Confidential’s Kev gives us the inside track on his personal fitness journey at P1 Fitness

P1 Fitness is for real people. Not Greek gods and goddesses. People like you. People, in fact, like Confidential’s very own Kev. He’s just a regular bloke and although he might not be the He-Man from Heaton Park just yet, he’s looking good and he’s loving his sessions at P1 Fitness.

P1 Fitness isn’t one of those total body transformation-type places. It’s not for Love Island wannabes. But if you’re serious about sorting yourself out, you’ll find your health, fitness and overall well-being improve no end.

After starting the 30-Day Accelerator Programme in December, Kev was hooked. It’s just £99 for the programme which includes eight semi-private personal training sessions, unlimited group training sessions, a goal-specific structured programme, dedicated support, progress tracking and nutrition coaching.

It’s a great deal so no wonder Kev was hooked; when it comes to gyms, he’s an offer junkie but the magic always fades once the twin endorphin rush of exercise and saving a few quid has subsided.

P1 Fitness got to Kev in a way that no other gym has and he’s tried a few. As soon as the 30-Day Accelerator Programme was over, he set up a direct debit and he’s still going as often as he can.

You might think his work has suffered because he’s never at his computer, he’s always at P1 Fitness, but in fact the opposite is true. Morning and lunchtime sessions at the semi-private personal training gym give him the headspace to power through his workload like a zen master, and to handle our gaffer, being a zen master is almost a requirement.

In fact, the positive effect on his mental health and outlook is what Kev values most about P1 Fitness. It’s such a small, tight-knit team that you feel like you’re exercising with your mates. You walk in and get a real buzz and that’s a welcome you don’t receive at the corporate behemoth end of the gym spectrum, no matter how glossy their prospectus.

Because P1 Fitness is right in the heart of the city centre, you can fit in a session here and a session there without it compromising your working day too much. Classes last 50 minutes in general, the one-on-one review sessions run pretty much every half an hour from around 7am. Kev fits in a session before work and another one at lunchtime, or both if he needs a break from us lot.

The beauty is, you don’t need to book ages in advance. Whether it’s pilates, box fit, HIIT, learn to lift, a sweat class (it’s pretty tough says Kev), a build class for strength or a semi-private personal training session, just book online around an hour beforehand and you’re good to go. When you need to get away from the desk, you know you can, and at a time that suits you.

When Kev started the 30-Day Accelerator Programme he was zapped by the 3D body scanner which seems to be an amazing piece of kit. Every lump, bump and contour that shouldn’t be there is assessed and documented, from your balance to your basal metabolic rate. It may seem like so many pages of waffle but in the SPPT sessions, the equipment is recalibrated for Kev’s dropped shoulder. It helps every part of your progress be personalised to you.

Many gyms are all about the Instagram likes, posting a blizzard of ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos and pushing you to lift heavier and go further. At P1 Fitness, they’re more likely to reduce the weight you lift, putting the emphasis on lifting with the correct posture and technique. After all, who wants their arm to be out of action for three days after a session of doing nothing but lift ridiculously heavy things? This way, you can go to the gym five or six times a week and not feel destroyed by it.

So, how is Kev doing? Well, after nearly two months his weight is about the same but there’s been significant fat loss. He’s a bit coy about the figures but we can see the results. His muscles are less ‘ripped’ compared to last time he had a ‘gym epiphany’ but he feels physically stronger than he’s ever done in his life, with a core fitness that means he can do all sorts of things he couldn’t before – leg raises whilst hanging from the monkey bars for one.

But the main thing is this one’s a keeper, not a flash in the treadmill. When Kev talks about P1 Fitness he glows. Not in a sweaty way, there are amazing power showers and complimentary toiletries for that, but in a way that shows he’s really happy about where’s he’s at and what P1 Fitness are doing for him.