My time at G2G has been nothing short of excellent. I had ambitions of joining the Army as an Officer with admirations for the Parachute Regiment who are notoriously known for their brutal fitness and tough mentality. I had just finished university at the time weighing around 102kg and with previous shoulder issues/injuries because of playing rugby. To be in the Army you must be strong, but you also must be mobile and cover ground quickly as there are fitness requirements to be selected, so I needed to approach someone to drop this extra mass quickly whilst maintaining my strength from before. I got inspiration to join up as a member of the G2G team as my younger brother was previously a member as he was looking to get faster and stronger for his rugby at the time. After his 3 months there I could noticeably see the difference/impact his training had and how it transferred onto the rugby pitch. So, it was a no brainer to join up.
What I hugely admire about G2G is how the coaches take such an interest in their clients from the minute they get to know them so what I mean by this is when I was telling my coach Donnie Macfadyen about my interest in the Parachute Regiment, in his own time he would read up on the Parachute Regiment/anecdotes about Army life or find documentaries to watch such as the P company test series on YouTube to grasp a stronger understanding of what the physical demands entailed. This would then create a talking point for both of us and to me it really showed that he cared about where I wanted to go. Having said that I noticed in my training sessions all the coaches at G2G show the same interest and passion towards their members.
The other great thing about G2G is how personalised the training programmes are for everyone. So, in my case it was not only to lose the extra mass, but I really needed to work on strengthening my rotator cuff muscles on my left side to stabilise my shoulder as I was worried this would be the main barrier for my Army aspirations. It’s the attention to detail and listening to feedback that makes G2G above the rest so if there was an exercise movement that you maybe didn’t feel comfortable with or like, they would take the time to chat with you and say, for example “well what is it about the exercise you find uncomfortable?” “try thinking about this whilst performing the exercise to benefit the technique” or “ok I will look for alternative exercises which focus on the same muscle group and implement it into next week or the next training bloc.” It was the coaches listening and understanding skills which I appreciated the most.
The training sessions itself wouldn’t have been successful itself if it wasn’t for the amazing training facilities that were provided. There was plenty of training space and an abundance of training equipment/weights. There were also at least 2 coaches at each training session to make sure members were happy in their understanding of what they were doing in training.
8 months on and it was time for my Army Officer selection board. I was now 88kg,I felt the fittest I had ever been and had no further worries about my shoulder. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful on my 1st attempt, but this selection process/assessment is like no other regular job in the world. It’s over 4 days long and consists of multiple fitness, academic, and leadership personality tests.
However, I received feedback from my assessment, and it stated my fitness standards were way above the required standard. This goes to show that G2G had fulfilled their job in helping me achieve my fitness goals so I couldn’t be more thankful to them.
Their continued belief in me still makes me want to join the Army more and more as I now have the knowledge passed on by them to maintain my fitness standards, and for that I am forever grateful to G2G for helping me on this journey.
If you’re looking to achieve fitness, rehab, or sporting goals in your life, I couldn’t recommend them highly enough.