Here is a great Testimonial which ties the work Emma does together. It is on the New Energy Fitness Website – a fabulous gym in Winchester that we are based from.
Over the years I have joined several gyms and after a bright start my attendances have always dwindled away partly due to a lack of clear purpose and partly due to boredom. However when I joined NEF in May last year I did at least have a strong sense of purpose. This was to improve my fitness, stamina and core stability so that at the age of 66, and having recently retired, I could cope with sailing a couple of Legs of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race despite having no real previous sailing experience. The Legs were across the South Atlantic and the North Pacific so I was expecting them to be demanding. The N Pacific in particular exceeded my expectations with bitter cold and winds up to 70 knots with their accompanying seas. I have no doubt that my time at the gym made a really significant difference to my ability to cope with this. In particular having Emma Westmacott as my personal trainer was critically important even though it sounds embarrassingly pretentious. She is a professional sailor who regularly races in different parts of the world and was thus able to work out what I needed and tailor a programme to meet my needs. Having regular sessions with her maintained my motivation and ensured my programme was constantly adjusted to reflect my progress. When we first met she explained that she was a ‘stick rather than a carrot’ but in fact turned out to be a perfect blend of the two. Through her coaching I was able to achieve performances in the gym that pushed me beyond anything that I would have ever even attempted on my own. This experience and the insight it provided proved hugely important during the races. For example when we were battling to haul down our large yankee sail in extreme wind and sea conditions which clearly did not want us to succeed I thought on more than one occasion that we weren’t going to make it, but we did. My greater physical fitness helped of course but, importantly, so did the knowledge gained in the gym that I could always heave a bit harder and keep going even when I felt desperate to stop. I think that this was one of the most important things I learned and not something I had expected when I began with Emma. My oceans are now raced and I will not be sailing them again! I am still attending the gym regularly and benefitting from Emma’s continuing coaching. There are several reasons for this. First was my need to get my body working again after the hammering it took in the N. Pacific. Second is my desire to maintain a level of fitness which undoubtedly made me feel more active and energetic in everyday life before I went sailing. Third, I really enjoy visiting the NEF gym. This isn’t something I remember being the case previously when visiting gyms! There is a wonderfully friendly atmosphere inspired by Helen Moseley’s attitude. You are always warmly welcomed by the staff even if you don’t know them and the other users also seem very friendly. Overall this creates a relaxed and supportive ambience where you don’t feel embarrassed by your perceived shortcomings. It feels like a club rather than somewhere you go to do the business and then leave. At Emma’s suggestion I have just added yoga classes to my mix for the first time ever. Their encouragement to bend my body into positions it has never experienced before has already improved my flexibility and they have made their own unique contribution to my general feeling of wellbeing. Thank you to everybody.
– Peter
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