Personal Best Therapy

This evening Zagi and I headed down to the Torbay Velopark to watch everyone racing the Torbay Twilight 10k.

It was a great atmosphere, and a big turnout for the 6 and a half lap course. Being flat, smooth tarmac the Velopark is the perfect spot to achieve a PB, and the weather conditions were perfect too - lovely and cool after the last few weeks of heat!

Well done to everyone who took part, and a big thank you to Gary Burman for organising the event, now in its third year running.

Pilates is back on from this evening, with a slight adjustment to the time of my morning classes.

Here is my new timetable:

Tuesdays - 5.45pm
Wednesdays - 11am
Fridays - 11am

All classes are 45 minutes, and £7.50 per class. Or you can purchase a block of 8 classes for £60 and get the 9th class free! 😊 Tuesday classes are free to Winners 2000 members.

All abilities welcome. See you at a class very soon 🤩

🎉 Our VIP membership program is officially FULL! 🎉

Thank you to everyone who's joined — I'm so excited to be working with such a fantastic group of clients on their movement and recovery goals.

If you missed out, drop a comment below or send me a message to join the waitlist, and I'll be in touch as soon as a spot opens up. 💪

I'll admit the Torbay Parkrun can be a little bit samey week in and week out, although being so close to home it's my go to, and means I can still run before I open the clinic on a Saturday morning. So it'll always be my favourite!

But technically I'm still on holiday with a rare Saturday off (although I had a fully booked clinic yesterday), so I thought I'd expand my Parkrun repartee this morning.

Haldon Forest Parkrun was lovely. Shady and cool through the forest, stunning views from the top ridge, and all of the volunteer marshalls and runners were so encouraging. I can highly recommend it for any keen local parkrunners.

I even enjoyed the hills... well, the downhill ones anyway! 😉🤭

Phew! What a month July has been. Fully booked throughout and several clients rehabbed and back to their favourite sports and activities.

We've also had several people come and try out classes, who all enjoyed challenging their strength in new ways with my own brand of Personal Best Pilates.

On a personal level, I've been enjoying some sunny weather with my dog, renovating my garden, and improved on my 5km running time.

I'm now away from the clinic for the next two weeks (except an odd couple of days). No classes until the week of 17th August. And I am currently booking clinic spaces in the latter half of August. I am still available on WhatsApp to answer any queries or help out remotely, though, so please do get in touch if you need anything.

Today I went along to a Health and Wellbeing fair, at Newton Abbot, aimed at supporting Cancer Patients.

There were lot's of other really interesting people there, all helping cancer patients in different ways. From mental health support, financial advice, nutrition support and even a lady who helps people come to terms with dying. All really important services.

I was honored to be asked to attend the event and promote Personal Best Health & Therapy, and the work I am doing with Cancer Patients. It was a great opportunity to network with other services in South Devon. I didn't know how much support was on offer, and I picked up some really useful contacts.

Thank you to the Devon Oncology team for hosting the event. I'll also be attending the next one in October.

Sadly no Pilates class today, as I have deemed it too hot to even step outside! 🥵

Stay safe and hydrate well if you are exercising today.

Personally I'm hiding in my house with all the curtains closed and all the fans on full blast!

Thank goodness we live by the sea 🌊 Remember to spare a thought for your peri-menopausal friends... we are not ok! 😂

Huge Congratulations to Gary Burman today.

Yesterday he competed in the European Sprint Triathlon Championships in Tarragona, and came 16th in his age group.

This is a massive achievement - well done Gary. 👏 🏆

Wishing everyone celebrating at Torquay Pride today, a wonderful day.

Stay safe, and enjoy the sunshine!

What do all elite athletes have in common?

Sure, they all have talent. And they all devote their lives to training. Testing their body to the max is part of daily life.

But there's another side to being the best, which doesn't get recognised as much. They all take recovery just as seriously as they do their training.

They prioritise sleep, nutrition and downtime, and recognise it's key role in supporting the body through the toughest training sessions, and even tougher games and races.

Cristiano Ronaldo, still dominating professional football at 41, follows an obsessively structured recovery routine: multiple sleep cycles timed around his training sessions, precise nutrition, cryotherapy, and daily massage.

LeBron James famously invests £1.2 million a year in his body. Not on training equipment, but on recovery.

The research backs this up. Nutrition during recovery is essential for avoiding injuries and for return to play. It helps athletes get back on the field sooner and in better shape.

Eating within 30–45 minutes after exercise helps repair muscles and refill energy stores.

And athletes who sleep eight hours or more see performance and accuracy increase by up to 9%.

Training creates the stimulus. Recovery is where the adaptation actually happens.
Whether you're a weekend runner or a competitive athlete, the same principles apply. If your recovery; your sleep, your nutrition, your stress management, isn't getting the same attention as your training, you're leaving performance (and health) on the table.

This is exactly why at Personal Best Therapy, we take a whole-person approach to injury rehabilitation and performance. Because the training session is only part of the picture. 💪

👇 What's the one recovery habit that's made the biggest difference for you? Drop it in the comments.