The Review - THE GOOD LIFE Published: 17 January 2008
Dax Moy works with clients from celebrities to those referred by their GPs
Why personal trainer to the stars is urging us not to join a gym
Fitness expert insists new year resolutions are likely to fail as he urges lifestyle changes
Former soldier Dax Moy says we need to think about the way we live before declaring war on weight, writes Peter Gruner
HE runs one of London’s most famous personal training studios in Islington, but his advice to people who want to get fit this year is not to rush off and join a gym.
Dax Moy’s high-profile clients include TV’s Pop Idol winner Michelle McManus and Tom Avery, the youngest and fastest person to walk to the South Pole.
Moy’s philosophy is that “before you try and add a positive to your life like joining a gym you must first remove a negative”.
The 37-year-old added: “Don’t rush out and join a gym because, like thousands of others, you’ll probably give it up within a few months. “
Instead he encourages people to exercise wherever they are and whenever they have the time.“Obviously you can walk a lot more or cycle,” he said. “But you can also give up half an hour of TV once or twice a week and do a few gentle push-ups in your own home.”
On the nutritional side he advises people not to buy supplements. “I say take cut the bad things in your diet,” he said. “Within 7 to 10 days people can lose weight.”
His own diet includes a high-protein breakfast like smoked salmon and scrambled eggs or egg and bacon, maybe soup for lunch and steak and lightly steamed vegetables for dinner.
He normally drinks about a bottle of red wine a week, but is off booze since the start of the year.
Former soldier Dax, whose studio is at St Alban’s Place, behind the Screen cinema in Upper Street, specialises in putting people, including those with disabilities, through their paces.
His clientèle are mainly professionals, but he has worked with the elderly, and those who have been referred by their GP.
Rather than a membership he charges a pay-as you-go personal service which can be as much as £80 to £130 a week. “It may not sound cheap, but I’m giving people a full personal service,” he said.
He uses a combination of exercises, nutritional and psychological approach, working on the whole person. “Everyone is different,” he added. “But I will see it as a great challenge to help people reach their optimum fitness levels and lose weight into the bargain. It’s about taking control and feeling more positive and happy.”
• Dax Moy Personal Training Studios 21 St Albans Place, Islington Green, N1.
020 7354 3550. www.daxmoy-pts.co.uk
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