aunties, dads and carers etc. Most are training for fun... So that's exactly what it should be. FUN 😬

Don't even get me started on those still using BMI like the NHS system... Not giving people surgeries they desperately need because their bmi is too high 😳 please get with the times!

I often have requests for food plans so wanted to explain that in more detail. Also, explains why I might differ from other PTs. Each one has pros and cons, its just about choosing the right PT for you, your history, lifestyle and barriers.

I often try to think about the family that the person has, if they are a role model to anyone. Could the way the role model is with food impact how they think about food. How many little people eyes are watching. Remember they see everything! Ask yourself, if a 13 year old girl, in the midst of teenage life, with all the social media presence and pressures there are nowadays, sees you cutting out sugar/carbs or weighing out every piece of food, do you think that could have the possibility to impact how they see food?

Wee spread in the Courier today, giving women in sport the recognition they deserve 💖

* ⚡Valhalla Ladies PB Day 2024 ⚡*

I am bursting with pride for this group of ladies yesterday. 11 participants; all ages, all abilities, all body shapes, all together in one safe and supportive environment.

We saw lifetime PBs, postpartum PBs, matched PBs, failed lifts, easy lifts. We even saw a 4 year old with her own kids barbell, obviously enspired by what she saw. ❤️

We raised £220 for the Junior Glamis Highland Games and Women's Aid.

The Junior Highland Games requires funding from events like this to be able to create pathways and continuity for the younger generations.

I was beyond pleased to be able to support Women's Aid to help provide life saving services and build towards a life where domestic and sexual violence is not tolerated.

Congratulations to all who took part. A special thanks to the spotters , and a last minute stand in from , who helped the whole day run smooth.

I hope this is the first of many.

Thanks to all who competed at the first Women's PB Day AT Valhalla WLC.

Some amazing numbers, big lifts and I couldn't be prouder.

We raised £220 for the Junior Strathmore Highland Games and Women's Aid Scotland.

Well done 😁

2 sleeps....

⚡⚡Super excited to announce I will be running a Women's Personal Best fundraiser at Valhalla WLC. We will be raising money for the local Junior Highland Games and Scottish Women's Aid Charity. ⚡⚡

This is the first women's only lifting event to be held here and I am super excited. I hope it breaks down the barriers women face when entering a gym, allow them to gain confidence and get a buzz from the support from others. Maybe even encourage them to take part in our annual Valhalla Classic Powerlifting Competition.

This is not a competition, there will be no winner - this is about you and your own journey and own achievements . Just a bit of fun, get the adrenaline pumping and raise some money for some great causes along the way.

We will have a referee there on the day to be on hand to add any of the competition commands, if the participant would like an insight to what that would be like - this is optional.

You do not have to be an experienced lifter to take part, however some experience of the three main lifts (Squat, Bench, Deadlift) is required as there will be no coaching given on the day. You do not have to take part in all three, choose 1, 2 or all events - it's up to you!

If you have any concerns, questions or to register please message me. Buzzing for this!

🥰 The smile says it all 🥰

Women can be anything. Women can be delicate AND strong. Women can be masculine AND feminine. Women can be sweaty AND prim and proper.

Client Sally was so surprised to hear she had visible biceps and delts. I loved how happy this made her.

⚡⚡Super excited to announce I will be running a Women's Personal Best fundraiser at Valhalla WLC. We will be raising money for the local Junior Highland Games and Scottish Women's Aid Charity. ⚡⚡

This is the first women's only lifting event to be held here and I am super excited. I hope it breaks down the barriers women face when entering a gym, allow them to gain confidence and get a buzz from the support from others. Maybe even encourage them to take part in our annual Valhalla Classic Powerlifting Competition.

This is not a competition, there will be no winner - this is about you and your own journey and own achievements . Just a bit of fun, get the adrenaline pumping and raise some money for some great causes along the way.

We will have a referee there on the day to be on hand to add any of the competition commands, if the participant would like an insight to what that would be like - this is optional.

You do not have to be an experienced lifter to take part, however some experience of the three main lifts (Squat, Bench, Deadlift) is required as there will be no coaching given on the day. You do not have to take part in all three, choose 1, 2 or all events - it's up to you!

If you have any concerns, questions or to register please message me. Buzzing for this!

