Natalie Holmes | You First

The best decision I made!
I’m 35 and I've never been very sporty. After my back surgery due to a herniated disc, I lost strength and muscles, but I also lost confidence in my body.
I totally lost confidence in what I was able to do in terms of movements in my daily life and in terms of sport.
I became scared of doing certain movements, and underestimated myself. It was a physical issue but also a mental one.
I didn't know how and where to start. Should I go for group classes? What kind of sport? Can I run again? Is it safe? A lot of interrogations.
I started to think about having a personal trainer just for a couple of months and see how my body reacts and if I can feel better and confident enough to go to fitness classes by myself.
I was hesitating. The image I had of a personal trainer was a severe person here to train you like in the army and yelling at you like the sport teacher who traumatized you at school.
That day, a flyer caught my attention at the coffee shop “YOU FIRST – Better health, better you” with a catchphrase like “no need to wait until you’re old to get back in shape”. Maybe being personally trained could be the best option: have a tailored program that takes into account my injury and needs. The initial consultation and the first session are free, let’s try!
After the initial consultation, Natalie built a program taking into account my needs, goals, fears and budget.
Natalie never trains you with pressure, she is empathic, professional and fun. Always reliable and flexible, she can adapt easily the workout during the sessions if you realize it is unmanageable or painful for you. But she will work on your side to transform your weaknesses into strengths.
After 3 months of stretching (really needed due to the damage caused by the hernia) and 3 months of proper workout I’m so happy to see my body changing.
I train once a week with Natalie, the sessions are challenging and I can see progress from one session to another. My body is more toned, I am proud of my muscles and my shape.
My boyfriend is also very grateful. He noticed the physical improvements I did regarding my strength, my mental and the confidence I have today regarding my body.
The image I have now of a Personal Trainer is a person supporting your health and fitness goals, with no judgment, encouraging you and giving you tools towards a healthier life and well-being.
Now I am sure of the decision I made to have a personal trainer and I keep training with Natalie adding to my routine some collective fitness classes and I enjoy running again.

With motivation and determination everything is possible. No matter how much you sweat, never give up! More...

Really recommend Natalie. She did a really in-depth consultation and then created a programme for me which has worked really well on the areas I wanted to focus on. She’s very friendly and didn’t intimidate me at all (as someone who has never been to the gym/ worked out!) I am very pleased I found her. More...

Natalie is a fantastic personal trainer! She spent time asking me some key questions so she could understand my personal circumstances and designed my plan to cater for it. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I'm looking after myself properly which is thanks to a good combination of exercise support and nutrition. I've lost over a stone, got fitter (my body shape has changed, my thighs, arms and back have developed so much) and feel so much healthier. I've had back problems for a long time and had reached my heaviest weight, it was time to do something about it. From day 1, Natalie's knowledge shone through. For several months, we trained one to one, so she could educate me on how to position myself depending on which type of movements we were going to work on. Now, she prepares my session via the YouFirst app and each training plan is tailored to my requirements and goals and each exercise has a demo video attached to make sure I hit the correct form. Natalie is super reliable and whenever I've asked her a question, she has always got back to me very quickly. If you follow her advices you will get results! Don't delay, get Natalie booked today! Thank you Natalie More...

I reached out to Natalie in early summer to help motivate my fitness goals, having been through the same lockdown/WFH challenges as many others. Our 1:1 sessions have been fantastic, with excellent attention to form and increasing strength, flexibility, and posture. All of her sessions are targeted exactly to my desired targets, gaps, and injuries - every week. Would highly recommend Natalie for anyone looking for custom, progressive sessions for long-term success. More...

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Reply from Natalie Holmes | You First

Naomi, thank you so much for your kind words and for choosing me to help you achieve your fitness goals. You should be super proud of yourself from going from 0-100 literally overnight. It’s truly admirable how much movement you have started incorporating into your days and how you have managed to drag yourself out of bed and into the cold for 7am starts. I hope you have a fantastic vacation and I look forward to your return so I can challenge your booty some more! :-D

With home working and lockdown, I’d definitely become quite sloth like (!), and my fitness levels had plummeted massively. Natalie has developed a plan to help get things back on track starting with lots of mobility and posture work which has really helped with all the day-to-day aches and pains that had appeared, and prepared me for taking on cardio and strength work without any injuries (which is what happened when I tried to sort this all out by myself!) She’s been amazing and taking the time to create a plan that meets my needs and works for me, and explaining the how and why of what we’re doing which I really like. She’s been wonderfully patient, encouraging and has an excellent sense of humour – which has been essential when working with me! I would absolutely recommend her to anyone looking for a PT! More...

