How did you get into fitness, and at what age and why?
Interested from the age of 14, I did weights in my bedroom all the way through to my teens, when I was old enough to go to a gym. Within this time, I learned enough information on how to develop and grow and loved that you can change your body and fitness levels through training and nutrition.
Who was and now is your most significant influence as a role model?
The most significant role model is known as the GOAT, the greatest of all time and that someone is Arnold, who obviously had a massive career in the bodybuilding industry and still to this day, everyone knows Arnold. He was a role model for me because he had a body that I desired. He consistently remained in his body shape till he was in his later years, and obviously, it’s crucial for me at 41 to maintain and sustain my shape, especially for my job, as no one wants an out-of-shape trainer training them.
Everyone said to me when I was younger; you will feel the difference when you get older. I’ve looked into the science of slowing your metabolic rate and maintaining muscle mass into your later years. The knowledge behind this and Arnold is still a role model to this day, and Ronnie Coleman and Sylvester Stallone worked hard and put in the hours and dedication to get to their levels of fitness success.
What is your mission in life
Continue to train as hard as I do today, or at least for the next few decades. Still growing my knowledge and to be in the best physical shape I can and get my message out of the importance that age is just a number and fitness and nutrition are a vital part of anyone’s life. Also, how to make part of your lifestyle to maintain and sustain. I hope my mission is to inspire anyone in any way if it’s a small amount to a significant difference in their lives because it can be done. When I see people that have just given up looking after themselves, it’s self-destructive and can lead to many issues down the line.
What myth in your industry do you most dislike and want to detail the truth?
For me, it’s people believing that they can get in the best physical shape in a short amount of time. People think they must take supplements to achieve this, which isn’t true. Keeping good nutrition and training, you can accomplish this with hard work and effort and commitment to achieve the goal.
I have a GG Elite Fitness App with different fitness programmes that I have created for people to use and to get people on the correct path, also including nutritional plans.
What’s the most satisfying exercise for you, and why?
It would have to be the dumbbell flat or incline bench press because I could never grow my chest when I was in my teens.
I had strong triceps, pressing the weight while doing a flat bench barbell press. However, I wasn’t growing my chest. So changing to dumbbells made me learn more about the muscle under tension and isolation to develop a muscle part.
Are you a family man?
I have been married for 18 years to my wife Cassie Goodger and have two Pomeranians. I haven’t had children yet but as we have not long in the last two years moved to Portugal. Where we were living in London, for us it wasn’t the place to have children; with the outdoor living of Portugal and the sun and the beach close by, it’s more of a place to have children. We might be doing a family in the future, and I hope I can give my child or children the opportunity to have a healthy start in life from the beginning and a good balance of fitness and nutrition lifestyle. When I grew up, the knowledge of healthy eating was bare, and there wasn’t much nutrition information.
How do you stay motivated?
The most important thing for me is having a routine; planning my workout for the day enables me to destress while in the gym, making me feel happy and calm.
What form of training have you undertaken?
I have trained as a personal trainer and gained years of experience training in London, moving to the Algarve Portugal, where I train athletes in all fitness levels. This summer, I have spent nine weeks in the Saii Lagoon Maldives as part of the Curio Collection, Hilton Hotels, training families, couples, singles, guests, corporate groups, and staff on motivational team building, all different fitness levels, including functional, HIIT, agility, strength, muscle, one and one gym training. Overlooking the Lagoon, I offer guests a unique experience of being able to train outdoors. People can enjoy their holiday, work events or after-work training for the staff and want something different with gym equipment on the beach. The sense of freedom and vitality, there’s no better feeling than jumping in the Lagoon after an entire sweat session.
Do you have a guilty secret about with food?
Unfortunately, I have to say yes, apple crumble, and custard is my all-time favourite. It’s hard in Portugal because they have so many desserts, which are sometimes hard to resist; there is a local supermarket in Portugal called Apolonia, which is a regular spot for many residents of Portugal. It’s always awkward when I see one of my clients, and they see me standing in the queue at the bakery section, but no one is perfect, and I like desserts, so that is my vice. I eat clean 99% of the time, and that’s my one thing; then, we only live once, but it’s a minor issue.
What is Functional Training?
Functional training is essentially just a workout with a purpose: to improve physical activities elsewhere in life. In most cases, the aim is to get better at everyday activities, for example, comfortably squatting to pick something up, safely carrying objects or sprinting for the bus.
It helps with your daily routine, e.g. carrying loads around the home, lifting, washing, and carrying shopping bags, to make these easier if you are ever in a life-saving situation. Are you able to run, jump or crawl to save your life or another’s
Functional training covers so many benefits in life.
Improved movement patterns: Helps the human body to move easier
Improved movement efficiency: physique, coordination and mobility
Improved aerobic capacity: to build lean muscle
GG Elite Fitness covers all these in a workout for any fitness level.
I hope to be back in the Maldives again to continue this venture.
