john baker

Qualifications: Cert IIi & IV personal training
​7 years experience in personal training, group fitness,
​athlete conditioning, run coaching & more

I love to coach. There are few things more satisfying than helping someone make a plan, work hard and achieve a goal. This, together with my love of fitness is why I enjoy being a personal trainer. After 7 years doing this I believe that no matter who you are or what limitations you face, there are ways to help you get stronger & healthier. 

On my own fitness journey I have dabbled in team sports (particularly in my teens) but my natural ability was always for endurance sports. After giving up on football at 18 I got hooked on triathlon and then my talent for bike riding led me to pursue elite road cycling in my early twenties, before giving it all away at the ripe old age of 22 to have a "normal" career! Around my 30th birthday I got back into running and through my early thirties dabbled again in triathlon which I enjoyed, but was frustrated by injuries. In the last few years trail running and obstacle course racing have been my main sports and I have had numerous Spartan Race top-ten finishes in the Elite category over the last 6 months. 

In 2011 my best mate talked me into becoming a personal trainer and later that year I started my first business venture running outdoor bootcamps. Since then I have trained thousands of people and my style of training has progressed as I have learned what works and what only has a short-term payoff. Mums and dads, kids, grandparents, elite athletes, footballers and netballers of various abilities, tennis players, marathon runners, weightloss and weight gain clients - my biggest lesson has been that everyone moves differently and everyone has their own unique set of dysfunctional movement patterns. Over time I have learned to recognise what is good smooth movement versus poor restricted movement, and have learned many tricks to help each person get moving the best they can. Often this is achieved working with physiotherapists, osteopaths and other allied health professionals.

Being 41 years old, married and father to 2 young girls I have had to discover a lot about work-life-training balance. My obstacle race training is very focused and follows a structured plan, and I take this attitude into training my clients (although I don't make them do the same sessions I do! Kettlebell carries up Nail Can Hill anybody? I didn't think so!) I also have to train around back problems which forced me into taking a full year off running and serious training in 2016. This experience has made me very adept at finding training solutions for my clients, no matter what issues they have. 

I love to motivate my Move Gym clients to pursue activities outside the gym. To me, training for fitness is pointless if it doesn't open up your world and let you experience more of life. For some this has meant being able to carry the grandkids around for the first time or doing a fun run, while others have run marathons, discovered a passion for cycling, or had the confidence to go on overseas trips.  I even had one client motivated enough to enter a bare-knuckle karate tournament! All have rediscovered physical strength & mobility which they had often given up on. The truth is your fittest days may be behind you, but your smartest days may well still be ahead!

I love the challenge of helping people achieve their goals in and out of the gym. If it sounds like I could help you, please get in touch!