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Reply from Natalie Holmes | You First

Jen, I cannot thank you enough for your kind words nor emphasise what a pleasure it is training you. Your drive and commitment to the cause is truly admirable and it makes me so incredibly proud everyday when I look in the app and see that you have smashed yet another goal or completed another task. Thank you for trusting me to help you on this journey and for putting your health and fitness in my hands. Keep up the incredible work. I look forward to more laughs and seeing you smash more of your goals!

I built up the courage to ask for help in getting healthier and fitter and to loose weight, I went straight to Natalie because I knew that she would give me a very much needed kick up the bum, every week she makes the effort to fit in with my timing and gives me her everything! She doesn’t let me give up or stop all while encouraging me, in the last few weeks I’ve noticed a huge difference in my abilities to do the workouts and my endurance! All while having a catch up and a bit of gossip! What more could I ask for!! More...

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Reply from Natalie Holmes | You First

Adeline thank you so much for your kind words. I am so grateful that you chose to take the journey towards better health with me. It has been such a joy to watch you go from strength to strength. It is incredible how exercises and stretches that were once impossible for you have become possible and that you are now finding HIIT sessions easy! I love trying to challenge you and look forward to helping you smash more and more goals! Keep up the incredible work and well done for putting your health and wellness first.

I'm a 68 year old woman and I suffer with arthritis in my lower back, I constantly take ibruprofen for the pain and inflammation. I joined 11 of Natalie's free sessions. When I started my balance was shocking but, oh my gosh, what a difference I saw from the combination of her stretching and core strengthening classes. In all the classes Natalie emphasised the importance of holding in my core and squeezing my bum in to avoid pain and irritation in my hips, not just in the classes but in every day activities. I started to become really aware of my body and was conscious when I wasn’t enforcing her teachings when out walking and started automatically correcting myself.

Another thing is, I started swimming again and after a week my arthritis had started to flare up and I was getting pains in my lower back and arms. I told Natalie and she identified that the problem was probably down to tight back muscles and me not engaging my core and squeezing my bum in. She was so kind and gave me a massage with her theragun which was so painful, but very effective. I enforced her advice into my swimming and I’m now pain free again. Thank you for that Natalie. She is a very thoughtful, patient, dedicated trainer. More...

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Reply from Natalie Holmes | You First

Thank you so much for your kind words. Hearing how I have helped you makes me so incredibly happy. You should feel so proud of yourself for deciding to take this journey at 68 years old, you are such an incredible person and what an absolute inspiration!

Great person, full of positive energy...

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Reply from Natalie Holmes | You First

Thank you so much Jo! I hope to train you again in the future :-)

I couldn’t recommend any one but Nataile, after having my third child I felt vary crap about my self and my appearance but since doing live zoom workouts with Nataile I feel so much better & Iv lost 2 stone. Seriously she is amazing and I can’t wait to start our PT sessions 👍🏽 More...

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Reply from Natalie Holmes | You First

Jo, you make me so proud every week with your hard work and dedication and I am truly honoured to have you as a client! Keep up the incredible work. You’re truly inspirational.

I am a 38 year old mum of 2 who was putting off doing any kind of exercise. I had no motivation and had become extremely unfit and overweight since lockdown started. I decided to join in on the free sessions at the beginning of March and have now completed 5! I’m so glad I did, I feel like I have a lot more energy and I am not finding the exercise as hard as the first week. I have already noticed a difference in my body and feel very proud for sticking with it. Natalie is brilliant she is enthusiastic, cheerful, encouraging and Keeps you motivated. Honestly if I can do it anyone can! I weighed myself today and have lost 1.8 kg (4lbs) in a week and a half and that is without changing my diet. More...

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Reply from Natalie Holmes | You First

Your hard work and dedication is truly admirable! You should be so proud of yourself for taking the first step towards getting started because that really was probably the hardest part of the journey and yet here you are, 5 classes in and already reaping the benefits. Keep up the amazing work and know that I’m here any time you need! We’ve got this!

I cannot recommend Natalie enough, I spent last summer training with her and she is professional, knowledgeable and attentive. Our sessions were always varied and challenging we started by working on form and balance and built up to weights and strength enabling me to progress at a steady rate with confidence. Natalie has a great knowledge of everything fitness and health related and is always thinking of new ways to make exercise interesting and enjoyable! I felt and looked the best I ever have and can’t wait to work with Natalie again in the future. More...

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Reply from Natalie Holmes | You First

Thank you so much for your kind words Katey! Your dedication and motivation to 7am workouts was super impressive and your work ethic and willingness to try everything was so commendable. You really did put in the work and it really showed! I still remember the moment you rocked up in a crop down and had two abs showing. Really amazing. Well done you. Can’t wait to work with you again 😁