MARK DE ARRIBA-SMITH, PERSONAL TRAINER & PRECISION NUTRITION PRO COACH, BSc(Hons), ADipPT, PN1

Featured in OriGym's Best Personal Trainer Websites

My 8 Step Success System

Becoming a Personal Trainer was an obvious and natural choice for me as I am passionate about healthy living and sharing my expertise and knowledge with people.

I worked for a number of corporate gyms as well as at an award winning world top 100 hotel at the start of my career but I felt that I could give more value to my clients which went beyond the little time they spent at the gym.

​As one of the youngest trainers to become freelance, I've been coaching busy, everyday people in healthy lifestyle living since 2012.

My training ethos is to encourage, inspire, educate and support clients to achieve the best version of themselves, in a progressive, enjoyable, safe and effective manner.

I specialise in weight management & racket sports conditioning.​

Step 1:
Free Consultation

Before starting your fitness journey we will book a 60 minute consultation, either over the phone or at my private studio, where we will get an opportunity to talk about your needs, your goals, lifestyle habits and your diet and for us to establish if we are a good fit to work together. I will prescribe the best path forward for you to progress and achieve more than you thought possible.

Step 2:
HEALTH ASSESSMENT & FITNESS TESTING

Before you can start a training and nutritional plan, or at least one that's actually going to be effective, I will carry out a number of tests to establish your current state of health and fitness. You see there isn't a blueprint for weight management. How you need to train and what you need to eat is different for everyone, even if the goal is the same. It's going to depend on your age, gender, somatotype (body type) and lifestyle. So...how can someone possibly give you a bespoke nutritional and exercise programme (not a useless general plan) if they don't know anything about your body? How can you track the effects of your training and diet if you don't have a benchmark? Here is what I will aim to find out about you:

• Resting Heart Rate
• Resting Blood Pressure
• Height/Weight
• Body Composition (Body fat/Skeletal muscle/Water)
• Visceral Fat
• BMR (Basic Metabolic Rate)
• Cardiorespiratory fitness
• Cardiorespiratory recovery rate
• Muscular Strength
• Muscular Endurance
• Flexibility
• Posture

Step 3:
LIFESTYLE ASSESSMENT & PLAN

Did you know that 80% of your weight loss or weight management results come from the time you spend out of the gym?! Lets say you train at the gym 4 times a week for 1 hour at a time, that amounts to less than 2% of your week. Therefore, if you don't have a suitable plan for your time outside the gym then you are severely compromising your results.
​
I go beyond the gym walls and ensure you are living a lifestyle that will help to get you into shape and feeling great!

Step 4:
NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS & PLAN

Honestly - 70% of losing weight comes down to your nutrition.
If you are not following a suitable nutritional system, or worse still are on a fad diet, then it doesn't matter how hard you train in the gym, you will not get the long lasting results you're looking for.
I will give you individual nutritional guidance which :

• Doesn't require you to starve yourself or cut out carbs like a lot of diets, causing your metabolism to slow right down and make you feel tired and hungry all day long.
• Doesn't require eating broccoli all day - You'll still be able to have the foods you enjoy.
• Doesn't involve following set meal plans - You'll have flexibility and choice on what you eat.
• Doesn't require you to count calories or weigh your food.

​It's pretty simple really. You'll quickly create habits and make nutrition a lifestyle, not a diet.

Step 5:
eating strategy plan

​Lots of people looking to improve their eating try following a meal plan.

The problem is meal plans are usually unrealistic and not a long-term strategy.

No matter how enthusiastic you are, meal plans can be tough to follow unless you can work your whole life around them, which most people can't.

This is normal. Life can get in the way.

• People get busy,
• You're not always prepared,
• Your children require attention,
• You have to work late sometimes,
• It’s always someone’s birthday (or a special occasion), and
• Sometimes you just don’t feel like having a green drink at 7am.

So, instead of prescribing yet another unrealistic eating regimen, I offer valuable tools and methods to help you overcome any difficulties in following my nutritional system.

Step 6:
FOOD SHOPPING COACHING

If you're going to start a lifestyle of healthy nutrition you need to know what foods to buy. Do you know what you should be looking for in the supermarket? If you're going to buy a yoghurt for example, can you identify which the healthiest choice is?  Do you understand the nutritional labels and ingredients on the foods you're buying to enable you to confidently identify whether an item packaged as 'healthy' truly is or not? How do you avoid the temptations of buying junk food?

You need to be confident with these things and making sure you're filling your fridge and cupboards with the right stuff. 

Step 7:
ONE-TO-ONE EXERCISE

Train with me in at my private studio with free parking. You will not only be training progressively and efficiently but you will also learn HOW to train.

I believe in educating my clients, so that one day they will have the motivation and knowledge to be able to train themselves safely and effectively.

​Not only will you learn techniques and training systems, but you will also learn the purpose and benefits of each element because in order to be motivated to achieve a goal you need to understand what you're doing and why you're doing it, during every step of the journey.

Step 8:
MINDSET COACHING

For many people trying to overhaul their lifestyle with nutrition and exercise, it isn't just as simple as flicking a switch.

In order to create the necessary changes and keep them going long-term it requires having the right mindset.

Two of the biggest challenges for people are building their self-belief and becoming open to changing their ways and taking on new habits.

My goal is to help you realise that the only thing stopping you from moving forward is understanding that you can change.

With mindset training I can help you set meaningful goals, change your unhealthy habits, gain willpower and motivation, plus strengthen your self-belief.