Exciting news coming soon.... 👀

Great day today down at Victory's Strongest in Bathgate today - smoothly run day and a great atmosphere.

So unbelievable proud of my client Ashley, come on so far in such a short time. Personal bests all round... Same for me too 😬😬 I think we are a dream team 👍

Such a high standard of strong, powerful women 😍💪

⚫🟢

Today marked the day of the first ever Jo McKenzie Personal Training Strong Girls Seminar... I couldn't believe how quick the time went! 😅 I hope all the ladies got what they needed from the day. I throughly enjoyed meeting you all, and I hope this starts you off on your journey to implementing weights into your lifestyle. If you missed it, keep your eyes peels for some more very exciting events - watch this space! Thank you to all participants and to Ashley our camera lady 📸

Last space filled thanks to those who shared.... Keep eyes peeled for future seminars 😍👀👀

1 SPACE LEFT

🫄🫄

Time for the next competition prep for Ashley 💪! Having to think outside of the box to enable Ashley to use equipment she will be using! Here we are using Fat Grips on the normal barbell to mimic the Axl bar she will be using on comp day. Exciting things to come from Ashley, I can feel it ❤️ let's do this!!

⚡Join us ⚡

This would be suitable for:
🥇Complete beginners with no gym experience
🥇Runners looking to add strength training to their regime
🥇Gym goers unsure where to start with resistance/freeweights
🥇Any age of participant 16+ - you're never too old to start, weight training becoming more and more important to avoid fraility and conditions like osteoporosis

Please message me if interested or if more information needed. Please share if you can too.

Exciting 🎉🎉

🚴🚴 4 spaces left for Indoor Group Cycling tonight at Forfar community campus 🚴🚴

Even if you have never tried this class before, come along and give it a go. It can be completely adjusted to fit any fitness level.

Any questions give me a message. Phone the campus or use the app to book 👌

Let's take a minute for the leg growth🤣... Physical growth but also mental growth. First picture is the start of my fitness journey just starting to introduce strength training. Second picture is when I thought I had to strength train 7 days a week wondering why I was always exhausted and not building any muscle. Last picture is today - happier, strongest I've ever been, strength training 3-5 times a week, staying active on rest days but not beating myself up if I miss a day. If any of this resonates with you, please get in touch 😊

Fantastic news from my anonymous client who's just given birth 😍 she had other babies so had births to compare to - this was her first time training all the way through. Well done gal!!

If you or someone you know is looking for advice for training in and around pregnancy - get in touch!!!

Giants Live last weekend - the atmosphere was electric, the lifts were impressive and it's definitely given me the fire in my belly for my own training.... Pulling out the Vipers on first go on Friday and Pull up PBs on Sunday 😅 Thank you to Ashley for the invite! The stoltman brothers are incredible to watch 😍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Good evening 🌞

I wanted to write about two other passions of mine as an introduction to those who don't know me.

Postpartum Rehabilitation:

After any major surgery, you are sent home from hospital with leaflets about aftercare and the do's and don't's, and a follow up appointment with a physiotherapist.... And for some odd reason after childbirth you are not. There is a huge gap within the medical system that women are just left without knowing what exercises are safe to do after birth, which are to be avoided and when to restart exercise. Every birth is different so again every recovery is different, but yet women are left with no choice but to Google things when they are finally feeling up to exercising. I have spoken to countless women who don't even know what physical state childbirth has left their bodies in and speaking from personal experience, my 6 week postpartum check up was done over the phone 🙃 with the only question about my physical health being "Are you feeling OK?"🫣. I had a complicated birth and then a second major surgery like many other women - thank goodness I had my knowledge from my qualification to fill in the gaps. I would like to be able to bridge this gap for women.

Daily tasks becoming easier:

Sometimes goals don't have to be big and complicated. I am here for the small wins 🙌 I am here for the "I managed to carry the 12kg bag of dog food in from the car" or the "I was able to climb the stairs without holding the handrail" or "I took a fall in the woods with the dog and was able to get back up and walk home unscathed". These may seem simple, but for a lot of people these tasks may have seemed difficult before adding in strength training to their lives. They may have caused injuries or become out of breath before. These are the goals I love the most.

If you think you need help with either of these two things or anything else gym related. Please get in touch.

Jo