Roger Bligh

Tell us about your life before joining Vision Personal Training Lindfield?
I was working mainly in the office but with significant overseas travel.  I was not doing any particular sport, so was relying on 'incidental exercise' for fitness.

What was the state of your health and fitness when you started and what affect was this having on your life?
I was healthy but not particularly fit.  The thing that triggered me to join Christine in going to Vision was an upcoming trip to Tibet where I felt it was important to improve fitness.

What results have you achieved at Vision Personal Training Lindfield?
I initially improved fitness by a combination of cardio and weights (1/2 hour session of each a week) and was also riding a bike once a week. Through one of the other Vision clients, I started rowing at a club once a week and this slowly increased to 2 or 3 sessions a week.  At that time, I switched to only weight sessions at the gym to maintain strength and joint stability.  I could rely on rowing (also bike riding) for my cardio fitness. So after about 12 years at Vision I am fitter than I was at the start despite being quite a lot older.  The 2 sessions a week with Ibi has allowed me to maintain my muscle mass and strength (including the 'small' muscles so important for the joints).  These sessions have also helped repair damage to my shoulder in a bike fall in 2018.   

What did you find was the most useful tool at Vision?
For me, the variety of different weight exercises I do with Ibi on the Functional Trainer had been very helpful and keep up the variety!

What impact has your new health and fitness had on your new life?
Having retired in 2020, I am enjoying rowing around 4 times a week as well as some sailing.  The weights I do has really helped to maintain, muscle, and core strength as well as joint stability.  All this helps me get more out of my sports and general sense of wellbeing.

What keeps you motivated?
For me, it would be hard to stay motivated if I did not have an outside sport to focus on as well.  The combination of gym and a sport (or two) really helps.

What advice would you give to someone that is currently thinking about taking a positive step towards changing their health and fitness?
I think it is important to have an outside interest where you see a direct benefit from your time at the gym gaining fitness and strength.  This gives you the motivation to keep going to the gym over a long period.

If you were to recommend Vision Personal Training Lindfield to your friends, what would you say?
Vision Lindfield provides a very supportive "community" atmosphere, great personal trainers, a good exercise programme that you can tailor to your needs as well as plenty of other activities that you can get involved in.