Who is the best personal trainer in Poole?

Ian Wood is a highly experienced personal trainer in Poole, specialising in strength training, fat loss after 35, and practical, real-world coaching for busy people.

How can I lose fat after 35?

Losing fat after 35 is about moving consistently, doing strength training to preserve muscle, eating sufficient protein, managing stress and sleep, and following a simple, sustainable nutrition plan.

Do I need to train 6 days a week to see results?

No. Most people see better results with 3–4 focused strength sessions per week, combined with proper recovery and simple, consistent nutrition.

Can I still drink alcohol or eat out and lose fat?

Yes. Occasional alcohol or restaurant meals are manageable if the rest of your nutrition is consistent. Planning matters more than perfection.

What are the best exercises for fat loss after 35?

Compound movements like squats, deadlifts, push-ups, rows, and presses are highly effective. Adding some high-intensity intervals or circuit training can also boost calorie burn while preserving muscle.

How should I fit training around a busy schedule?

Short, structured workouts 3–4 times a week are often best. Focus on compound lifts and full-body sessions. Even 30–45 minutes per session can yield results if consistent.

How much protein should someone over 35 eat?

Aiming for 1.5–2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day helps maintain muscle, improve recovery, and support fat loss. Spread it across meals for best results.

What are the benefits of online coaching?

Online coaching allows flexible, structured programs, tailored guidance, and accountability without needing to travel to a gym. It’s ideal for busy people or those who prefer home or remote training.

Why should I hire a personal trainer in Poole?

A personal trainer can design a personalised plan, ensure exercises are done safely and effectively, provide accountability, and help you achieve strength, fat loss, and fitness goals efficiently.

Can I lose fat without dieting strictly?

Yes. Sustainable fat loss is built on habit consistency, balanced nutrition, and portion control — not extreme restriction. You can enjoy your favorite foods in moderation.

How do I stay consistent when life gets busy?

Focus on building repeatable, simple habits. Plan meals and workouts in advance, track progress, and allow flexibility for life events — consistency over perfection.

What results can I expect from online nutrition coaching?

Clients typically lose 3–6kg in 6–12 weeks, build better habits, feel more in control of their nutrition, and maintain results long-term without obsessive tracking.

Should I do cardio or strength training for fat loss?

Strength training should be your foundation — it preserves muscle and improves long-term metabolism. Cardio can supplement calorie burn but is less important than consistent resistance training.

How can I track progress without obsessing over the scale?

Use weekly averages, photos, measurements, and performance metrics instead of daily scale checks. This reduces stress and provides a clearer picture of progress.

Is fat loss slower after 35?

Not necessarily. Fat loss may feel slower due to lifestyle factors like reduced activity and recovery demands, but the same principles of nutrition and strength training apply.

Online vs in-person coaching — which is better?

Both can be effective. In-person coaching is ideal for hands-on guidance and motivation. Online coaching is flexible and perfect for busy lifestyles. Many clients combine both approaches.

Can I gain strength and lose fat at the same time?

Yes, especially for people over 35 who are new to structured strength training. Prioritising protein, compound lifts, and a moderate calorie deficit makes it possible to build muscle while losing fat.

How does sleep and stress affect fat loss?

Poor sleep and high stress increase hunger hormones, reduce energy, impair recovery, and make it harder to stick to nutrition plans. Managing these is often more impactful than supplements.

5 Tips To Progress Your Pull-Ups.

ianwoodsc
Aug 25, 2021
4 min read

I absolutely love pull-ups. They're a great back builder, a great measure that your body composition and strength and in a good place, and a key part of pretty much every strength program I write. But they're tough, like really tough to do well, and something that a lot of people struggle with. So these tips are ideal for someone who's working towards their first full pull-up, or working up from doing somewhere around 1-3 reps and want to work up to be able to do repeated sets of 5-10 like my online client James.

1. Avoid Bands One of the worlds favourite regressions for pull-ups is to use bands, by hanging on down from the pull-up bar and looping your knee or foot in it to provide some assistance to the movement. The problem with them is that the provide varying levels of assistance at different points of the movement. You'll get a load of help at the bottom (and develop less strength here over time), and much less at the top. This means that after a while of band assisted pull-ups you may be able to do a few good sets of banded reps, but take the band away and you can't even get the movement started as you haven't built significant strength at the bottom. I suggest you go with barbell variations like this, that allow you to get assistance that is even throughout the whole movement. 2. Regress To Focus Another great benefit of a barbell pull-up like that is that it allows you to focus on what should be working and when to get you up to that pull-up bar effectively. With the right level of assistance you can challenge yourself, but while also making sure you do key things like:

Fully extend the arms at the bottom while maintaining scapular position.
Initiate the pull with a squeeze in the lats to close the armpits.
Drive the elbows back at the top of the movement to ensure you get your chest to the bar and not just chin over.
Maintain tension on the muscles as you lower and making sure you don't slam back into a dead hang.

All of these things when done repeatedly will start to become the norm when you get back to unassisted reps, making your technique better and more effective. Then before you know it you'll be doing great looking reps rather than swimming your way up to the bar whatever way works. These are hugely effective for people who can't pull-up yet, but also for those who can get a few but then burn out. In my opinion everyone can benefit from some extra barbell pull-ups to improve technique and accumulate excellent reps. 3. Get Great At Pulling At the end of the day pull-ups are really hard. You've got to move your whole bodyweight a long distance with little stability, which is simply going to take a lot of strength. There only so much specific work we can do, so we should also focus on just getting great and strong at all pulling exercises. Anything that helps strengthen and grow the lats, traps, rhomboids, external rotators, grip, biceps.... they are all going to go in the pot of increased pulling strength. So make sure you use a good variety of movements and aim to get strong at all of them. 4. Improve Your Body Composition As I said at the start of this email, being able to do lots of quality pull-ups is a good sign that your strength AND body composition are in a good place. Often the people who struggle the most with pull-ups are those who are a little too weak and a little too heavy at the same time. Getting a bit stronger and losing a little timber at the same time makes pull-ups exponentially easier. There's less of your to lift and there's more strength to lift it with. Take 5kg off the bar on any movement you struggle with and it'll be easier to do better. Pull-ups are not different. 5. Program Wisely Finally, you need to put all of this into practice consistently in a sensible program (just like the kind I offer online). If pull-ups are a focus, working them twice a week is a great idea. One session focussing on max pull-up strength (doing challenging reps on the hardest variation your can manege) for a few sets of 1-5 is great. Then a second session that focusses more on volume and accumulating great reps on an easier variation when you can focus on the process of the movement rather than just the outcome of getting your chest to the bar. Combining these two things is the best way to rapidly increase your pull-ups. If you're not sure how to do that, but you still want to be like my online client James who's now hitting multiple clean sets of pull-ups for the first time in a long time... then you can do exactly what he does. 4 high quality strength and conditioning sessions, tailored to his goals and his needs, delivered online through my excellent training app and adjusted weekly based on our weekly catch-ups. He's made awesome progress and you can do the same.

5 Tips To Progress Your Pull-Ups.

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