Jill
I started training with Andy after 2 friends recommended him to me as someone who could help me with my health improvement programme. Having been advised to lose weight I waited until I had shed 2 stone then contacted him. I am not sure why I waited because the one thing Andy does not do is judge people. At our first meeting, Andy came to our house, no hard sell, just a willingness to listen. I told him all my problems; high BP, raised sugar levels, poor balance, dodgy knee and ankle, bad back, dropped arches the list goes on… I held nothing back. He radiated confidence in what he could do for me and went away to let me think it over. There was never any doubt. I signed up and started training with him. He developed a varied, personal and progressive programme backed up with blogs and texts. I continued to lose weight but more importantly my body shape changed to one I was proud of. Andy monitored my progress and I never felt he pushed me beyond my limits but constantly challenged me. I was confident going into the gym and even enjoyed it. In time I went to his bootcamp sessions and met some wonderful people of all ages and whilst I was certainly one of the oldest at 58 then, I was never made to feel like it. I loved my sessions with Andy, we put the world to rights and he helped me to see that exercise was making a difference.
I still have some problems but the improvement in my back and knees is great and 3 years on, whilst not having regular 1:1 sessions, Andy’s influence is still with me. I go to the gym on my own, I know what I am doing and there is a little Andy sitting on my shoulder gently pushing me to do a bit better. I read all his blogs as they remind me of what I do know but do not always put into practice.
Andy has made a big impact on my life and I now plan my week around exercise, but more than that, he did it in such a way that I did not resent being told what to do [teachers are poor students]. I admire him for who he is and what he has achieved in a life that was not handed to him on a silver platter. Most of all I made a good friend and was very grateful that he made me squat, lunge, plank, cycle and god dammit even run!
Andy Ciarvella; Simply THE BEST!
Jill