Meet Alex Adams, Strength and Conditioning Coach. First and foremost Alex is motivated by his love of physical training and his desire to share that passion with others.
‘I want people to feel success and overcome goals that seemed miles away in the beginning. I enjoy teaching and seeing clients learn about fitness AND themselves in the gym.’
Life before PerformancePro
Alex has been a personal trainer since 2006, starting out in his home town of Hitchin – just north of London. Soon after leaving school, he realised he wasn’t cut out for a regular 9-5 job and needed something physical to occupy himself. When he was 20, Alex moved to London with just enough for a couple months’ rent. He soon took a self-employed role as a personal trainer at a commercial gym.
‘I was lucky, the other trainers took me under their wings and I learned more and more about strength and conditioning. Initially, this was an interest born out of my own need to be better at sports. I had played football from around 5yrs old. When I moved to London at 20, I discovered boxing and weightlifting.’
Alex’s interest in strength and conditioning continued to develop, alongside a growing ambition to share his knowledge and help support others. At 25, he decided to study for his BSc in Strength and Conditioning Science at St Mary’s, still working throughout as a self-employed personal trainer.
In 2014, Alex graduated among the top of his class and achieved the outstanding academic achievement award for his dissertation on injury prevention and landing mechanics.
Alex and PerformancePro
Alex has been with PerformancePro for nearly ten years. In an industry where staff turnover can be notoriously high, especially amongst trainers and coaches, we were keen to ask Alex why he finds PerformancePro exceptional to the norm.
‘I first heard about PerformancePro from one of my lecturers at Uni. He knew directors Mat Grove and Dan Boulle, both of whom had studied for their MSc masters degrees at St Mary’s. Dan is also a guest lecturer on one of the undergraduate programmes. My lecturer suggested I get in touch with them, so I rang that day and Mat invited me down.
‘PerformancePro had only been open a few weeks but as soon as I walked in, I could feel the difference. I immediately handed my notice in at the commercial gym. Five years later and PerformancePro is still more than a cut above the rest in terms of the collective knowledge, experience and commitment of the team AND the facility itself.’
From PerformancePro’s point of view, it was clear to director Dan Boulle that Alex had what it takes and still does… almost!
‘Alex is outstanding, it’s as simple as that. His technical ability and knowledge never stops impressing. At the risk of sounding like a dodgy dating site, he is also great fun, a good friend and totally dedicated. Sadly for Alex, he’s not as good looking as either Mat or myself but I guess everyone has an Achilles heel!’
And away from the gym?
Even away from the gym, PerformancePro has played a significant role in Alex’s life. He married a Physiotherapist he met working here and now has two children!
Needless to say, their lives tend to revolve around training and talking shop. Alex still loves his boxing, both watching and training occasionally, but his main focus sport-wise is weightlifting. His wife is from New Zealand, so they are looking for an opportunity to visit again now that the pandemic has subsided.
Alex’s fitness
Typically Alex trains 4-5 times per week with 1 to 2 longer weightlifting sessions (up to 2hrs). The other sessions fit around training other people. In the past, Alex has trained twice per day 4/5 days per week, but he has other more pressing priorities these days!
Top 3 Do’s
- Variety – do things you enjoy as long as they can bring the results you’re aiming for
- Focus – stick to one goal at a time. This is the key to success at any level
- Work ethic – be prepared to make the effort. Many people think it is easier than it really is and get disheartened when it takes longer than expected.
Top 3 Don’ts
- Skip meals – see eating as fuelling training sessions
- Stress out – worrying about results doesn’t get results. Stress is the enemy of recovery, a key factor in training.
- Complain about results you didn’t get from the work you didn’t put in.
Inspiration
Alex loves to read and listen to audiobooks, mainly selecting business/self-help type material. This keeps him motivated to work hard and be successful. His good friends and colleagues also inspire him, especially when they talk about their work.
Training-wise, Alex admits to watching A LOT of weightlifting videos, mostly on social media. He likes to train in different settings to keep things fresh. This also reminds him he’s still got a lot of work to do!